Consider Vincent van Gogh’s bright and expressive Sunflower paintings. Did he paint with the color yellow? No, he did not. Van Gogh employed three different yellow paints: chrome, cadmium and ochre. He required specific hues or ingredients to dramatically turn light into color and create his beautiful vision. Painters -like chefs- select ingredients with the ability to transform the creation from good into a masterpiece. Culinary educators can teach students how specific ingredients produce culinary works of art.

Let’s look at one such ingredient that is as bright and colorful as van Gogh’s Red Poppies. This fruit’s flavor profile is both sweet and tart and it can transform a baked product into a stunning dish. It is a nutritional powerhouse that is cholesterol free, low in fat, sugar and sodium and full of antioxidants. But, just like van Gogh did not use typical yellow, this specific fruit is not run-of-the-mill. Bakers and chefs seek out frozen red raspberries from Washington state to complete their chefs-d'oeuvr.

Not all raspberries are created equal
A specific raspberry varietal is grown for the frozen format that is smaller than fresh raspberries found in stores. It contains less moisture per berry and reduces drip or bleed as it leaks less water when defrosting. And, not adding moisture to a baking application is imperative to the final product. The varietal is also known for its bright and tart flavor and how it adds pop to baked goods. Frozen raspberries are harvested at their peak flavor and frozen within four to six hours using the Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) process.

Click here to read a Gold Medal Classroom Meet the Growers piece on growing Washington red raspberries destined for the frozen market.

Fresh raspberries found in plastic clamshell containers are lighter in color and milder in flavor. These berries were designed for long shelf life and are better for garnishes.

Frozen raspberries are nearly always mixed in frozen and do not require defrosting or cleaning, a real time saver in today’s tight labor environment. They go from freezer to application with no prep in between. Baking applications like sauces, yeast breads, quick breads, pastries and cakes all benefit from various frozen raspberry formats like whole berries, crumbles, pureed, juice concentrate or block IQF.  

Acid is a flavor in the chef’s toolbox
Frozen raspberries impart acidity. Especially in baking, applications can be overly sweet. Adding Washington raspberries balances flavor and, “keeps the taste buds interested without adding too much sugar,” said Solveig Tofte, a baker for more than 20 years and owner of Sun Street Breads, an artisan bakery and cafe in Minneapolis.

In her production bakery, she only uses Washington-grown frozen red raspberries because she feels that are “vastly superior (in taste)” and easier to use in the large quantities required by her business. One menu item that illustrated how raspberries balance and boost flavor was the croissant with lime curd and raspberry filling. “I like tart things,” said Tofte, “and in the first bite you get the crystalized sugar on the outside of the pastry. That primes your taste buds for the tartness of the lime and raspberries and then it’s finished with a chewy, crispy pastry dough.”

The fruit’s deep red color, imparted from the anthocyanins, is another benefit in baking. “I’ve found that the anthocyanin in the red raspberry reacts with acids. You can increase the acidity of an item and create a brighter and deeper red or pink color,” the baker explained. She gave an example of making sourdough bread, where the fermentation process creates acidity, and how the acid reacts with the raspberries and turns the loaf into a bright pink or red color. “Without the extra acid, you get a muted gray loaf,” she said.

Pairing flavors brings pop and circumstance
Raspberries add brightness, tartness and pop to applications. Leslie Mackie, founder of Macrina Bakery and owner of Project Barnstorm Conserves, appreciates that using frozen raspberries does not require adding a significant amount of sugar. For this reason, she prefers frozen raspberries from Washington state for her compotes and conserves. “I like to start with better ingredients,” she said. “The conserve is 18 percent sugar by volume whereas jam is 65 percent sugar by volume.” The conserves showcase the fruit’s flavor without sugar covering it up.

Paring raspberries with other fruits, especially those with tangy flavors, creates layers of textures and flavors. Mackie’s business has paired raspberries with rhubarb and also with cranberries. “The raspberries are the dominate balancing flavor in the raspberry rhubarb combination. I add a little bit of anise and it just pops,” she said. Other flavors Mackie uses with raspberry include lemon, apricot, pear, fig and chocolate. Although she says, not all fruits go well with raspberries, like banana for instance.

When pairing with chocolate, Mackie suggests that using bittersweet chocolate is the ticket.  She said the bitterness of chocolate balances the acidic raspberries. “I don’t like chocolate and strawberries,” she commented. “Strawberries are too sour for that.”

A common misconception
Should a baker toss raspberries in flour before adding them to a batter? Although this may seem to help the fruit stay suspended, Solveig cautions against the practice with raspberries. “Raw flour gets trapped in the middle or hole of the raspberry and it gets gluey,” she said. She suggested that butter-based batters are thick enough to keep the berries lifted. She advised that if the batter is thin, such as pancake or rye bread batter, add the frozen berries right before baking or frying. 

The best of the best
Both Mackie and Tofte have favorite raspberry applications and both formulas come down to the best flavor pairing within layers. Mackie loves a raspberry lemon coffee cake. “The raspberries are acidic and that balances the lemon citrus. Then the sugar creates the next layer of sweetness. It’s so satisfying with great flavor; I don’t have to eat the whole thing. A small amount and I am satisfied,” she said.

Solveig prefers the traditional raspberry cream puff for its layers of pastry cream, raspberries, and classic dough. “I loved that it’s filled with whipped cream and has the raspberry puree and citric acid combined with the crunchy sugar on top. It’s fat, cream, sweet and tart all in one bite. It tastes so good.”

Additional resources:
Resources for health, product development, foodservice and culinary professionals.
Baking with red raspberries.
Gold Medal Classroom story, “From NOLA to Your Baking & Pastry Classroom: Virtual Guest Lectures Featuring Raspberries.”

Photos courtesy of the Washington Red Raspberry Commission.