Raspberry

Raspberry's are a favorite in my house. They are a fairly low carb fruit, and we like fruit quite a bit (other favorites are blueberry, blackberry, strawberry, and apricot). I typically keep one of those diner sized squirt bottles full of raspberry juice in the fridge to use on desserts (low carb desserts ). So i am going to share a recipe for vinaigrette below, but step 1 is actually creating the raspberry sauce/syrup.

I like to mix/match. Raspberry is awesome (sweet and tart...kick your tastebuds around a bit). Blackberry is more mellow, but full of umami. SO i like to blend 2 bag frozen raspberry with 1 bag frozen blackberry. The process is simple, but a little labor intensive. Totally worth it, though (i make it twice a week using some sort of berry):

In a saucepan put all 3 bags of berries and 1.5c water. Simmer until the berries are all soft, then pulverize with an immersion blender until all you have is a wet slurry full of seeds. Strain this through a fine sieve. You will have to work it quite a bit to get all the juice filtered through (and likely would be happy with some of the fruity pulp, too). It should be somewhat thick, but if it isn't you can return it to the fire to reduce a bit more. THis is the syrup. I typically sweeten to taste with half splenda, half erythritol (for balanced sweetness). It makes more than 1 squirt bottle, though. So with the rest:

Vinaigrette:

In a food processor ad in 1/2c Raspberry syrup
a couple sprigs fresh thyme (or you can just add whatever dried herb you prefer. Oregano is nice, too)
3-4 cloves crush/minced garlic
2 tbls brown mustard
1/3c white or red wine vinegar
1/2c olive oil
1/4c chopped walnuts

Whirl that sucker up until the contents of the food processor become a homogenized mix. You can often see the oil start emulsifying, and spreading up the container. That is how you know it is mixed (and shouldn't really separate).

With more of the "leftover" raspberry syrup i have made, I will typically also make stuff like Raspberry/Chipotle bbq, or a raspberry pie. If anyone is interested, I can post those recipes as well.

I always enjoy member recipes, sounds good.

I personally can't stand Raspberries but my wife loves them Ill pass this along.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


I LOVE raspberries but they are so expensive right now, $5 bucks for a tiny little container. I stared at them for a few mins yesterday contemplating whether or not to treat myself to some but I decided against it and got my son his apples and pears.

Now when they have them on sale, which isn't often I will splurge and buy them. Our local grocery store will have them 2 for $5 at times and that is usually when i buy them. When i was pregnant i ate strawberries, apples and raspberries like they were going out of style! I would mix all three of those in a bowl chopped up with walnuts and chocolate chips. It was my little sweet treat.

I will have to save this and try it when I do have some raspberries.

reply to post by mblahnikluver


Frozen raspberries. They are inexpensive and have all that flavor. They are missing 2 things: sweetness and texture. You can add your own sweetness, and texture doesn't matter when you are pureeing them anyway.

Fresh raspberries...i have a very special dessert i make with them. Chocolate ganache is a low carb treat (100% Ghirardelli chocolate melted into warm heavy cream, sweetened with the splenda/erythritol mixture, and set with a little butter). Once the ganache cools/sets, i put it into a bag and pipe it into the fresh raspberries.

That's right. Chocolate ganache filled fresh raspberries. Your tongue will beat a hole through your head trying to eat them!

I love them too!

Especially in homemade Raspberry Pie.

Not the kind you bake. The kind you drink.

I have a whole bunch in the freezer right now, to make concentrate this weekend.

We had a great picking year this past summer!

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


This looks delicious!
I like the addition of the walnuts too!
Cant wait to try this, also the idea of using frozen raspberries are a plus.

I found a great bottled product - Juice/Vinegar Dressing

Braggberry - it is by Bragg ( Bragg Amino )

Has Blueberry, Raspberry, Acai, Goji, Grape
% Apple Cider vinegar....

This is a very awesome product can be used straight, or
mixed with Olive Oil etc.

reply to post by burntheships


Ill have to try it. I make various slaws, and love having some apple cider vinegar for it. My favorite is sweet wasabi slaw (just grate half an apple into it, and mix some wasabi into the mayo/vinegar/sweetener slaw mix).

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


Love slaw!

One variation I really enjoy is to make citrus dressing for the slaw, using
lemon juice to taste....one can even make it sweet to taste
by mixing the juice with sugar first. Adding apples sends it over the top.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


You are now my favorite poster! I absolutely love anything raspberry. My favorite all around....even the color.

I have a recipe Ill have to put on here for raspberry jam/preserves with jalapeno pepper/spice. Its AWESOME.

Also another for Raspbery-Apple pie. Thanks for the recipe here!!!

reply to post by mysterioustranger


I eat carbs on a 6 week cycle for 3-4 days. So i will try anything raspberry you post, for sure.

My low carb pie that fools anyone:

Crust

1c almond flour
1/2stick butter, soft but not melted
1/4c erythritol
1/4c splenda
pinch nutmeg

press it out into the pan after mixing. IF the butter gets too soft, it kind of melts the almond flour into it. So work quickly. Bake at 350 until it toasts

Filling

Warm 1 package cream cheese in the microwave, in a bowl
While it warms, whip 1c heavy cream, sweetening to taste (about 1/4c sweetener like splenda...nothing crystalized). Set aside.
Into the cream cheese add 1c splenda and 1/2c erythritol and begin whipping with a mixer
Once combined, add in 1/2c raspberry syrup (aforementioned). ALTERNATE: 1tsp raspberry extract (Adams)
Continue whipping, add 1/2tsp cream of tartar.
Gently fold in the whipped cream until homogenous

Put into cooled pie crust and cover in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to set. Its less than 10g carbs/serving. You can sub lime zest and a bit of lime juice (but not too much...its high in carbs) for "key lime pie". Etc, etc.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan

Wonderful! Great. Now I have to stop at the grocery store on the way home!

Posting in support of this thread for the simple reason that raspberry are awesome and my favorite fruit, raspberry yogurt is the best thing in the world.

Does anyone have any experience growing raspberries? Or any other berries?? They are just so damn expensive at the store, plus there's no telling what sort of lovely chemicals they are chock full of. That being said I would like to grow my own. Unfortunately I live in a 4b zone, so my only option for berries outdoors are strawberries, gooseberries, and grapes (not a berry but there are several varieties that do quite well here)

reply to post by nomoregmo


Nope...but man, grapes.

That is my absolute favorite. A bunch of big, plump, firm, sweet red grapes....they a perfect texture. I love pulp fruit.

reply to post by nomoregmo


I have a little experience...but very little....not really enough room or sun for a good crop.
And my zone is a bit south of you....I think I am zone 6.
I think I am growing the Heritage variety.

More info
www.thegardenhelper.com...
www.finegardening.com...