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What: STRAWBERRIES
farm fresh, sun ripened, and locally grown
When: Everyday through
strawberry season 8AM till 7PM
How: Sold
at the farm, pick your own $1.59 per pound or buy ready picked $4.00
per quart
DID YOU KNOW?
Strawberries are a member of the Rose family. Strawberries
are unique in that they have seeds on the outside. All other berries
(blueberry, raspberry) have seeds on the inside. The modern strawberry
is a criss-crossed hybrid of native wild strawberries (F. virginiana)
from Eastern North America, (F. ovalis) the Rocky Mountain strawberry
and the South American Chilian strawberry (F. chiloensis).
Strawberries have been growing wild for thousands years and are
native to every continent except Africa and Austrailia. Today their
are over 200 varieties of strawberries cultivated around the world.
“Strawberry” may well be the favorite flavor of the
US, chocolate is the only other flavor that comes even close.
Royalty and scholars through the centuries have
praised stawberries as one of the finest gifts of God. Romans thought
strawberries to have therapeutic powers and later the French claimed
strawberries to have aphrodisiac powers. Very nutritious,
strawberries are higher in vitamin C than oranges. Today scientists
know strawberries contain a phenolic compound called ellagic acid
that is known to have anticarcinogenic activity. The latest claim
to fame for strawberries is that they are a rich source of phytonutients.
Go ahead, enjoy, indulge, Strawberries are one of the few foods
that taste so good and are so good for you.
Everybody knows strawberries taste
fantastic. Next, know where to get the best tasting, sun ripened,
farm fresh strawberries possible. Straight from the farm of
course.
No Time?, Can't Pick? Get
'em at the Cooler! Quick & Convenient Farm
Fresh, Sun Ripened Strawberries
Picked Daily at Our Farm
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CALL |
23
BERRY
232-3779 |
Please call for
current picking conditions and to verify availability.
NOTE: Toll-free call from the Waterloo-Cedar
Falls exchange. Out of town, call 1-319-23 Berry. |
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Happy Strawberry Customers - Click to see photos |
A Lesson in Strawberry History
Strawberries are indiginous to both the nothern and southern hemispheres.
They have been found growing by the seaside, in the woods, and on
mountain tops. The strawberry was first found in the writings as
early as 1000AD and the first sketch of a strawberry plant was printed
in 1484. Cato, a Roman Senator made the first mention of strawberries
sometime between 234-149 BC. The first descriptions published were
mostly for the medicinal uses of the plant and not for the benefits
of the attractive fruit as a tasty treat.
Strawberries were first sold in a London marketplace
around 1831. They were most likely harvested from wild strawberries
in nearby fields or woodlands and not from "commercial"
production areas. In England and Europe the consumption of strawberries
became increasingly more popular, many peasants as well as aristocrats
would have a patch in their home gardens. France, though, became
the the front runner in strawberry production.
The word Strawberry is in itself, unique to the
English language. The name has a variety of posssible origins. Straw
was commonly used to mulch the plants during the winter and to keep
the berries cleaner. In London children used to pick the berries,
hang them on pieces of straw then sell them in the street markets
as "Straws of Berries". The runners which the plants produce
are said to be strewn or dispersed around the plant. In some literature
the fruit is called strewberry. In Latin the fruit is referred to
as "Fragra" or Fragrant. Charles Linneaus gave strawberry
the scientific species name of Fragaria. In French, Italian, and
Spanish the fruit is refered to as a "Fraise" or fragrant
berry. In North America The Narragansett Indians called the fruit
"wuttahimneash" or "heart berry".
French explorer Cartier brought strawberries
to France from the Quebec Province of Canada in 1534. Englands explorer,
Hariot, brought back strawberry plant specemins from Virginia to
London. Other strawberry plants were brought to Europe from the
South American Andes mountain region where they had been cultivated
and marketed long before the Spanish arrived. The strawberry plants
found native in the Americas, were superior to all European varieties
in size, flavor, and beauty. The gardens at Versailles France were
among the first to seriously work at improved production of strawberries.
In the 18th Century one of the first breeding crosses was made to
improve the strawberry. A Virginia variety was crossed with a Chilean
variety which lent the resultant offspring both size and firmness.
This variety, the first hybrid, became known as the Pineapple or
Pine strawberry due to its distinctive flavor.
- USA, 1780 "Hudson" was the first strawberry hybrid
developed North America. Strawberries were first shiped using
ice as "refridgeration" in 1843 from Cincinatti Ohio.
This technique increased marketing potential and gave customers
better quality fruit and an even greater increase in popularity.
 "Doubtless
God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never
did." (Dr. William Butler, 17th Century English Writer)
Dr. Butler is referring to the strawberry.
- In Othello, Shakespeare decorated Desdemonda's handkerchief
with symbolic strawberries.
- Madame Tallien, a prominent figure at the court of the Emperor
Napoleon, was famous for bathing in the juice of fresh strawberries.
- In Greek and Roman times, the strawberry was a wild plant.In
parts of Bavaria, country folk still practice the annual rite
each spring of tying small baskets of wild strawberries to the
horns of their cattle as an offering to elves
- The American Indians were already eating strawberries when
the Colonists arrived. The crushed berries were mixed with cornmeal
and baked into strawberry bread. Colonists developed their own
version of the recipe and Strawberry Shortcake was created.
- The English "strawberry" comes from the Anglo-Saxon
"streoberie" not spelled in the modern fashion until
1538
- The first documented botanical illustration of a strawberry
plant appeared as a figure in Herbaries in 1454
- Legend has it that if you break a double strawberry in half
and share it with a member of the opposite sex, you will fall
in love with each other
- The strawberry was a symbol for Venus, the Goddess of Love,
because of its heart shapes and red color.
- To symbolize perfection and righteousness, medieval stone
masons carved strawberry designs on altars and around the tops
of pillars in churches and cathedral
- The wide distribution of wild strawberries is largely from
seeds sown by birds. It seems that when birds eat the wild berries
the seeds pass through them intact and in reasonably good condition.
The germinating seeds respond to light rather than moisture
and therefore need no covering of earth to start growing.
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Medicinal
Uses
The strawberry, a member of the rose family, is unique in that it
is the only fruit with seeds on the outside rather than the inside.
Many medicinal uses were claimed for the wild strawberry, its leaves
and root.
The ancient Romans believed that the berries alleviated
symptoms of melancholy, fainting, all inflammations, fevers, throat
infections, kidney stones, halitosis, attacks of gout, and diseases
of the blood, liver and spleen.
"Nutriceutical" is one of the latest
words to describe the many healthful compounds being identified
in fruits and vegtables in recent years. This is how todays scientists
are merely repeating in "scientific notation" what the
scholars and learned men of the past few thousand years knew all
along. Interesting how history repeats itself. Is this really new
information, or just a new understanding of ancient wisdom. |
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Fun Facts
about Strawberries
- Over 53 percent of seven to nine year olds picked strawberries
as their favorite fruit.
- Eight strawberries will provide 140 percent of the recommended
daily intake of Vitamin C for kids.
- Strawberries adapt to various climates and are native to every
major continent except Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
- The fruit size of the very early strawberries was very small.
- Strawberries are a member of the rose family.
- Strawberries are the first fruit to ripen in the spring.
- The strawberry is the only fruit with the seeds on the outside
of the fruit..
- There is a museum in Belgium just for strawberries.
- Seventy per cent
of a strawberry's roots are located in the top 1 foot of soil.
- The flavor of a strawberry is influenced by weather, the variety
and stage of ripeness when harvested.
- On average, there are 200 seeds in a strawberry.
- One cup of strawberries is about 60 calories
- Over Ninety per cent of United States households consume strawberries.
- According to the United States Department of Agriculture,
the annual per capita consumption of fresh and frozen strawberries
is nearly 5 pounds.
- Strawberries are grown in every state in the United States
and every province of Canada.
- California produces well over half of the nation's strawberry
crops.
- If all the strawberries produced in California in one year
were laid berry to berry, they would go around the world 15
times.
- Americans eat 3.4 pounds of fresh strawberries each year plus
another 1.8 pounds frozen per capita. Although strawberries
are available in many forms—frozen, jam and jelly, and
ice cream— nothing compares to the taste of a fresh vine
ripened strawberry.
- Strawberries are delicate, requiring gentle handling to prevent
bruising. With today's shipping technology, strawberries are
available year round, but at a cost. Commercial growers have
produced resilient hybrid berries known for their shipping quality.
- Florida is second in production. The Florida season runs from
December to May and peaks during March and April. To meet the
demand, winter strawberries are usually imported between November
and May
- The upper midwest was at one time the leading strawberry production
area of the nation and still produces a significant amount of
June crop strawberries. California and Florida grow day-nuetral
varieties.
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Health &
Nutrition Information
The Romans prized wild strawberries for their medicinal properties.
Ounce for ounce, strawberries have more Vitamin C than citrus fruit.
According to the American Cancer Society, foods rich in Vitamin
C may lower the risk of cancers of the gastrointestinal tract.
A strawberry is a superstar when it comes to anti-oxidant
power, according to Dr. Barry Sears in his book The Top 100 Zone
Foods. In addition, 1 cup of strawberries gives you a whopping 140
percent of your recommended daily allowance of vitamin C. Strawberries
are also packed with flavonoids, two in particular, called quercetin
and kaempferol. Research shows that these two flavonoids help keep
“bad” (LDL) cholesterol from oxidizing and damaging
artery walls.
Strawberries also contain ellargic acid —
also found in raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, grapes, cherries,
walnuts, pecans and Brazil nuts — which acts as a scavenger
to “bind” cancer-causing chemicals, making them inactive.
It inhibits the ability of other chemicals to cause mutations in
bacteria. In addition, it prevents binding of carcinogens to DNA
and reduces the incidence of cancer in cultured human cells exposed
to carcinogens.
Nutrition Facts
Serving
Size: 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries (166 grams)
Calories
50
Protein
1 gram
Carbohydrates
11.65 grams
Dietary
Fiber 3.81 grams
Calcium
23.24 mg
Iron
0.63 mg
Magnesium
16.60 mg
Phosphorus
31.54 mg
Potassium
44.82 mg
Selenium
1.16 mg
Vitamin
C 94.12 mg
Folate
29.38 mcg
Vitamin
A 44..82 IU |
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When Measuring Strawberries
1
1/2 pounds = 1 quart = 2 pints (aproximate, affected
by berry size and moisure content)
1
small basket = 1 pint
1
pint = 3 1/4 cups whole berries
1
pint = 2 1/4 cups sliced berries
1
pint - 1 2/3 cup pureed berries
1
cup = about 4 ounces |
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Freezing Strawberries
We have tried many techniques over the years, whole strawberries,
sliced, crushed, mashed with and without sugar. This is the easieast,
best tasting method and gives long storage.
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Clean the berries, rinse and drain excess
water. Don't cut or cap berries until after cleaned
and drained.
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Cap, hull or stem (remove the green calix)
the berries. Cut away any soft or damaged spots. It
is important not to soak berries after they are caped or cut.
Water will soak into the berries, berry juice is lost to the
water and this changes the flavor.
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Put in a large container and spinkle enough
white sugar to lightly coat the berries. Gently stir or fold
until sugar make a light glaze on the berries. Don't overdo
this, just enough to spread sugar around and coat the berries.
This helps protect the flavor during frozen storage. How much
sugar? We like about 1 cup sugar to 10 cups cleaned berries.
More or less to your taste.
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Pack in your choice of freezer containers
or bags. Here is the key, get all the air out. Compress berries
as needed to eliminate air bubbles and air spaces between berries.
Slice or mash if you like, this only changes shape of the berries.
Seal the container, remember no air in the container
only berries. Ziplock bags work great. Better to ooze
a little juice out as you close it than to leave air in the
bag.
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Whole berries can be frozen in like manner
with or without the cap. Her is the catch, the air being all
around the berries will allow "freezer burn". Freezer
burn is a combination of moisture loss and oxidation, nasty.
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Colder is better in storage. Ten degrees
below zero is reccomended.
Recipes, Recipes, Recipes
There are thousands of strawberry recipes. Entire
books are devoted to strawberry recipes. Below we have a few of
our favorites to share. Follow the links at the bottom of the page
and tease your taste buds with a wonderous variety of possibilities.
Strawberry Smoothy
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2 cups ice, 2 cups cleaned strawberries,
1 cup white sugar. Put berries in blender first, ice on top
of berries, sugar in last. Blend until smooth. Add water sparingly
if needed to get it all going round and round. Don't water it
down any more than needed. You want to end up with ice crystals
surrounded by fresh strawberries and sugar. Add more or less
sugar to your taste. I assure you of this, after a hot
day at work that has your tail draggin, a tall glass of this
will put some tiger back in your tank! This is hard
on a blender. Over the years we have used and abused many till
failure. There are models made especially for smoothy's. They
definately do a better job.
Strawberry Glaze Pie
- Prepare the glaze, in a sauce pan bring to boil 1 cup water,
add 1 cup sugar and 4 tbsp cornstarch stiring constantly, add
in 1 box strawberry jello. Add 4 large ice cubes to help cool.
- Fill a prepared crust (garham or pastry) with sliced or whole
strawberries.
- Pour warm to cool (not hot) glaze over berries till crust is
full, put in refrigerator. Ready to eat when set firm.
- For an eyecatcher effect, top with more fresh strawberry slices
and a dab of whipped cream.
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