Black raspberry, or what?

One of the highlights of summer for me is picking berries, especially raspberries. As a kid I remember finding it difficult to put the raspberries in my bucket, rather than eating them.

Now that I’m older the raspberries do make it to the kitchen  intact (mostly). And I’m learning that summer berries are not just delicious, they’re also good for you; and that you can do more with them than just pop them in your mouth on a hot sunny afternoon.

I’ve also learned that there are actually many types of raspberries, and not all of them are red. The Fall Gold raspberry, as its name suggests, is yellow and is harvested in the fall. There are also purple and black varieties (yes, black).

People get confused about the difference between black raspberries and blackberries. The most distinguishable difference is that black raspberries are hollow. 

“The core of the black raspberry fruit stays on the plant when it is picked, while the core stays in a blackberry,”  according to the North American Raspberry & Blackberry Association.

“Black raspberry fruit are also smaller, less shiny, and have a bluish waxy coating between the sections of the berry.”

Thus, I have recently found out that the berries growing at the end of my family’s property are not blackberries but black raspberries. Interestingly, we have always called them black caps, which is actually a nickname for wild black raspberries.

Along with the many varieties are the numerous benefits that come with eating raspberries.

To start, raspberries contain rheosmin, a phytonutrient that scientists believe helps maintain a healthy body weight. This is because rheosmin may be able to increase the metabolism of fat cells, leading to an overall decrease of it in the body. In other words, I can eat one of my favorite foods and it can help me maintain a healthy bodyweight.

So next time you are on a diet, try adding some raspberries to your smoothie to help the process along.

Aside from this, the berries have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, similar to many other fruits I have researched over the last month while an intern at The Lakeville Journal. These kinds of fruits help support the immune system and fight chemicals that may do harm to the body and can cause cancer.