Summer is nearly here and that means one thing and one thing only – raspberry season! It’s time to embrace the best time of year with Maungatapere Raspberries, now available at supermarkets and food retailers.
Perfect in smoothies, sprinkled on a pavlova or just as is! It’s not just the taste that makes Maungatapere Raspberries irresistible, they’ll make you feel good too. Raspberries have gained a name for themselves as a superfruit – and for good reason. They are full of vitamin C (more than oranges) they’re high in fibre and potassium, Vitamin E, magnesium, folate, Omega-3 fatty acids, manganese and calcium and despite their sweet taste, they’re low in calories.
What does this mean? They can help improve digestive health, reduce inflammation, boost the immune system, promote healthy heart function, improve memory, weight management and vision
and they are ranked as one of the top 10 antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables. If that’s not enough to get you excited about raspberries, then just know, they are great for skin too! Maungatapere Berries grow some of the country’s largest raspberries and they are wonderfully sweet and tart in flavour. Grown in sunny Northland by the Malley family since 2015 they are carefully handpicked and then they’re off to the packhouse where they are packed into punnets and carefully shipped across New Zealand.
“Growing raspberries is always an exciting challenge,” said Patrick Malley.
“Making sure we grow sustainably and deliver the best outcomes for the environment, and the wider community, in order to produce delicious raspberries that we are proud of, is a delicate act. There’s nothing more satisfying knowing that the product we grow is safe and healthy for our bodies, sustainably grown and that we’re able to be a source of employment for many Kiwis.”
There’s so much more to the humble, yet delicate, raspberry than meets the eye so here’s a few raspberry tips from the Malley family:
- You don’t need to rinse raspberries before you eat them. You want to be as gentle with them as possible to avoid spoilage, plus, they were never in the dirt and all the packers wear gloves so it’s not really necessary.
- If, for whatever reason, you find yourself with a batch of dirty raspberries, you can place them in a sieve, dip it in a bowl of water, and spread the raspberries on a paper towel to dry
- Raspberries are best stored outside the fruit and veg bin and if you can store them spread out, not touching and on a plate that’s even better.
- If you want to freeze raspberries, put them on a plate with some distance between them and freeze for about an hour. Once frozen, store the raspberries in a freezer bag or an airtight container in the freezer.
- Buy the ripest raspberries possible, most raspberries don’t continue ripening after picking!
