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Food Info - Fruit/Vegetable: All About Strawberries

Source of Recipe

Cheri Sicard (posted to recipecircus by stella)


Recipe Introduction

"Strawberries! Nearly everyone loves this popular fruit. Not only that, strawberries are so good for you, it's O.K. to indulge. Eight medium strawberries contain 140% of the US recommended daily allowance for vitamin C, as well as being a great source of folic acid, potassium and fiber. Another added bonus...they're low in calories!"

Recipe Link: www.fabulousfoods.com

Strawberry Tips:

When buying, look for plump, bright red, fully ripe berries. The top leaves should be attached, green and fresh looking. The size of the strawberry is not important. All strawberries, large and small, have the potential to be equally sweet and juicy.
Sort and remove any bruised or damaged berries as soon as possible, being in contact with spoiled fruit can cause good fruit to go bad quicker.

Place the berries in cool, well ventilated containers (32 to 40°F / 0 to 5°C). The moisture content of Fresh Strawberries is high, so store uncovered or loosely covered.

Hull strawberries and rinse gently right before serving. Careful storing and handling will help the berries maintain maximum flavor, colour and texture.

To keep strawberries from absorbing large quantities of water, hull after washing. A salad spinner works well for removing excess water from berries.

Use individual frozen strawberries as cubes in a fancy drink or cocktail.

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Strawberry Measurement Equivalents
1 basket= 1 pint strawberries
1 pint= 3 1/4 cups whole berries
1 pint= 2 1/4 cups sliced berries
1 pint= 1 2/3 cups pureed berries
1 pint=about 12 very large stemmed berries to about 36 smaller berries
20 oz. frozen berries=about 4 cups whole berries

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Freezing Strawberries

For long term storage, individual quick freezing is recommended. This will minimize the "mushiness" associated with freezing the berries. Strawberries can safely be kept frozen for up to 1 year.

Place the berries on flat trays in a single layer, well spaced out, and put into the coldest part of the freezer (the colder the better). Choose firm, ripe berries; wash in ice water before hulling. Carefully drain well on several layers of paper towels first. After freezing, store in heavy freezer bags, tightly sealed, sucking as much air as possible out of the bag to minimize freezer burn. Seal, Label and Date.