Strawberry Fields Forever
by Paula Gray

strawberry recipes

The Beatles were onto something, don’t you think? Anyone standing in a field of strawberries enjoying juicy, ripe fruit on a warm summer day could easily have that song-inspiring thought.

Usually smaller, juicier, and often more fragrant, wild strawberries are the ancestors of today’s larger, cultivated berries. It wasn’t until 1714 that a French horticulturist was able to breed much bigger berries, believed to be the source of our modern, well-known larger berries. Today, no other fruit yields more food per acre in so short a time.

Strawberries grow just about everywhere on the planet — from alpine meadows to the woods to the seaside. Until strawberries were widely cultivated, people most likely harvested them from nearby woods or fields.

The fruit was rare in markets, but as it increased in popularity, individuals began growing patches in their home gardens. Or, as was popular in Philadelphia suburbs in the early 1800’s, one could visit "strawberry gardens" to enjoy the delicious berries.

Easily one of the most popular fruits in the world, and currently grown in massive quantities, strawberries are a relatively recent introduction to the common market. The perishable and fragile nature of the berries defeated early attempts at mass distribution. In the US, the rise of the railroad in the 1850’s was the turning point for wide distribution of berries over long distances. Boxes of refrigerated strawberries (that is, with blocks of ice placed on top of them) could be delivered to customers eagerly awaiting the arrival of freshly picked fruit.

Just about every language includes a word for strawberry, a testament to the fruit’s worldwide popularity. In many languages, the word for strawberry refers to its wonderful fragrance. In French it is fraise; in Italian, fragole. The English name "strawberry" has several possible origins. It may have come from the mulch of straw that was routinely spread to control weeds around the low-growing plants; or, it may have originated as a description of the runners that the strawberry plant sends outward from its base, giving the appearance that they’ve been "strewn" or tossed about, hence, "strewberry."

Another theory stems from long-ago London when enterprising children peddled "Straws of Berries." They would go to the fields to pick fresh berries, threading them onto pieces of straw to sell in the markets and streets.

Strawberries weren’t always so popular. In the 12th century, it was believed that strawberries were unfit and even unsafe to eat, due to their mysterious and low-lying, hidden growth habit coupled with the fact that snakes and toads may have touched the berries. This erroneous assumption was quashed when the botanist Charles Linneaus ate a self-prescribed diet of only strawberries to disprove the idea. He also gave strawberries their botanical species name, fragaria.

For the most part, strawberries were often depicted throughout history in the most favorable way. During medieval times, stonemasons carved strawberry designs on altars in cathedrals and churches to symbolize righteousness and perfection. Strawberries were included on the menu at important festivals to guarantee peace and prosperity. In the 1500s, the berries’ medicinal virtues were stressed, rather than their desirability as food. It was said that the boiled leaves were best used as a poultice and that ripe strawberries "quench thirst, and take away, if they be used often, the redness and heate (sic) of the face." In provincial France, strawberries were regarded as a powerful aphrodisiac. Soup of thinned sour cream, powdered sugar, borage, and strawberries was traditionally served to newlyweds. Native American Indians crushed wild strawberries and mixed them with meal to make strawberry bread. Historians believe that colonists saw this and developed their own version: strawberry shortcake.

As anyone who has picked strawberries knows, the familiar perennial is a low-growing plant with horizontal runners that radiate from the base to produce new plants. After the delicate 5-lobed white flowers fade, the berries form, first small, hard, and green, ripening to plump full red fruit. When you enjoy the sweet juiciness of a strawberry you are actually eating approximately 200 seeds — or achenes — anchored in what is really a red, fleshy swelling of the plant stem.

When buying berries, choose firm, shiny fruit with a healthy color; strawberries do not ripen after harvesting. They should be stored unwashed and loosely covered in the refrigerator. Wash berries with the caps still on to prevent the strawberry from absorbing water and turning mushy. Serve them at room temperature for best flavor.

While strawberries from Florida, Canada, New Zealand, Mexico, and California are available all year round at the Co-op, be sure to take full advantage of the strawberries grown in the Upper Valley. Strawberry time here usually runs from early June through mid-July, with several varieties available throughout the season. The Co-op sells berries supplied by local growers, who also maintain pick-your-own fields. After a warm sunny day’s efforts, you can have enough berries to emulate Mme. Tallien, who, during Napoleanic times, added strawberry juice to her bath water to keep her skin soft and smooth.

Every time she took a bath, 22 pounds of berries were crushed for it! Or, you could try strawberries in these recipes instead.