Seasonal Treats: Raspberries

Raspberry season is officially upon us, which means you don’t have to settle for frozen or canned raspberries (gasp!) when a craving strikes.  Freshly plucked raspberries are everywhere right now and you won’t just be seeing red.

Ever had Black, Purple or Yellow raspberries?  Now’s your chance.  They taste similar and are just as beautiful and healthy.  Yellow raspberries, also called champagne raspberries, are a tad sweeter and not as sharp as your slightly bitter red raspberry.  Then, there’s purple raspberries, which tend to be large and mild, and sweet black raspberries that ripen earlier than most.  No matter the color, all raspberries pack loads of antioxidants as well as Vitamin C, manganese, fiber, and Vitamin K.

If that’s not reason enough to snack on them,  they’re also good in salads or added into any  muffin mix, cobbler or pie. One of our favorite ways to get a fix is putting them in ice cube trays with water and making raspberry-studded ice cubes for Iced Tea or Cocktails.  Their lifetime in the refrigerator is typically two or three days, but storing raspberries in a Ziplock in the freezer yields excellent smoothies for a few weeks.  But our favorite pairing is raspberries and dark chocolate, perhaps a chocolate raspberry tart in the height of the season.

On any given summer day, there’s plenty of artisanal shops peddling in freshly made raspberry ice cream or sorbet.  Take L’arte Del Gelato for example: They churn Lampone (raspberry) sorbet, or better yet, a Ciocco Lampone (chocolate raspberry) gelato daily.  If you’re closer to Houston Street, stop into Il Laboratorio del Gelato for some raspberry gelato or sorbet.  One of our favorite ways to seize raspberry season are the raspberry cupcakes and blue raspberry ices at Chikalicious Dessert Club.  If you’re in Brooklyn, head to the Brooklyn Farmacy and Soda Fountain for a black raspberry ice cream cone with fresh raspberry toppings.

L’arte Del Gelato
Address: 75 7th Ave., btwn 7th Ave & Bleecker St.
Phone: (212)-924-0803
Website: http:www.lartedelgelato.com

Il Laboratorio del Gelato
Address: 188 Ludlow St., btwn Houston & Stanton Sts.
Phone: (212) 343-9922
Website: www.laboratoriodelgelato.com

Chikalicious Dessert Bar
Address: 203 E. 10th St., btwn 1st & 2nd Ave.
Phone: (212) 995-9511
Website: www.chikalicious.com

Brooklyn Farmacy and Soda Fountain
Address: 513 Henry St., btwn Sackett & Union Sts. (Brooklyn)
Phone: (718) 522-6260
Website: brooklynfarmacy.blogspot.com