How to cook strawberries

Family – Rosaceae
Scientific name – Fragaria vesca, Fragaria americana

Common name – strawberry

The sweet, juicy, bright-red strawberry is actually not really a fruit in the botanical sense but a swelling of the plant’s stalks that occurs after the flowers are pollinated. The real fruits are the 200 seeds, called achene, that cover the berry’s surface. The plant itself is a low-growing perennial that produces horizontal runners, or stolons, that spread out from the base and take root to form new plants.

The hundreds of varieties of strawberries in the United States, which vary in size, color, and taste, are distinguished primarily by their locale. Some California varieties include Chandler, Selva, Seascape, and Camaroso. Florida varieties include the Florida 90, with large, red, flavorful fruit; the Tioga, a large, vigorous plant with medium-quality berries; the Florida Belle, a disease-resistant variety with red, conical fruit; and the Sequoia, with high-quality fruit that tends to be soft when ripe.

Strawberries, which are native to Europe and North and South America, thrive in temperate zones throughout the world and have a history more than 2,000 years old. Wild strawberries, which are smaller but more fragrant and flavorful than cultivated varieties, grew in Italy as early as the 3rd century B.C. American Indians are known to have cultivated strawberries by the 17th century to eat fresh and also dried and added to winter soups. They also used them medicinally, to make dyes, and as preservatives for other food. In the early 18th century, the French developed larger strawberries by crossing two wild varieties. These plants are believed to be the source of the large cultivated strawberries we enjoy today.

Although the source of the name “strawberry” is unknown, it may derive from the practice of placing straw around the plants for protection, from the runners that the plant sends out, or from the Anglo-Saxon verb “to strew”, which could have led to names such as streabergen, streberie, straibery, and, finally, the English strawberry.

Strawberries prefer well-drained, moist, sandy soils, warm days, and cool nights. The flowers, usually white but sometimes pink, give rise to berries that ripen about a month after the blossoms form. Most varieties of strawberry continue to bloom and produce fruit throughout the harvest season. The fruit is picked at the peak of its freshness and does not ripen after harvesting. Because strawberries are easily bruised, they are carefully hand-picked, sorted, and packed in the field and then rushed to cooling facilities. They are stored for only 24 hours before being shipped in refrigerated trucks to markets.

In California, where strawberries have been cultivated since the early 1900s, the fruit grows 10 months of the year, from January through November; the peak season falls between April and June. In fact, California produces more than 80 percent of all domestic strawberries, about 1 billion tons per year. In Florida, the second-largest producing state, strawberries are grown in the winter months only, and Oregon cultivates berries mostly for frozen products. Although other states produce strawberries, they usually are available only in the warm summer months for local markets. Some strawberries are also imported from Mexico and New Zealand.

How to cook strawberries

The freshness and flavor of strawberries can be preserved if they are not washed until just before they are to be eaten. Fresh strawberries are most frequently served sliced over small shortcakes, topped with whipped cream; used as a garnish for appetizer and cheese platters; or added to fresh fruit tarts. Whole, long-stemmed strawberries dipped in chocolate make an elegant dessert. Strawberries are also added to rhubarb pies and made into preserves. Mixed in a blender with low-fat milk or yogurt, honey, and other fruits, they make a refreshing, nutritious shake.

Strawberries are high in vitamin C.