I’m loving

Matt Preston’s berry excited.

WHY RASPBERRIES ARE THE KING OF BERRIES

We’re engaged in the annual berry wars when, variously, red, black, burgundy and pink fruit clamour for attention. The other day at the supermarket, a punnet of raspberries took me aside, suggesting its contents were the elegant supermodels of the berry world and that strawberries were “as common as muck”.

Reprinted here for the first time is the crux of the raspberry’s compelling argument for why it is the king of berries*.

RASPBERRIES WANT TO MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER, STRAWBERRIES COULDN’T GIVE A STUFF

You can use raspberries straight from the punnet. Strawberries still have those tedious little leaves to remove.

PENTHOUSE OR PAVEMENT?

Strawberries grow on the ground in the mud; raspberries grow on canes, making them easier to pick, as well as cleaner.

OTHER FRUIT GLISTENS, RASPBERRIES SMOULDER

“The strawberry’s skin is as smooth and shiny as the freshly shaved, baby-oiled leg of a catalogue model.” The raspberry then suggested its own dusty-pink colouring was more reminiscent of the blushes of a Jane Austen heroine.

SAVOURY BERRIES?

It’s not just in sweet dishes that raspberries have strawberries’ measure. With their superior acidity and fragrance, they go well with rabbit, duck and venison, and are delicious with goat’s cheese, crumbed camembert or beetroot. (But between us, neither have the savoury flexibility of pineapples or peaches.)

IT’S ALL IN THE NAMES

Raspberries have solid dependable names like Heritage, Black Knight, Willamette and Bristol – a testament to their European

roots. Strawberry names sound like a baby shower in a US trailer park – Rhapsody, Titan, Jewel, Diamante, Cheyenne, Rybekkah. Okay, maybe the raspberry made up the last two.

STRAWBERRY JAM VS RASPBERRY JAM

Ask any school fete committee and they’ll tell you raspberry jam outsells strawberry three to one. And raspberry jam always sets without help; strawberry jam is much more capricious. So there!

STRAWBERRIES HAVE A ONE-TRACK MIND, RASPBERRIES ARE FAR MORE VERSATILE

Strawberries and cream… um… er… well that’s about it when it comes to classic strawberry dishes. But an Aussie strawberry pavlova or English Eton mess wouldn’t be nearly as nice without a tart raspberry coulis to drizzle over or stir through. Raspberries are also at the heart of dozens of radically different desserts, from classics like a dark chocolate ganache topped with raspberries to Escoffier’s peach Melba to a sticky slab of almond, pear and raspberry cake sweetened with maple syrup…

GOLDEN ALMOND, PEAR & RASPBERRY CAKE SERVES 8

Warm, this cake is a decadent, you-wouldn’t-know-it’s-gluten-free delight (assuming your baking powder doesn’t contain hidden gluten), but it stays moist for ages, making it equally as tasty cold.

350g drained canned pear halves, cut lengthways

into 1cm-thick slices 120g fresh raspberries, plus extra to serve

2/ 3 cup (160g) firmly packed brown sugar 100ml olive oil 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 eggs 1 cup (250ml) maple syrup 1 cup (100g) almond meal

2/ 3 cup (80g) oat bran (from health food shops) 2 tsp baking powder (gluten-free optional)

1/ 2 tsp ground cinnamon 2 cinnamon quills Creme fraiche, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease base and sides of a 30 x 12cm loaf pan and line with baking paper, leaving 3cm overhanging the long sides. Line base of prepared pan with 200g pear slices and scatter with half the raspberries.

To make batter, finely chop remaining 150g pears and combine in a bowl with sugar, oil, vanilla, eggs and 2 tbs maple syrup. Add almond meal, oat bran, baking powder, cinnamon and 1 tsp salt flakes. Gently pour batter over fruit in prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack in pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate and cool, fruit-side up, for a further 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the maple and raspberry syrup, place cinnamon quills and remaining 210ml maple syrup in a saucepan over high heat and bring to the boil. Boil for 4 minutes or until reduced slightly. Add remaining 60g raspberries and stir to combine. Stand for 10 minutes to cool slightly. Pour some syrup over cake and serve, sliced, with creme fraiche, extra raspberries and remaining syrup.