Roasted beetroot cold soup with raspberries and strawberries

Freeze them, make juice and syrup, all to enjoy raspberries in winter. Raspberry leaves are also healthy and the time to collect them is now in July. This is what Aleksander Ozarowski and Waclaw Jaroniewski write about raspberries:

For treatment purpose raspberries are collected in July as freshly ripe firm fruits and dried in a drying room starting from 30ºC, and then at about 50ºC. As a result, Fructus Rubi idaei is obtained. From fresh fruits Sirupus Rubi idaei – raspberry syrup – is made.
For pharmaceutical purpose young well-developed leaves are collected during the summer and they are dried in natural drying rooms in the shady and airy place.
Both fruits and leaves of raspberries can be collected either from plants on plantations or growing wild.

Basic active compounds.

Raspberry fruits contain up to 2% of organic acids: citric acid, malic acid, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), anthocyanins (cyanidin), mucous compounds and pectins, reducing sugars, volatile fragrances (e.g. β-ionone, benzaldehyde, isoamyl and β-phenylethyl alcohols), inositol, lecithin and minerals. There have been found about 4.6% tannins, around 1.5% organic acids (among those there are: citric acid, lactic acid, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), resin compounds and minerals) in the raspberry leaves.

Effects: 

An infusion from dried fruits or syrup from fresh ones stimulate the action of the sweat glands and cause 30-60 minutes profuse sweating in fevers. The active component is not yet known. Raspberry leaves have an astringent, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Aqueous extracts containing tannins inhibit the growth of intestinal bacteria and reduce diarrhea. They also cause a slight smooth muscle relaxation in intestines, blood vessels and the womb.

I combined raspberries with beetroots in a soup :), It’s a taste of summer – believe me!

I cut beetroots into boat-like pieces, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and roasted for 45 minutes in 170 °C. After that I peeled them and blended on purée adding a little bit of water. I separately blended washed raspberries and strawberries, and rubbed through a sieve. I combined beetroot and fruit masses and added some water. Next, I spiced with vinegar, pepper and honey. Served cold, sprinkled with balsamico.

Wish you lots of smiles and sunshine!