Hello Wendy,

I'm going to stick my neck out here and say that 'ragout of raspberries' is a perfectly good translation for a menu. I realise that there is a great divide between UK and US menus, where the latter would tend to mention the food before the description (salmon fillet Vs fillet of salmon, for example). In my opinion, however, ragout of raspberries has a nicer ring to it than raspberry ragout and certainly sounds exotic and interesting – which is what most menu writers strive to achieve. And from my experience with menus, it would seem that there is no limit to a chef's creativity these days.

But down to the nitty gritty, a ragout describes a slow cooking process of meat (or other ingredients, doesn't necessarily have to be...) in a sauce, flavoured with spices. I think a ragout here keeps this idea of the fruit being slowly stewed, or poached, with spices, leaving the fruit recognisable in the juices. Compote, on the other hand, may suggest that the fruit has been puréed, and coulis, which quite often also has the seeds removed, is definitely not a good solution. Another option would be ‘slowly stewed’ or ‘slow-poached raspberries’, given that these will be poaching in their own juices or other liquid. However you may find yourself needing to bring in the concept of spices if you use either of these suggestions. And because you’re translating a menu here and the Himbeerragout will probably be served alongside something else, I would definitely stick with the concise “ragout of raspberries” to avoid any lengthy menu description.