Deborah Ratcliffe shows how to make the most of the season’s Scottish raspberries

Make the most of the season’s fresh Scottish raspberries says Deborah Ratcliffe

Scottish raspberries are seriously the best in the world.

For me it’s the burst of flavour and juiciness that bombards the taste buds when you bite into them – instantly followed by a delicious hint of sharpness mellowed by luscious sweetness. Perfection!

After a quick bit of research, to check I was correct, I gather that the Scottish climate and soil conditions for raspberry cultivation is as about as good as it gets worldwide.

Fingers crossed my own wee patch in Aboyne will be prolific this year!

So far the canes are looking good, but, as it’s their first year, I’m not expecting a bumper crop.

However, I’m getting into practice preparing raspberries in as many different ways as I can, so I don’t make any mistake with my precious ruby red treasures!

When buying rasps, look out for the freshest possible – the fruit should be plump, just firm, a good colour and not damaged or crushed. They are fragile and need to be treated with care.

The fruit don’t have a long shelf life are best eaten within a few days of purchase or picking.

On the bright side they freeze well – just spread in a single layer on a tray and freeze until solid, then pack into airtight containers.

Today’s cheesecake is very rich and calorific but a little goes a long way.

I’ve tried this with strawberries as well and it’s lovely, but you need to make sure that the strawberries are as sweet as can be and fully ripe.

My last batch, grown in Angus, were simply yummy.

Raspberry coulis goes extremely well with the baked camembert.

I only used a little sweetener in the coulis as I deliberately wanted to keep it sharp and cut through the richness of the cheese.

Add a little more if too tart for your taste.

I used cubes of day-old bread to dip into the camembert followed by a quick dip into the coulis.

The coulis is also gorgeous drizzled over ice cream or chocolate mousse.