Valentina raspberries are a beautiful soft, salmon pink fruit with a punchy, tangy taste.
I harvested my first raspberries this weekend. When this time of year comes around, I am so excited that I want to organise a parade with trumpets, dancers and a number of floats, culminating in a fanfare as I harvest the first soft, juicy fruit of the year.
This year it was a particularly exciting harvest because I was picking my ‘Valentina’ raspberries. These aren’t just any raspberries, folks. They’re salmon-pink raspberries.
Victoriana Nurseries sent these canes to me to trial on the allotment because they are wonderfully unusual. They are actually summer-fruiting raspberries, so I will not get a full harvest until next summer, but as each came with two little canes already standing, I was granted a cheeky early harvest.
Valentina is a reasonably dry raspberry with a superb sharp flavour. It was beautiful plucked straight from the cane, but would also be lovely as part of a mix of different raspberries in a pudding.
F&F readers can get a 10% discount on all orders from Victoriana Nurseries. All you need to do is visit their site by clicking through from Fennel and Fern. so click here and shop away.
