The common variety belongs to the family “Rosaceae”, this flavorful fruit that is the basis of so many delightful desserts, preserves, toppings and confections. The sweet delectable strawberry is the very essence of summer!

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The common strawberry as we know it today was an accidentally crossbreed from a variety taken from an eastern North American variety regarded for its flavor, and a Chilean variety noted for its much larger size.

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Strawberries are actually a ‘false fruit’ meaning that they are not the swollen ovaries of the plant (which is by definition, “fruit”) but are instead, the peg at the bottom of a bowl-shaped structure called the “hypanthium” that holds the ovaries.

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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (“FAO”) reports that the United States was the top producer of strawberries worldwide in the 2005 , with the nation of Spain holding second place. Unlike many other fruits, strawberries do not continue to ripen once they have been picked. So, if picking your own, select only the ripe ones. Any strawberry with green or white should be left to continue ripening on the vine.

Strawberries from the same field will taste the same, despite any differences in size. Once they are red, they are ripe and the flavor is the same no matter what size of the berry.

Strawberries can be consumed fresh, made into preserves (jams and jellies), dried, frozen, etc. They are often a favorite when used in ice cream, cereal bars, milkshakes and yogurts. Allegedly, strawberries (I assume when eaten raw?) are said to whiten teeth. I can’t say as though I believe that, but sure! –Why not?

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Most strawberries produced are ‘self-fertilizing.’ They require no action to produce the quintessential fruit.

 But the pollination activities of bees have been proven to produce both larger and more uniformly shaped strawberries. A commercial strawberry producer would then be wise to place a few honeybee beehives near their strawberry fields. This would not only serve to aid for the better strawberry, but it would make for some amazing bee honey and perhaps aid the honeybees themselves, as there has been a mysterious decline in honeybee populations in recent years. But that is for another story…

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(Excuse while I wipe the drool from my chin) Okay this has got to be like the most delicious thing on the planet right here! I would love to start my day with something like this (and it would be a great evening snack as well!)

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I have never had this before but it looks really good. Pieplant (rhubarb) and strawberries make an excellent dessert when gently stewed together, with some sugar to taste. A sort of thick compote. My grandmother used to make that (suddenly, I’m feeling a bit homesick again…)

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I would be somewhat loath to eat a strawberry that looked like an old man’s face what with its gnarled nose and chin. But it is rather funny to look at, eh? It is like some old hay-field farmer from the country.

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Comment by caramg Jul. 25,2009 Hi friend! How are you today? Have a nice day. http://caramg.flixya.com