Fruits from home
If you are from northern Europe you may well miss the taste of fresh raspberries and blackberries although there is now a company in Cyprus that grows them commercially
In Cyprus we have an abundance of fresh fruit all year round. There is something to suit everyone, including citrus during the winter and a very early but extended strawberry season. Luscious black cherries appear in May following hard on the heels of early, sun-blushed apricots. Then we have a long season of nectarines, peaches, figs and enormous bunches of Veriko and Thompson grapes well into September and October. What more could a person yearn for? Those of us who hail from the UK or even the Netherlands or Germany long for a fresh raspberry.
You can buy frozen ones but most of the time they lose their shape when defrosted and some of the flavour too. Frozen blackberries are also in the freezer cabinets and are okay if you want to puree them.
Well, here is the good news. Blackberries and raspberries, both belonging to the ‘Rubus’ plant family, are now being grown commercially in Cyprus! After me, a gardening expert, telling enquirers that they couldn’t possible be grown here as they need a real winter and no humidity at all! But, up in Agros there is a little piece of heaven full of raspberries and blackberries. The bad news is that it is now the end of the season for them but watch out because maybe by next season there could even be PYO (pick your own) facilities and wouldn’t that be fun?
We owe all this to Christos Strati, who, having imported some raspberry canes and blackberry bushes 15 years ago from Poland, has nurtured and cared for them ever since.
They have flourished to such an extent that he can now offer the fruits for sale to the public. Christos and his wife Maro run a very popular take away in Nicosia called ‘Edesmatopolion’. They use only fresh produce from their garden in Agros and gradually Maro, who is a wonderful cook, has introduced raspberries and blackberries into the menu. She also makes wonderful marmalades and purees, which, when folded into crepes and served with ice cream, are just delightful. You can even have a taste of blackberry flavoured Zivania, which packs quite a punch after you have eaten her wholesome food.
Raspberries grow on tall canes, which Christos says ‘walk’ across the garden. They fruit on the new canes created the previous summer, so in January or February, depending on the weather, he cuts down the old ones. Once the fruit starts to ripen, Christos hopes that it will not rain on them as this can cause mould. It takes a couple of years or so before blackberries fruit after planting but after that there is plenty of fruit each season. He says that he feeds them only with water and that is the only attention that the raspberries have as well.
This year the bushes produced 50 kilos of raspberries and 400 kilos of blackberries with the rasps (as they are affectionally known) fruiting in May and June and the brambles in July to the end of August. Christos supplies one of the major Limassol hotels with fresh fruit in season. Customers can ring 22 775777 and order punnets of fruit costing £5-£7 a kilo and collect from the shop or they can be delivered by courier services straight to your door. Now that is service!
Raspberries make a lovely jam but too much boiling to obtain a set means that they lose their lovely colour. My mother used to calculate the weight of the raspberries, put them in a bowl and cover with an equal amount of sugar overnight. The next day she would boil them until they thickened up and then pot up the jam. Kept in a fridge it tended to be more runny than shop-bought jams but much more yummy!
Blackberries and apples make a wonderful jelly. Weigh the blackberries and add to them half that amount of cooking or sharp apples. Boil until tender and then strain overnight. Do not squeeze the bag or the jelly will be cloudy. Measure out the juice and add 450g of sugar to 600ml of juice and boil until it sets.
Both of the fruits make wonderful desserts.
www.edesmatopolion.com for recipes and a menu in English and Greek. A street map is also available so that you can locate them easily.
TRY IT OUT
Blackberry Sauce with Vanilla Ice Cream
Fresh blackberries
Butter, preferably Kerrygold
White sugar
Cognac
l Sautee the fresh berries in butter and as soon as they get soft, add sugar and flamb? with the Cognac.
l Let the sauce cool a bit and pour it on top of the vanilla ice cream.
Blackberry Bombe
450g blackberries
100g sugar
1tbsp water
300ml cream (plus extra for decoration)
6 hard meringue halves
l Gently cook 450g blackberries with 100g sugar and 1 tablespoon water. Strain through a sieve and use just under 300 ml of the juice. Keep the rest for later.
l Whip the cream well and add 6 hard meringue halves, which have been broken into pieces. Fold in the puree, but do not over mix as you want to have a marbled effect. Turn into a plastic bowl and freeze until required.
l Before serving, turn out the bowl onto a flat plate and pipe cream around the top and sides and place a whole blackberry on the top for decoration. Serve the remainder of the juice to pour over the bombe.
Raspberry Pavlova
3 egg whites
175g caster sugar
½ tsp vanilla essence
½ tsp vinegar
1 level tsp cornflour
300ml whipped cream
Fresh (or frozen) raspberries
l Place some tin foil or non stick paper on a baking tray. Beat the egg whites until very stiff and gradually beat in the sugar.
l Add the vanilla essence, vinegar and cornflour to the mixture beating continuously.
l Spread or spoon the mixture into a circle on the paper or tinfoil and bake in a cool oven (150°C) for an hour until the meringue is firm.
l When the meringue is cool, lift it off the paper and invert it onto a flat plate. Spoon or pipe the whipped cream over the top and just before serving add the raspberries. The sweetness of the Pavlova base negates the need for sugar on the raspberries.
