Why Do We Call Them Raspberries?

          I love these guys.  They’re plump, juicy, and sweet.  They also look great on my Vacharin, which you can make if you check out the “What’s Cooking with Joni” tab here. And here's another one I made:

          My childhood was in northern Utah, where—I am serious—due to weather conditions the raspberries are the sweetest in the world.  Southern Idaho can also make the same claim.  

          Kids in that area make treks to Bear Lake, where they pick all day, and come home with red fingers, red lips, and full bellies.

          Of course, those areas won’t have raspberry season until late summer, but where I live in California now, farmers’ markets are already bursting with fruit, including these luscious babies.  You do sacrifice some flavor, though (sigh).

          But why do we call them rasp berries?  I checked it out and there is actually a debate about it. Yes, there are not enough things to argue about in this day and age, so three theories have emerged as to how raspberries got their name.  One camp says it comes from “Raspise,” a sweet, rose-colored wine of the 15^th century. 

Some say it could also come from raspoie, meaning “thicket.”

Another group says no, it got the name from its rough, “rasp”-looking surface.

But everyone agrees that it’s pronounced Razz-berry.  I take that back.  In Great Britain it’s ROZZbury. Either way, I’ll take it.  With a dollop of whipped cream, please.

What could be more glorious than curling up with a bowl of berries and cream AND a good book?  Check these out—and remember Mom with one for Mother’s Day!