Strawberry, a member of Rose family, comes from a plant called ‘Fragaria’ (Fragrance). Despite its name, it is not actually a true berry. It is the only fruit that has seeds outside. Strawberries are the first fruit that ripe in spring. It is also used as a symbol for the goddess of love because of its shape and colour.
The origin of the strawberries is unknown. So, they are thought to be the indigenous of South and North America as well as Europe and Asia. Strawberries are grown in every state in the United States and every province of Canada. California produces an amazing one billion pounds of strawberries each year.
Giant strawberries can be as big as an apple. According to the Guinness Book of Records, the world’s largest strawberry shortcake was 827 square feet in size and weighed 6,000 pounds. It was made in 1999 in Plant City, Florida.
Britain is the first place where strawberries are produced for the first time in a garden around the late 15 century. Previously commercial strawberry production didn’t even exist. The Roman poets named Virgil and Ovid did indeed mention the strawberry way back in the first century A.D., but they referenced it as an ornamental or accessory, not as a food. Wild strawberries have been eaten by people around the world since ancient times, but not in a large numbers as the fruits were small, tough and lack of flavour.
The strawberry was in cultivation in Europe by the 1300s, when the French began transplanting the wood strawberry from the wilderness to the garden. The musky strawberry was also being cultivated in European gardens by the end of the 1500s. Then, in the 1600s, the Virginia strawberry of North America reached Europe. The spread of this new relatively hardy species was very gradual and it remained appreciated but not much, until the end of the 1700s and early 1800s when it became popular in England. At that time, English gardeners worked hard to create new varieties from seeds and slowly they raised the number of varieties from three to nearly thirty or even more. According to the data for 2019, China has the greatest production of strawberries which is 3.2 million tonnes, followed by the United States and Mexico with 1.0 and 0.9 million. In the marketplace, the demand for strawberries is extremely high.
- Each seed on the outside of the fruit is actually one of the ovaries of the flower, with a seed inside it. And there are about 200 seeds on an average strawberry. One of the most famous drinks in the Philippines is ‘Taho’ which is made up of strawberries.
- Strawberries have more vitamin C than oranges or other fruits. It has a high level of nitrate and it increases the blood and oxygen flow in muscles. They are also in yellow, blue, white, black or purple other than red colour.
- It is believed in Romania that strawberries can cure melancholy/depression, fever, bad breath, fainting and liver disorders. Strawberries help in reducing weight too, especially with abdominal fat. Many also believe that strawberries help to reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers.
- There is also a museum in Belgium that is dedicated to strawberries.
- It’s also known as the love fruit. Sometimes it is said by many that if you cut a strawberry into two parts and share the other part with another person, then your love will come true.
- In Sweden, it is treated as the traditional dessert food which is served on midsummer’s Eve which is also known as St John’s day.
- Strawberries are usually sprinkled with sugar, and dipped in Metaxa, which serves as a beautiful dessert in Greece.
Strawberry is widely valued for its great texture, aroma sweetness and juiciness. It helps to make the brain work faster than average. This fruit is also known as an accessory fruit that can be used as a topping over desserts. For any kind of product, strawberry is the name of the most popular flavour. This heart-shaped magical fruit always plays the role of natural candy.
