Raspberry Summer Chef - Rubus idaeus

The Summer Chef Raspberry is a variety appreciated for the taste and yield of its fruits. Non-perpetual, but vigorous and early, it produces numerous slightly prickly canes, ensuring a bountiful harvest. In June and July, it has a high yield of large, fairly dark red fruits, with a firm texture and aromatic, sweet taste. Its berries develop intensely fruity and slightly tangy flavours that linger on the palate. This variety is suitable for large spaces as well as small gardens, as its canes can reach a height of 2.20m (7ft), ensuring a good number of fruits per cane. It can be planted from October to March, for a harvest from mid-June to mid-July, starting from the second year of cultivation.

The Raspberry belongs to the Rosaceae family, like strawberries, blackberries, and wild roses. The wild raspberry is native to Europe and temperate Asia, where it grows in cool climates alongside elderberry, beech, or mountain ash, especially in mountainous undergrowth, but also in plains. It is a deciduous shrub with erect stems, forming a bush of about 1.50m (5ft) in all directions over time. The canes are biennial, each dying after fruiting. Suckers emerge from its roots every year, new canes armed with small prickles. The Raspberry leaves are green on the upper side, white-green and hairy on the underside. The flowering is very nectar-rich. The small white flowers (1 to 2 cm (0 to 1in) in diameter) are grouped in small clusters of 10 to 12 in April-May. The fruits are formed by small agglutinated drupes, easy to detach when ripe.

The Summer Chef variety is non-remontant. Indeed, there are remontant varieties, which produce in June on the previous year's branches, and then from August to October on the current year's branches, and non-remontant varieties, which have a bountiful harvest around June-July. Its average 1.50m (5ft) canes can reach 2.20m (7ft). To fully enjoy the taste quality of Summer Chef, the fruits should be picked early, as soon as they are ripe as they lose flavour if left on the plant.

Raspberries should be consumed quickly after picking, as they do not keep well. If you have a bountiful harvest, consider making purees, sorbets, tarts, or jams. You can also freeze them. Production reaches its normal level in the third year after planting. A plant can produce fruits for around 10 years. The Summer Chef Raspberry can be grown in the vegetable garden or orchard, or as an accent in the ornamental garden. This Raspberry should be planted alongside other varieties to stagger the harvests. For variety, you can also grow other small fruits with similar growing conditions. Raspberry is a delicate fruit that should be picked carefully. A light water rinse is possible, and it keeps better in the refrigerator. Picking is easy and it is very enjoyable to either eat the fruits on the spot or pick them for various culinary uses: sorbets, purees, jams, tiramisu, crumbles, puddings... not to mention the traditional Raspberry Tart. Raspberries are a healthy choice, low in calories and rich in minerals, vitamin C, fibre and antioxidants.