Happy Saturday
everyone! Today, I am going to share
some facts about a delicious little fruit loved by many, animal and human
alike.
Raspberries were abundant
in our North American forest clearings, accompanied by blackberries and
blueberries, with all of these being an important part of the diet of the
Native Americans here before settlement.
They would be eaten fresh or dried over the fire to preserve them for
winter, where they would be added to breads, soups, puddings and dried meat
mixed with fat.
As with a number of the
plants I have been telling you about, raspberries were also appreciated as a
medicinal plant. The roots of the red
raspberry, there actually being black, purple, red and yellow varieties, were
used to make an eye wash and also to add flavour to medicine. In the Middle Ages, the juice was used as a
red stain in art work. The leaves of the
plant however, were of more value in medicinal practice and are still used in
herbal teas and tisane meant to sooth the digestive system or menstrual cramps.
Touching on a bit of
mythology, the Greeks associated raspberries with fertility and in the Greek
stories, the berries were once white. Their
red colour came from Zeus' nursemaid, Ida, who had pricked her finger on a
thorn, her blood staining the berries red, which they have been ever since.
Have a great rest of your
weekend. Until next week,
Catie Welch
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