Ten delicious ways to savor black raspberries

Here are 10 ways to savor super-nutritious black raspberries this summer from blackcap lovers in a group called Wild Food Wisconsin on Facebook, and from well-known Wisconsin food author Terese Allen.

1. Popped into the mouth, all by themselves. This was the most popular way by far.

2. Strewn atop vanilla, maple walnut, chocolate or blue moon ice cream for dessert.

3. Sprinkled over cereal, eggs, toast or pancakes at breakfast.

4. Made into jam, compote, syrup, or frozen in handy one-cup portions to enjoy a taste of summer through the winter.

5. Baked into cobbler, crisp, pie, torte, clafouti, muffins or alongside any type of cake imaginable, including angel food, cheesecake or shortcake.

6. Eaten in a bowl with the dairy topping of your choice such as milk, cream, sour cream, yogurt, cottage cheese or whipped cream then possibly topped with sugar, maple syrup, Grape Nuts cereal or granola.

7. Incorporated or infused into beverages. Smoothies, mojitos and other cocktails, mead (wine made with honey), lemonade, home-brewed beer, tea (using the dried leaves), vodka and black raspberry shrub are possibilities.

8. Mixed with other seasonal Wisconsin berries such as currants, elderberries, strawberries, blueberries, mulberries and gooseberries.

9. Combined with the flavors of vanilla, chocolate, lilac, coffee, mint, lavender, almond or lemon. When baking and cooking, consider adding or intensifying these flavors with extracts to anything with black raspberries.

10. Used in summer salads, dressings or marinades. For a heavenly seasonal salad dressing, mash blackcaps and put into apple cider vinegar for a few days, strain out solids and add a drop of honey if desired. Mix with walnut or extra virgin olive oil with a touch of salt and pepper. Drizzle over green salad, fruit salad, chicken salad or pasta salad, or use it to marinate pork chops. Enjoy the grilled chops with fresh black raspberries on the side.