Does anyone grow raspberries?

I found this in a Good Housekeeping recipe book from 1920.  I think it'd be interesting to try, 
if only to see what was considered "good" back then.

You wouldn't have to make a lot of it, just enough to taste 

and report back to us, ok?  

I'd pay ya twice what dad paid us to help trim trees, promise.

.........................

Two days later--I mentioned this recipe to a client and her husband yesterday just thinking they might remember a tart raspberry drink from when they were young.  They didn't, but thought the vinegar would be too much, since raspberries are already fairly tart.  

Ten minutes later, he went outside, and came back with half a pail of raspberries that "needed picking", and gave me about a quart of em!

YES, I'm sacrificing a cup of them in the interests of 

science, and genealogy.

I'll let ya know...

 OK!  Well, it's a whole lot better than I expected.  When I first strained it and added sugar to the liquid, it was definitely a vinegar-y raspberry flavor (duh)--not terrible, but I was pretty sure I'd wasted a cup of raspberries.  


I actually did exactly as the recipe said: equal parts liquid and sugar, boiled for 10 minutes.  (This is my 1 quart pot, so about 6" across.  I love close-ups).  
The taste when it's done is only slightly vinegar, and it's as beautiful as you'd expect it to be.  I tried maybe a quarter cup in a glass, and added that much water. 

Nope, the flavor was way too concentrated (but definitely a pleasant no-vinegar raspberry), so I added about a half cup more water.  If I'd had ice cubes on hand, that would have been good, too.
  

WOW--now its a nice fruity "pink" flavor.  It's not really raspberry tasting, but the fragrance is there, and I probably should've waited till it was nice and cold. 

   The syrup would probably make a good addition to iced tea, or a topping for vanilla ice cream, or mixed with 7-up...or booze.


   LOL...no, I probably won't make it again, but it was worth trying.  For sure, it'd be one more way to use those delicious raspberries in the 20s, when there were no freezers available.


  And even THAT should have been a hint.  I put the syrup in the fridge (which they couldn't have done).  When it's cold, it doesn't pour, and it dissolves reluctantly.  If you were making this for use later, it would have been sealed and left on the fruit cellar shelf.  Duh.  (I learn, but s-l-o-w-l-y).