Just as we eat Asparagus at least twice a week at the moment (on my shopping days), we are now eating Strawberries even more often.
Whether they be eaten at Wimbledon, Ascot, Glyndebourne, Hickstead, or even at home, a few Strawberries always makes the world a better place.
We always used to eat them with a very light sprinkling of White Sugar, but we have now changed that to Light Brown Muscovado. It adds another dimension, without spoiling the flavour.
The Garden Strawberry (as we now know it) was originally bred in Northern France in the 1750's, which is probably why my favourite variety remains the French Gariguette (below) with it's distinctive upward pointing 'crown'. We buy ours (in France) from a lovely lady who runs a roadside stall.
Gariguette are amongst the very best flavoured fruits, with a hint of wild Strawberry, and an unrivalled aroma.
I do have a few Strawberry plants in France, which are in pots. There are always a few fruits on them, but only enough to grab one or two whilst passing. I really should plant some more; they look after themselves whilst we're away.
I also really like strawberries. The biggest surprise I had was once in Norway when I saw them eating strawberries with a little milk on a plate.
ReplyDeleteNo, it has to be THICK CREAM; milk wouldn't work at all.
DeleteWe have strawberries in the garden and they are wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping we'll have some too. I shall have to wait a while.
DeleteThey use to be grow in straw to protect the precious small fruits. That is why they are called strawberries.
ReplyDeleteWe still put straw around the roots, it helps stop the Slugs eating them all.
DeleteThe strawberries in our garden are huge and really sweet this year, and just so many, I like ours with clotted cream, naughty but as they are here for such a short time, why not.
ReplyDeleteThat's how they SHOULD be eaten. Nothing better at this time of year!
DeleteStrawberries and cream with demerara sugar is the best...the slight crunch of the sugar is nice!
ReplyDeleteI agree, and it gives a very complimentary flavour to the fruit.
DeleteWe have had our first of this year's strawberries from the garden this week, still warm from the sun. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteLovely. Nothing better.
DeleteWho's that trying to hide behind the wine bottle as he gobbles up his strawberries like a "sanglier"?
ReplyDeleteIt was George Bernard Shaw who'd popped-in for lunch.
DeleteI've heard before that Gariguette strawberries are the tastiest.
ReplyDeleteStrawberries really should be grown in a garden, not a poly tunnel. I buy mine from the supermarket and they vary so much in flavour and texture - some have been as hard as cricket balls and totally tasteless .I can remember the time when we lived in the UK and would go to a nearby farm and pick our own. No idea what type they were but they always seemed luscious!
We've been lucky so far, all our M & S and Sainsbury's Strawberries have been superb. All either Sussex or Kent grown!
DeleteIf you are what you eat I am currently a strawberrry. This year's British bounty is lush, absolutely lush; apparently the weather conditions were perfect for them. They are huge, smell wonderful and are so juicy. They don't need any adornment - particularly not sugar. I'll gorge myself on a 400 g punnet every day. And that shows some self restraint.
ReplyDeleteApropos of nothing but dying to ask you: When in France, do you ever eat frog legs?
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You're right, the Strawberries are particularly good this year. Yes I do occasionally eat Frogs legs, and Snails. I much prefer well prepared Snails, but I force myself with the Frogs legs. They tend to be bland and uninteresting.
DeleteInteresting that you should call them bland. Even more interesting what my mother witnessed when she was a child and there were frogs everywhere. More of which in a minute. It's perturbing.
DeleteIt appears to make frog legs more interesting they are usually given the Provencal treatment. Lots of garlic and parsley. A bit like snails. There was a time when I thought snails were just an excuse to mop up as much butter, garlic and parsley as possible. Can't stand the texture of snails. Rubber.
So, according to my mother, what you do is you take a frog by its hind legs, then you give it a good work out by rotating the frog till the body flies off. Put legs on pile of other freshly massacred frog legs, sprinkle with salt - which makes them jump. Magic.
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The preparation is all rather brutal, especially if they come from China (don't ask). They do need to be heavily seasoned, otherwise they are tasteless.
DeleteStrawberries have been in the shops for about a month but now they're looking redder, and riper. I bought some apricots today. At 4.60 a kilo it has to be a special occasion.
ReplyDeleteStrawberries are around 2.00 euros a punnet. Half kilo. They're expensive too but half a kilo is enough to satisfy.
About a month here too. I'm looking forward to the Apricots. My wife always makes lots of Apricot Jam; and Plum Jam too.
DeleteStrawberries are an all-time favorite fruit. July is a big month for local strawberries in MA. The berries in the grocery store are tasteless. I'll wait for the local berries.
ReplyDeleteVery wise. They need to be grown outdoors in the sunshine, otherwise they are tasteless.
DeleteThe strawberries my grandfather grew where full of flavor and fragile, needing to be eaten within a couple of miles of where they were grown. Thinking about them, is a delightful flashback to the farm of my youth.
ReplyDeleteThat just proves that if they're picked 'unripe', then flown over from Spain, we shouldn't eat them.
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