Debbie Banks is an associate professor of English at SKYCTC, a freelance journalist, and a long-time guest columnist on The LoJo.
Since the Adairville Strawberry Festival will be held next week with the theme of “Strawberries, Now and Forever.” Make plans to hear some great music, enjoy some family fun and watch the 76th annual festival parade on Saturday.
Since it is strawberry season, learning some history and fun facts about strawberries is in order. People have likely been eating wild strawberries for thousands of years, but cultivation of them began in the 1300s in Europe. The French first transplanted wild strawberry plants in their gardens, and in the 1600s colonists discovered that and shipped the cultivated species to Europe where it took until the 1700s and 1800s for them to become widely popular.
Today strawberries are one of the most popular fruits and are low in calories and high in vitamins C, B6, K, fiber, folic acid, potassium, and manganese. Strawberries are very rich in antioxidants and plant compounds, which may have benefits for heart health and blood sugar control and certain cancers. Strawberries contain high levels of nitrate. This has been shown to increase blood and oxygen flow to the muscles. Research suggests that people who load up onstrawberries before exercising have greater endurance and burn more calories!
Some fun facts are that strawberries are the only fruit with seeds on the outside, with over 200 on each berry. They are also not true berries and botanists consider each seed an individual fruit, they are part of the rose family, and they are perennial, and while they may not produce fruit immediately, they do produce for about 5 years. Belgium has a strawberry museum and you can buy everything from jam to beer,
Native Americans ate them long before Europeans and they were eaten fresh or often baked into cornbread, ancient Romans believed them to have medicinal powers and used them for everything from depression to fainting to fever, kidney stones, bad breath and sore throats, and in France they were believed to be an aphrodisiac and are served to newlyweds in the form of a creamy sweet soup.
To store fresh strawberries, wash them and cut the stem away. However, if you plan to keep them in the fridge for a few days, wait until before you eat them to clean them. Rinsing them speeds up spoiling. Strawberries can also be pickled, especially when picked green or unripe. If your berries are overripe, make jam! Or you can make strawberry cobbler:
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 4 people
Ingredients:
Strawberry Mixture
3 cups fresh ripe strawberries hulled & diced
½-¾ cup granulated sugar
Cobbler Crust
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup granulated sugar
1 cup whole milk warm (I used almond milk)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
8 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375. F. Grease a 8x8x2 casserole dish and set aside.
In a medium bowl, add strawberries and sugar, tossing until syrupy. Set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar,
1 cup all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon sea salt, and ½ cup granulated sugar.
Add in milk, vanilla extract, and melted butter, 1 cup whole milk, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, and 8 tablespoons unsalted butter.
Stir gently just until combined. (A few lumps are preferred, so don't over stir, or your crust will be dense instead of fluffy.)
Pour batter evenly into the prepared dish.
Using a slotted spoon, spoon strawberries evenly on top of the batter, leaving extra syrup in the bowl. Do NOT stir.
Bake for 35-40 minutes on the middle rack or until golden brown. (You may need to adjust time if using a different size dish).
Remove from oven and let cobbler rest for a few minutes.
Spoon into a bowl and top with vanilla ice cream if desired.
Note: The fluffy cobbler crust is lightly sweetened since I use very ripe strawberries and serve this with vanilla ice cream. You can increase the sugar if desired if you prefer a sweeter crust.
https://divascancook.com/fresh-strawberry-cobbler-recipe-easy-dessert/#recipe