Raspberry fruits can be colored in any shade of red, from pale pink to deep burgundy. The berries of some varieties are yellow, white, and sometimes even black (for example, blackberries).
From a botanical point of view, the raspberry fruit is not a berry, but a polydrupe, that is, it consists of many tiny fused fruits with seeds.
Raspberries are used in medicine not only for their beneficial properties, but also for their surprisingly pleasant taste and aroma. Raspberries are often used as a sweetener for potions and other medicines, and in folk medicine they are considered a reliable remedy for colds, nausea and fever.
Raspberry fruits can be eaten raw or prepared from them in a variety of dishes and drinks: marmalade, preserves, jam, jellies and juices. Raspberries are also used to make wines, liqueurs and liqueurs that do not require artificial flavors.
Bees, collecting raspberry nectar, increase the yield of bushes by 60-100%. The raspberry flower is turned downwards, so insects can feed from them even when it rains (see interesting facts about bees).
Raspberry leaves make an excellent substitute for tea by mashing them in your hands until they release their juices and turn black, then dry them at a high temperature.
Russia is the world leader in raspberry cultivation, producing more than 200 thousand tons of fruit per year (see interesting facts about Russia).
Scientists began dividing raspberries into different varieties back in the 16th century. The cultivation of these plants began at the same time.
In Russian folklore, “raspberry” often refers to a free, pleasant and “sweet” life without any problems. In this sense, it is the antipode of bitter viburnum, meaning misfortunes and troubles.
Among criminals, a “raspberry” is called a den of thieves. True, according to one version, the gathering of criminals received this name not because of the berry - “raspberry” became a distorted version of the Hebrew melina (translated as “bunker, shelter”).
Raspberries can help support the functioning of the heart, kidneys, circulatory system and brain, it helps maintain youth and skin tone. The fruits are rich in folic acid and iron, which makes them especially beneficial for the body of women (primarily pregnant women).
Raspberries are considered an excellent antidepressant due to the copper it contains.
According to a well-known legend, the first garden with raspberry bushes was founded by the outstanding ruler, founder of Moscow and other Russian cities, Yuri Dolgoruky. The garden was so large that wild animals, including bears, walked in it.
People first discovered raspberry bushes in Greek Crete. The Romans became the pioneers, and this happened back in the 3rd century BC (see interesting facts about Crete).
In Greece, they tell a myth according to which a nymph decided to treat little Zeus to raspberries, who was crying so loudly that the gods on Olympus could not hear each other. When she was picking berries, she tore her hands bloody on the thorns - that’s why the raspberries turned red.
Raspberries are a delicious berry. For many of us, it grows in the country or in a village house with grandparents. But the benefits of raspberries are not limited to the pleasant taste alone - it is also extremely useful, and it is not for nothing that in Rus' people from time immemorial have used it in folk medicine, simple but effective.
Facts about raspberries
- Raspberries contain vitamins A, B and C, iron, potassium, magnesium, zinc, calcium, as well as three types of alcohols.
- Raspberries are actively used in medicine - dried fruits are used to remove harmful substances from the body, and aromatic raspberry syrup can improve the taste of medicines. Adherents of traditional medicine recommend raspberries to patients with flu and colds, suffering from fever and inflammation.
- Raspberry flowers face downwards, so rain does not prevent bees from collecting nectar from them. From nectar extracted from a hectare of wild raspberries, 70 kg of honey is obtained, and from a similar number of garden bushes - 50 kg.
- Dried raspberry leaves can be a complete substitute for tea.
- Russia holds the world championship in growing this berry. It is followed by a wide margin by Serbia and the United States.
- Thieves and other dishonest individuals call dens “raspberries,” and in Russian folklore, “raspberries” usually refer to a cloudlessly beautiful and sweet life.
- According to legend, in ancient times in Crete, a young princess who decided to treat baby Zeus with sweet raspberries scratched her hand. So the once white berries of this plant turned red.
- Raspberries are mentioned in the chronicles of the ancient Romans, which date back to the third century BC.
- At the end of the 19th century, Swiss scientists developed a raspberry variety with purple fruits by crossing bushes with red and black berries.
- Cosmetologists claim that this berry has a beneficial effect on complexion and skin condition. She is even credited with the ability to smooth out wrinkles and rejuvenate the body as a whole.
- The leader in the amount of useful substances is considered to be black raspberries, which were bred and grown in the USA. It is also known that red fruits are healthier than yellow ones.
- Raspberries are mentioned in Russian fairy tales more often than any other berry.
- Thanks to bees collecting nectar from raspberry bushes, their yield increases by 60-100%.
- Asia is considered the birthplace of raspberries, although this subshrub is so unpretentious that it grows on almost any soil.
- From one raspberry bush you can collect up to one and a half kilograms of fruit.
- Raspberry stems, on which berries appear in the summer, die off with the onset of cold weather, and in the spring new ones grow in their place.
- Yuri Dolgoruky ordered the creation of the first garden in Rus' planted with raspberry bushes. The garden was so large that wild animals, including bears, roamed its paths.
- Raspberries grown in the garden are larger than wild raspberries, but are inferior in medicinal properties.
- Raspberry leaves are used to treat respiratory diseases, gastritis and enteritis. The fruits are recommended for people who have problems with the heart and blood vessels, including those who have had a heart attack or stroke, as raspberries help normalize blood pressure.
- It is recommended to eat raspberries to strengthen the immune system and improve metabolism.
- Raspberry medicines help get rid of acne and burns.
- Raspberries were brought to Europe in the 16th century, and became widespread in Russia a century later.
Raspberries are one of the most delicious, healthy and favorite berries; they are valued both as a delicacy and as a medicine. Most varieties are descended from the common wild red raspberry. Breeders from all over the world to this day create even more resistant to environmental conditions and more productive varieties of this crop.
The legend of the appearance of raspberries
Raspberries are a bush plant whose berries have a pleasant aroma and sweet and sour taste. Ripe raspberries are red in color and can be eaten both fresh and cooked. Raspberries are one of the most popular berries in our climate zone due to not only their pleasant taste, but also a number of beneficial properties. Jams, jams, jellies, compotes and other drinks and desserts are prepared from ripe raspberries.
The legend of why raspberries are red goes back to ancient Greek myths. According to history, the king of Crete, Melisseus raised two daughters, Adrastea and Ida. The girls nursed Zeus, who was still a baby, whose crying even strong rocks could not withstand. In order to calm the child, one of the girls picked sweet white berries from the mountains. But she was in such a hurry to feed the baby with them that she injured herself on the branches of a bush. Blood from the wounds got onto the berries and colored them bright red.
The scientist from Ancient Greece, Cato, first spoke about raspberries back in the 3rd century BC. The name Rubus Idaeus was given to raspberries in the first century AD by the historian Pliny, who encountered the plant on the island of Crete. The first part of the term “rubus” is due to the red color of the fruit, and the second part “idaeus” received its name in honor of the nymph Ida, who, according to legend, nursed the little thunderer. It was only in the eighteenth century that the berry received its final botanical name Rubus, which was given to it by the European naturalist Carl Linnaeus.
Raspberries were brought to Europe in the sixteenth century, and a century later they became widespread in Rus'. Initially, there were only three varieties of shrubs, but after several decades the number of raspberry varieties increased to one hundred and fifty. At the moment, raspberries have several hundred species.
Useful properties of the plant
Raspberries contain a large amount of useful substances. Thus, the iron contained in the fruits helps to recover after the loss of a large amount of blood. The glucose and fructose included in the composition help improve the performance of the brain and the cardiovascular system of the body. Due to the content of salicylic acid in the berries, raspberries are used during colds as an antipyretic.
Folic acid, contained in large quantities in raspberries, is necessary for the female body, as it helps improve reproductive function. Raspberries even out skin tone, smooth out wrinkles and rejuvenate the body.
Common raspberry ( Rúbus idaeus) is a deciduous subshrub and belongs to the class Dicotyledons, order Rosaceae, family Rosaceae, genus Rubus.
Common raspberry - description and characteristics
Raspberry is a perennial plant with a very developed and sinuous rhizome, on which many adventitious roots are formed. Aboveground shoots are erect, from 1.5 to 2.5 meters high, in the first year of growing season they are green, with a barely noticeable bluish bloom, herbaceous and covered with thin thorns. By the second year of life, raspberry shoots become woody, acquiring a bright brown color. After the fruiting period they die, but a new shoot-stem grows from the same root bud in the spring.
On the stem of the common raspberry there are complex oval leaves, consisting of 3-7 dark green ovoid leaves, each of which is covered with hairs below and has a whitish tint.
Raspberry flowers are white, with many stamens and pistils, with a subtle honey aroma, collected in miniature racemose inflorescences, which are located on the tops of the shoots or in the axils of the leaves.
Common raspberry fruits
Sweet and very aromatic raspberries are numerous, small-sized drupes, fused into a complex fruit. Interestingly, the color of the fruit can vary from light pink and burgundy to yellow, orange and even almost black.
Where do raspberries grow?
This subshrub is distributed throughout almost the entire territory of Europe and the countries of America. In Russia, ordinary raspberries are found in the middle zone and in the south, in the cold climate of Siberia and the Urals, and also grow in the mountainous areas of Kazakhstan, Bashkiria and Kyrgyzstan.
Raspberry is often called a pioneer plant because of its unpretentiousness to soil indicators: it is the very first to appear in the place of burnt-out forest clearings, and feels comfortable both in dry zones and along the edges of swamps.
Wild (forest) raspberries are mentioned in chronicles dating back to the 3rd century BC. This plant became known as a garden crop only in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Types, varieties, classification of raspberries
A huge number of raspberry varieties can be divided into the following groups:
- by berry size (large, medium, small);
- by color (yellow, red, black, orange);
- by ripening period (early ripening, mid-early, mid-ripening, mid-late, late ripening);
- by resistance to cold (winter-hardy, not winter-hardy).
Separately, it is necessary to distinguish standard and remontant raspberries.
Standard raspberry– a feature of the species is thick, powerful, branched, erect shoots, which, after pinching, resemble a small tree, most often not requiring garter.
Remontant raspberry- a type of raspberry that bears fruit in summer and also in autumn.
Below are some varieties of raspberries:
Yellow raspberry varieties
- Yellow sweet tooth
A mid-early, productive raspberry variety produces 3.5 – 4 kg per bush. The elongated berries, weighing 3-6 g, are distinguished by a pale yellow color and a bright aroma; the ripened fruits do not crumble for a long time.
- Golden autumn
The mid-late remontant raspberry variety is distinguished by its golden-yellow fruit color with slight pubescence. Raspberries are sweet, large, have a bright aroma, and are well transported.
- Morning dew
A remontant raspberry variety with golden-yellow fruits. The shoots of this variety are tough, about 1.5 meters in height, covered with a large number of thorns. The berries are large, spherical in shape, hard, weighing up to 5 kg. It is grown mainly in home gardens and a little on plantations. Raspberries of the Morning Dew variety are suitable for transportation.
- Yellow giant
Semi-remontant, winter-hardy variety of yellow raspberries, bearing fruit until frost. It has a high yield (up to 6 kg per bush) and unusually large, very sweet berries, weighing up to 8-10 g.
- Orange miracle
The remontant raspberry variety got its name due to the non-standard, golden-orange hue of the fruit. Raspberries are large, weighing 5-6 g; there are specimens weighing up to 10 g. The berries are characterized by sweetness with a slight sourness and a delicate aroma. The variety has excellent productivity and does not tolerate severe frosts and heat.
Varieties of standard raspberries
- Tarusa
The slender bush is highly decorative and has no thorns at all. The yield of one “raspberry tree” is more than 5 kg. The bright red berry with small seeds weighs up to 10 g. The aroma of raspberries is intense, but the taste is not expressed, so the Tarusa raspberry variety is more suitable for preparations. The variety has a mid-early ripening period; a temperature drop below 25 degrees can be detrimental to young shoots.
- Firebird
A productive variety of standard raspberries with a medium ripening period, it begins to bear fruit at the end of July. The berries are large, red, shiny, weighing from 12 to 15 g. The taste of raspberries is excellent, the berries are sweet, juicy, and do not crumble even when fully ripe. The winter hardiness level of the variety is 23-25 degrees, drought resistance is high.
- Sturdy
A consistently fruit-bearing variety of standard raspberries with medium ripening period. The fruits are red, weighing up to 10 g, very tasty and aromatic, easily separated from the stalk, but do not fall off for a long time. One bush can produce up to 4 kg of berries. The variety does not respond well to snow-white winters and sudden temperature changes.
Black raspberry varieties
- Cumberland
The early-ripening variety of black raspberries has increased winter hardiness and unpretentiousness. The fruits are round, medium-sized, weighing 2-4 g, initially red, becoming glossy black as they ripen. The berry is dense, sweet, with a slight sourness and blackberry flavor. The yield of a raspberry bush is 3-4 kg.
- Bristol
The most popular black raspberry variety of a new promising selection. It is characterized by late ripening and produces extremely stable yields. Round raspberries weighing 3-5 g have a black color with a blue coating, a pleasant sweet taste and aroma. The Bristol variety does not tolerate severe cold and is not resistant to anthracnose, a fungal disease of stems.
- Ember
An early ripening variety of black raspberries. The berries weighing up to 2 g are dense, black, and do not fall off when ripe. The taste is sweet and sour, the berries are perfectly stored without losing their taste and presentation. From one bush you can collect up to 5.5 kg.
Varieties of large-fruited raspberries
- Hercules
A remontant high-yielding raspberry variety, distinguished by large fruits weighing 5-8 g. Individual specimens weigh 15 g. The first harvest is harvested in mid-July, the second from the end of August until frost. Under cover it is possible to ripen 2 weeks earlier. The cone-shaped berries have a bright ruby color, a pleasant, sweet and sour taste and excellent presentation.
- Patricia
An early, winter-hardy, productive raspberry variety with velvety, red, conical berries weighing from 4 to 12 g. The yield reaches 8 kg per bush. The variety is characterized by a non-standard shape of fruits prone to deformation. Patricia raspberries have an excellent taste, but do not tolerate transportation and storage well.
- Senator
Mid-season raspberry variety with berries weighing 7-12 grams, in some cases 15 grams. The oblong fruits are burgundy-orange in color, have a glossy shine, velvety pubescence and a rich, sweet and sour taste. The variety is characterized by increased winter hardiness and tolerates frosts down to -35 degrees without damage.
Raspberry Jam Day is celebrated on August 16 by those with a sweet tooth and lovers of this berry. This unusual holiday has been celebrated since 2015.
Russia is the world leader in growing this berry.
In 1893, purple raspberries were artificially bred in Geneva.
Black raspberries, which are grown in the USA, are considered the healthiest.
Bees, collecting nectar from raspberry bushes, increase its yield by 60-100%.
Raspberry seeds contain almost 22% fatty oil, so they are used in cosmetology.
history of the holiday
The choice of the date of the holiday is not accidental - in Rus' this day was called Malinnik and was dedicated to the berry, loved since ancient times by everyone, regardless of age and social status. Raspberries have been valued at all times for their taste and beneficial qualities and were used not only as a food product, but also as a remedy against colds and to improve immunity.
Raspberries are still loved and widely used in cooking (pies, jellies, jelly, etc.). It is prepared for future use in a variety of ways - dried, frozen, made into compotes and preserves.
Raspberries are associated with something very pleasant and desirable. Maybe that’s why the saying about a good life sounds like: “Not life, but raspberries!”
The benefits of raspberries
Note that raspberries are very healthy. It contains, for example, salicylic acid, which lowers fever and relieves inflammation.
Raspberries also contain a lot of copper, which improves your mood. In addition, it contains vitamins A, E, PP, B2, which are beneficial for the skin, and iron, which is essential for the blood.