Raspberries - my green pick of the month

Holly Brooke-Smith

20 August 2013

For the second post in her series celebrating sustainable food, Holly Brooke-Smith tells us what's great about raspberries in August.

Who doesn't love a raspberry? When I was growing up they were always the 'easy win' to stem the flow of parental scurvy-nags. They're delicious with ice cream and in a fruit salad. And with the warm summer weather set to continue, they're providing good business for Britain.

Berry background

The British raspberry has a long heritage, with production stretching back to the 17th century. Until the late 1980s raspberries were harvested by machine and mostly used for jamming. These days there's a huge market for fresh raspberries, and most are picked by hand.

The introduction of polytunnels in the mid 90s gave farmers full control over cropping times and protecting fruit from weather damage. British Summer Fruits says that before polytunnels existed, only 50% of the English soft fruit yield was Grade 1 fruit; now it is nearer 90%. "For a grower, this means the difference between having a business and going out of business".

Perhaps thanks to polytunnels, the raspberry industry is estimated to be worth £52million - making it the third most lucrative fruit for the UK behind strawberries and dessert apples.

Field to fork

British raspberries are mainly grown in East Anglia and Scotland. They've been extremely busy at the Tiptree farm in Essex (home of Wilkin & Sons jam) since the beginning of July. Director and farmer Chris Newenham told me: "The exceptionally warm conditions have made for outstanding flavour, but also a lot of fruit ripening simultaneously. Supermarkets are looking for fruit that will stand up on shelf for a few days, but raspberries are very delicate berries and in the warm weather that can be a challenge."

Raspberry root rot

For two decades now, root rot has been a major threat to the industry across Europe. The destructive fungus blights the whole plant and the earth it's grown in. Disease spores can exist in the earth for up to 20 years, so new resistant varieties are needed for fruit to be re-grown on infected sites.

Buy the best

Because the fruits are fairly vulnerable, many UK crops are grown in energy intensive conditions. Balancing energy usage, food miles and the use of pest controls can be very difficult. 

Ultimately, the most environmentally beneficial way to have raspberries is to grow them organically at home. As long as you can net them before the birds, they will largely look after themselves. Get your canes into the earth later this autumn while the earth is still warm and roots have time to establish over winter.

A local pick-your-own farm (PYO), or farmers market, is your next best option. If you're after supermarket buys, look out for the Soil Association stamp or the LEAF Marque standard label, to ensure they've been farmed to high environmental standards.
 
Read my last blog post about green peas here.

Holly Brooke-Smith, Volunteer, Publishing & New Media team