The raspberry is a red fruit from the raspberry (Rubus idaeus), a shrub of the rosaceae family. Depending on whether it is wild or cultivated raspberries, the raspberry weighs from 4 to 10 g, measures up to 2.5 cm and has 40 to 80 drupes.
Etymology
The term was mentioned in the 12th century by Benoît de Saint-Maure in his Estoire des Ducs de Normandie.
It is about a Germanic compound of origin old French low not attested * brambasi “berry of bramble” Cf. old high German brāmberi, German Brombeere “blackberry” (the consonantism in [r] is explained by the rhotacism of Germanic).
The word is analyzed in * bram- "thorn bush", "bramble" (cf. English broom "broom", bramble "bramble, (black berry) blackberry"; Dutch braam "blackberry") and - * basi " bay ”(cf. Gothic [weina] -basi, Dutch bes, English berry).
The transition from [b] to [f] at the initial is partly linked to the analogy with the term strawberry, formerly fraie (low Latin fraga), which was itself endowed with -se because of the reciprocal influence of the word raspberry.
No other Romance language knows this word, except Spanish frambuesa and Portuguese framboesa which are borrowings from French. Occitan has a term derived from the Latin fraga "strawberry" and which therefore has no direct relation to the term of eye, it is the word fragosta.
Description
This red-pink fruit comes from the transformation of forty small carpels of a single flower, which transform into semi-welded drupoles. It is both a "false syncarp" because the carpels are attached but not fused and a "polydrupe" because each drupeole, filled with juicy pulp and containing a seed, has the same structure as a drupe. The outer side of the fruit is covered with microscopic hairs, which gives the raspberry its velvety appearance.
The raspberry tree naturally forms a tuft whose branches are renewed annually by the emission of new shoots. The multiplication is done by these rooted suckers which are generally planted in the fall.
On the ascending varieties, a first small fruiting takes place in the first year; but ascending or not ascending, the great fruiting takes place on the branches of the previous year, which after fruiting dry out and die.
Ovoid or conical in shape, it has a sweet flavor accompanied, depending on the variety, by a touch of acidity. Fragile and delicate fruit, it is generally presented in trays to protect it from shocks and handling.Properties
The nutritional properties of raspberries are close to those of strawberries. It contains in particular vitamin E at a lower rate than strawberries, but a little more mineral salts, in particular potassium (200 mg per 100 g). It is a little sweet fruit.
Raspberry is a fruit known to be the richest in ellagic acid, an antioxidant polyphenol that would help prevent certain cancers.
It facilitates intestinal transit, but like all fruits with very small seeds, raspberries are not recommended for people suffering from intestinal diverticula, because seeds can trap them and cause irritation.