When in May I go to Germany for house-sitting for a friend I always look forward to three culinary highlights: asparagus, rhubarb and strawberries. Normally they arrive in this sequence. And yesterday I bought the first fresh strawberries. This year the season seems to start a little late because of the cold and rainy weather nearly all May long.
After now some weeks of nearly daily asparagus for lunch and rhubarb all day long, strawberries are coming in. I don’t like to eat them when out of season. They don’t have taste, they come from far away and it takes away all excitement for the season. So I wait until the fruit (or vegetable) comes out and then I have a super bis every day.
Near to the place where my friend lives there are strawberry fields. Hugh, endless looking fields of red indulgence. Young people during the summer holidays come here to pick the fruits early in the morning, before they are sold in little shacks everywhere. In the beginning still a little expensive the price drops nearly daily as more and more strawberries are mature.
I love to eat them straight away. But sometimes I prepare as well some strawberries jam, of course sugar-free and at times mixed with other red fruits (rhubarb, red currants, raspberries and similar) as well. Wild strawberries are difficult to find and extremely expensive. But easy to grow in the garden as they form fields within a few years.
Did you now the many health benefits of strawberries? One of the most famous is that cancer doesn’t like berries. Eating a lot of (every kind of) berries helps to fight and prevent this disease.
But it has also more ‘simple’ effects on our health. They have only a few calories and help to burn stored fat. Even if you have a high-fat diet.
They can help with Alzheimer to boost the short term memory in only 8 weeks.
Strawberries ease inflammation even only eating a handful of the fruits.
The flavonoids in strawberries lower cardiovascular diseases.
There is a lot of potassium in this little red fruit as well as vitamin K and magnesium – all perfect for your bone health.
Forever young? Try with strawberries, they are filled with biotin which is important for strong hair and nails.
And you can prevent macular degeneration.
After all these health benefits, there are some people better to avoid the fruit. People who have gallbladder or kidney problems because of the oxalate which may (not proved yet) interfere with the absorption of calcium in our body.
And did you know that strawberries where cultivated already in the 14th century in France? But still as a medical herb. And only 200 years later it was a common herb everywhere in Europe. Also, American Natives cultivated them already in the Middle Ages.
There are more than 600 varieties of this fruit!
Strawberries stayed for perfection and righteousness and where often carved on altars and pillars of churches and cathedrals.
And if you want to be always the beauty you are now: bath in strawberries like Madame Tallien of the court of Napoleon!
The name ‘strawberry’ comes from the fact that they were offered often strung on straw.
Of course strawberries can be stored for example in the fridge or even in the freezer but they are best to eat them straight away when at home. Cut them into pieces, drizzle a little honey on them. Or bath them in chocolate. Or what about a pure strawberry sauce on vanilla ice-cream? OK, a hundred of ideas… I start with the jam this time and of course a lot of fresh strawberries every day.
Tell me how do you like your strawberries, do you prepare special dishes with them? Let me know in a comment below… after trying my strawberry jam!
- 1 kg strawberries
- 1 tbsp raw honey
- 25 gr pectin
- 2 tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
- Wash and clean strawberries.
- Put them into the blender and switch on just for some seconds to make a smooth, thick strawberry sauce.
- Transfer the strawberry sauce into a cooking pot and add the honey, lemon juice and the pectin.
- Let all cook and stir from time to time that the jam doesn't stick on the bottom of the pot.
- Pour the hot jam into jam glaces with a screw cap. Turn them upside-down for 5 minutes and then back on the right side.
- Let the jam glaces cool out completely and then store in your pantry.
My jams are perfect even two years later. Some think the sugar is doing the conservation but it's much more important that the jam glaces are really clean. I clean them with boiling water before using for jam and dry the glaces with paper towels.
I like to add some flavor as well to the jam. I used this year in one patch cinnamon and vanilla. But will be great any other flavor you like, also Rum, Amaretto, Whiskey.. the alcohol will fade away during the cooking. Flavors are added shortly before the jam is ready.
You can leave out the honey as well as the strawberries are already sweet enough.
