Red, Black, Gold, Purple: The Many Shades of the Raspberry

Everyone's seen the red raspberry. It's a staple fruit of any local eastern fruit harvest. However, you may not be familiar with the red's delicious family of raspberries, including (but not limited to) the gourmet purple raspberry, the hardy black raspberry, and the mild golden raspberry. Here we've included a compendium of sorts giving details and descriptions for each of these lovely little fruits, all of which (in certain varieties) can be found growing in Agriberry's fields. 


The Red Raspberry
Common Varieties: Tulameen, Meeker, Latham, Taylor, Cascade Delight, Glen Fyne, Glen Prosen, Leo, Malling Jewel, Caroline, Autumn Bliss, Heritage, Belle de Malicorne


The red raspberry is the most commonly found raspberry in markets along the east coast. Varieties of the red raspberry produce fruit throughout the summer and into the fall. Berries are round, bright, plump and perfectly combine sweet and tart flavors that are good for eating fresh as well as being used for jams, baking, and cooking.


The Black Raspberry
Common Varieties:  Bristol, Black Hawk, Jewel, Allen


The black raspberry is often mistaken for blackberry, due to it's dark coloring. Black raspberries are dark purple to black in hue and are covered in tiny hairs. They tend to have more prominent seeds than other varieties of raspberries and blackberries and are much hardier than most other raspberry varieties. Black Raspberries are commonly found in the wild throughout the northeastern United States.


The flavor of the black raspberry is quite distinct. It's flavoring, when ripe, is sweet and tart, but different than the red raspberry, fuller and closer to the blackberry. 


The Purple Raspberry
Common Varieties: Royalty 


The purple raspberry is a hybrid variety, a cross between the red and black. It is soft and extremely sweet. It is a perfect gourmet raspberry for eating fresh, putting in jams or using for pies as it has a very heavy aroma.


The Golden Raspberry
Common Varieties: Fallgold, Golden Everest, Anne


The yellow raspberry are sweet but mild. They are often produced in relatively low yields and have a lovely blonde color and similar build to the red raspberry. Visually distinct in the world of raspberries. Great for freezing and fresh eating. 


(Information gathered from personal experience, "GrowFruit" by Allan Buckingham, and "The Fruit Expert" by D.G. Hessayon.)