Strawberry Cooking Tips

HEALTHY COOKING TIPS FOR STRAWBERRIES

Strawberries are juicy red berries that are very sweet when ripened. Strawberries are often eaten on their own because of their delicious flavor but are also very popular in salads, smoothies, and many desserts. Strawberries are available year-round but they will be at their best and most plentiful during the peak season, which is April through July.

Choosing strawberries

• Look for strawberries that are a shiny, bright red color. Dull red berries are an indication that they are overripe. 
• The strawberries should smell sweet, fruity, which is an indication that they will have a sweet flavor. 
• They should be firm without bruises or soft spots, which cause the berries to deteriorate quickly. 
• Generally the size of the strawberries is not an indication of how sweet and flavorful they are, although very large strawberries tend to be less flavorful.

Cooking Tips and Measures for Strawberries

• Strawberries are best eaten at room temperature, so remove them from the fridge 30 minutes before serving. To remove the hull, cut in a circular motion around the green leafy top. Discard.
• Bring out the flavor of strawberries by sprinkling with a dash of pepper, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice or orange juice.
• Adding sugar, lemon juice or orange juice to strawberries will help preserve their bright color.
• When cleaning strawberries, avoid soaking them in water. Because they are so porous, strawberries will absorb the water, causing them to become waterlogged and lose some of their flavor.
• If substituting frozen strawberries for fresh berries in a recipe, substitute as follows: if strawberries are unsweetened, use equal amounts of frozen berries as called for fresh; if frozen strawberries are sweetened, reduce the amount of sugar called for in the recipe by 1 cup for each quart of strawberries; if a sugar syrup has been used to sweeten the frozen berries, reduce the amount of liquid called for in the recipe.
• One pint of fresh strawberries is equal to 2 1/2 cups whole, 1 3/4 cups sliced, 1 1/4 cups puréed, 24 medium, 36 small.
• Twelve pounds of fresh strawberries are equal to approximately 8 quarts. This quantity will produce approximately 13 pints of frozen strawberries.

Tasty Strawberry Cooking Methods

• Enjoy raw in fruit salads.
• Dip whole into melted chocolate.
• Heat with a splash of sweet sticky wine and serve with ice-cream.
• Try marinating them in the zest and juice of an orange and a lemon and a sprinkle of caster sugar. Chill for an hour or so and serve with cream and meringues and a little chopped mint on top, if you like.
• Try making a fresh strawberry jam with some sugar and lemon juice. You can use it for all sorts of things as well as on toast – for spreading into cakes and onto scones, for serving drizzled over raspberry cheese cake
• Make some fluffy ricotta pancakes and serve with strawberries macerated in sugar and balsamic vinegar.