All about Strawberries

Nothing tastes better than a freshly picked strawberry, sweet and bursting with juice, still warm from the sun. Strawberries are easy to love--they are gorgeous to look at, delicious to eat and very healthy. But growing strawberries is no piece of cake. Their roots can be susceptible to rot and fungus, pests attack them and unpredictable weather patterns can make growing them a risky proposition. The California Strawberry Commission invited me to visit some farms and meet with growers. Here is some of what I learned about strawberries on my trip to the Central Coast.

California is the leader in growing strawberries, over 80% of all fresh and frozen strawberries in the US come from California and the majority come from the Central Coast. Why the Central Coast? The weather conditions with fairly warm sunny days and cool foggy nights are very good for growing strawberries, and the breezes coming off the ocean help keep the pests away. Strawberries are harvested for 9 months of the year on the Central Coast, that's more than just about anywhere else in the world! The peak season is April through June. 

Conventional crops are sprayed up to twice a month to manage pests, but significant research is being done by the California Strawberry Commission and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation to reduce fumigants. Growers use bug vacuums and integrated pest management to remove pests safely from plants without chemicals on both organic and conventional crops. 

Plastic strips are embedded in the ground to allow for irrigation and any chemical applications which is easier on the fruit, the environment and the farm workers. Conditions are improving for workers, especially since harmful pesticides like methyl bromide and methyl iodide are no longer being used. The workers who pick strawberries are paid by the hour and by the amount they pick. At one farm, I was told workers make up to $17 per hour. 

After strawberries are picked they are transferred within an hour to a chilling facility where they are labeled indicating where, when and who picked them.  Strawberries are chilled down to 34 degrees, every hour they remain at ambient temperatures translates to a day less of shelf life. 

Nutritionist Mitzi Dulan recommends eating strawberries because they are low in calories, high in Vitamin C and also contain many other antioxidants and phytonutrients such as manganese, folate, iodine and magnesium. A one cup serving has only 45 calories but 3 grams of fiber (perhaps because each berry has 275 seeds?) and 220 grams of potassium.

To best preserve freshness, don't wash strawberries until you are ready to eat them. One other tip? Despite what you may have heard, a redder strawberry is NOT necessarily a sweeter strawberry. Strawberries come in a myriad range of pink, orange red and even white. 

Strawberries are a perfect topping for shortcake or cereal, in spinach salads or whipped up in smoothies. I also like them served with a bowl of Greek yogurt sprinkled with brown sugar. 

Here are some more unusual ways to use strawberries:

* Make salsa with strawberries, onions, cilantro and chiles

* Cut strawberries in half and top with a dollop of ricotta or goat cheese

* Puree strawberries and add them to marinara sauce and serve over spaghetti

* Use strawberries in a savory risotto 

* Toss strawberries with balsamic vinegar, sugar and a pinch or black pepper, gently roast or serve them raw

* Make a shrub by combining strawberries, vinegar and sugar

* Wrap strawberries in prosciutto or serrano ham, secure with a toothpick and serve them as is, or grill and serve

* Layer mozzarella and strawberry slices with basil leaves to make a strawberry Caprese salad

* Top toasted baguette slices with chopped strawberries and chives mixed with olive oil and lemon juice

* Use strawberries with cheese and greens as a topping for flatbread

More...

Additional strawberry recipes and a free strawberry recipe phone app (for iPhone & Android)

Meet the other food bloggers on this trip:

Jodi of Garlic Girl, Mitzi of Nutrition Expert, Jill of The Veggie Queen, Kristianne of My San Francisco Kitchen, Jennifer of Playful Pantry, Laura of Superglue Mom, Jess of Sodium Girl, Ivette of Muy Bueno Cooking, Kankana of Playful Cooking, Jennifer of Savory Simple, Nicole of Pinch My Salt, Claudya of Unknown Mami

Disclaimer: I was a guest of the California Strawberry Commission, I was not paid to write this or any other posts. 

Strawberry Delight

Here's the dessert I made for Fourth of July this year.  I found the recipe - like almost all the recipes I made this year - over at the Homesick Texan. Awesome blog, awesome book.

Seeing it listed in her recipe index, I have to admit I had my hopes for a jello-based strawberry dessert with whipped cream - something I've only had once, at my friend Rebecca's then-boyfriend Greg's home. His grandmother made it for special occasions, and the recipe was well guarded. I don't even like jello but that was indeed something special. If anyone knows of something that might be it - do let me know!

Alas, this was very different, of course - and I'm sad to say it didn't turn out all that great. The crust became really hard and thus super-difficult to slice, and the topping was tasty but hard to eat it, with large chunks of frozen strawberries. Next time, I'll slice them a lot smaller. I did add fresh vanilla to the filling, which was really tasty.

Strawberry Delight

Crust:
120 g pecans
150 g flour
60 g brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
115 g melted butter

Add the first five ingredients to a food processor and mix the pecans are finely chopped. Add the melted butter and whizz for a few seconds until the mixture starts to clump. Press into a springform pan,  mine is 24 cm in diameter, and bake at 175°C for 15-20 minutes. It should get a little color but definitely not too much.

Filling:
500 g strawberries
60 g brown sugar
1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp ginger, ground
1 vanilla bean, scraped out
2 egg whites
5 tbsp sugar, divided
250 ml cream

Cut the berries into small pieces or slices and let them macerate with the brown sugar, juice from 1/2 lemon, the ginger and the scrapings from the vanilla bean for an hour or so.

Beat the egg whites with 4 tbsp of sugar, until you have a stiff and glossy meringue.

Beat the cream with the remaining tablespoon of sugar, until fluffy. Fold in the berries, and finally fold in the meringue.

Spread the filling on top of the cooled crust. Freeze over night. Let it thaw a little before serving.

Strawberry Macarons

It's been a while since I made any macarons! These are from earlier this year, when I invited some friends over for a macaron "workshop". We decided to make one batch with strawberries, since they were in season, and for decorations, I tried my food markers that Stephanie sent me! Turned out to be a brilliant idea that I'll use many more times - the finished cookies were so cute. And tasty, of course!

Strawberry Macarons
About 20 finished cookies

3 egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp caster sugar
200 g powdered sugar
110 g almonds, blanched
red food coloring, preferrably powdered.

Combine powdered sugar and almonds in your food processor, and grind until very fine. Sieve. Re-grind any lumps or big pieces of almonds. Mix carefully (they tend to separate a little bit when sieving, since the sugar falls through first.)

Beat egg whites and sugar until you have a thick, glossy meringue. Don't overbeat. Stir in the almond-sugar powder and your food coloring, if using, and fold together. Don't overmix this. You can try it by dolloping a little batter on a baking sheet - if the peak falls down, it's ready. If it doesn't, try a few more strokes.

Pipe small rounds on a baking sheet with baking paper. Leave at room temperature for 30-60 minutes, to form a skin.

Bake at 150°C for 10-15 minutes. (I have a convection oven, and have recently found that 10-12 is perfect for me.) Let them cool completely before filling. Unused shells can be frozen, or kept in an air-tight container for a day or so.



Strawberry filling:
1/2 batch buttercream
200 g fresh strawberries
50 g sugar

Mix the strawberries until smooth. Add the sugar, and place the mixture in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and lower the heat to medium. Let the berries reduce for about 10 minutes. Pass through a sieve and leave to cool completely.

Add to the buttercream.

Buttercream:
3 egg yolks
75 g sugar
82 g corn syrup (or if you're in Sweden, white baking syrup works perfectly)
225 g unsalted butter, softened

Beat the egg yolks until fluffy. Bring sugar and corn syrup to a boil, and immediately remove from heat. Pour over the egg yolks and beat at high speed until fully cooled. (Try not to get any on your beaters, or it will spin to the sides of your bowl.

Add the butter, a pat at a time, until fully incorporated. Divide into half, and mix one half with the strawberries. (The other half keeps well in the fridge or freezer, but might need to be re-beaten before using.)

Spread - or pipe - the cream onto half of the macaron shells, top with the remaining shells. Decorate if you'd like. Eat right away or freeze.

Recipe in Swedish:
Jordgubbsmacarons

Strawberry Orange Frosty

I suppose I should have posted this while strawberries were still in season! Oh well - maybe you can still get them where you live? And the good news is, frozen berries will work very well too, and you need less ice for that.

Strawberry Orange Frosty
2 small glasses

2 oranges
6 strawberries
handful of ice

Juice the oranges, and place with the berries and ice cubes in a blender. Whizz until smooth, and serve straight away.

Recipe in Swedish:
Jordgubbs- och apelsinshake

Mango Cucumber Salad Recipes

Ok here's a crazy idea, one basic salad that can be either sweet or savory. I was trying to think of what to do with some mangoes coming my way from the National Mango Board this week and then I saw a tweet from @SimpleGourmetLA with the idea for a "mojito cucumber, mango and strawberry salad." It occurred to me that both cucumber and mango could go either way--sweet or savory.

I'm always looking for ways to use common ingredients in slightly unexpected ways. Here the twist is using cucumber in a sweet fruit salad and using sweet mango in a savory salad. English cucumber is available year round and does not need to be peeled. It has a very mild flavor and a fine texture without big slippery seeds. Best of all, it has a terrific crunch! I used the most commonly available mango, the Tommy Atkins variety in both salads. It's not a very tropical, luscious or creamy mango, but more of a workhorse, with citrus-like flavor, able and willing to stand up to whatever you demand of it. It's a bit on the firm side so it's particularly good in salads.

For the sweet salad I combined cucumber, mango and strawberries and for the savory version, cucumber, mango and radishes. You might recognize the ingredients from the savory salad as being similar to what you find Mexican street vendors selling. Each salad is flavored with lime, but the sweet salad gets a touch of honey and mint, the savory salad, a pinch of salt and green onion. Both are bursting with juiciness, crunch and Summery flavors and would be great at a picnic. I'd serve the savory salad with grilled fish or chicken. I'd serve the sweet salad with a scoop of sorbet or just a couple of cookies.


Mango, Cucumber, Strawberry SaladServes 4

Ingredients

1 Tommy Atkins mango, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
1/2 large English cucumber, cut into chunks
1 pint strawberries, trimmed and cut in chunks
Juice of a fresh lime, squeezed
2 teaspoons honey
2 sprigs chopped fresh mint leaves, about 12 leves

Instructions

In a mixing bowl combine the lime and honey and stir until smooth. Add the mango, cucumber, strawberries and mix. Sprinkle with mint and taste for seasoning before serving.


Mango, Cucumber, Radish Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 Tommy Atkins mango, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
1/2 large English cucumber, cut into chunks
1 bunch radishes, trimmed and cut into chunks
1 green onion, thinly sliced
Juice of a fresh lime, squeezed
Pinch kosher salt

Instructions

In a mixing bowl combine the lime and salt and stir until dissolved. Add the mango, cucumber, radishes and mix. Sprinkle with green onions and taste for seasoning before serving.

Enjoy!

Mini Rhubarb Strawberry Galettes Recipe

I like food in miniature. I like dim sum, mezze, tapas and appetizers of all sorts. Working on the latest recipe development project has been an exploration of many things in miniature. One recipe that sadly will not work for my client was a terrific success when it came to ease and taste. It does not work particularly well for vacuum sealing but that's ok. It means I can share it with you here and now.

Rhubarb makes one of my favorite pies and now, my favorite galette, which is pretty much a pie for lazy people. Rhubarb requires some tender loving care to coax out the perfect balance of sweetness and especially texture. While mushy rhubarb isn't terrible, firm, sweet yet tangy rhubarb is fabulous! I like the method of macerating it with sugar. The trick to this recipe is to not let the rhubarb macerate too long. I think you could make it with just rhubarb but a little bit of strawberry really complements it. I also don't cook the filling! You don't need to, it cooks perfectly in miniature.

I'm no genius when it comes to pie crust. I wish I was but it's just not in the cards for me. I have ridiculously hot hands and I don't work with pie crust often enough to get really fast at making it. I do my best, but sometimes resort to premade pastry. I'm ok with that. If you have a favorite pie crust recipe that works for you, by all means, use it. If not, you might try the Perfect Pie Crust recipe from Simply Recipes. The beauty of this recipe is that the result is rustic, which is great for a non-perfectionist baker.

Mini Rhubarb Strawberry Galettes
Makes 8 single servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups rhubarb, sliced in 1/4 inch pieces

1/2 cup strawberries, sliced 

1/2 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Dough for 2 9-inch pie crusts
1 Tablespoon milk
Raw or turbinado sugar for sprinkling on the crust

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar and cornstarch. Let sit for 15 minutes, no longer. Meanwhile break dough into 8 pieces and roll each one into roughly a 6 inch round. Place 1/4 cup filling into the center of the dough rounds and fold the edges over, pinching to seal, place galettes on a baking sheet. Brush the crusts with milk using a pastry brush then sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool slightly and serve.

Note these mini galettes freeze exceedingly well. Let them cool, wrap well. When ready to serve gently reheat in a 300 degree oven, about 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Looking for more rhubarb recipes? My other favorite rhubarb strawberry recipe is this ginger-flavored cobbler from Sara Moulton.

A few other particularly inventive rhubarb recipes:

Rhubarb soda from Coconut & Lime

Tofu with Hot and Sour Rhubarb from Mostly Eating

Rhubarb and Raspberry Yogurt Ice Pops from La Tartine Gourmande

Red Wine Poached Rhubarb from David Lebovitz

Persian Lamb and Rhubarb Stew from Nami Nami