With Wimbledon well underway it’s time to celebrate the good old Strawberry.
Strawberries never taste so good as when they’re in season and locally grown. I remember as a kid my Dad growing them. I didn’t know there were different varieties then, they were just Dads strawberries. I also remember him lovingly feeding and watering them and the various different things he tried to cover them with from netting from Trowell garden centre to Mums old net curtains to try and stop the birds from getting to our berries first. Then came the fact that he couldn’t bear to see any bird stuck (or for that matter the bump which turned out to be my older brother) under the netting so he’d end up taking it off and sharing them anyway. We had many a juicy strawberries with pieces pecked out that Mum carefully cut away to serve us some weirdly angled offering.
I’m not sure if anyone even thought about the health benefits in those days as we munched our way through delicious colander full after colander full. Strawberries are in fact packed with antioxidants and one serving can contain about half the amount of your recommended daily intake of vitamin C.
As I grew up and started to do my own shopping I remember buying Strawberries from the local super market only to discover they tasted nothing like those my Dad used to grow. These had been shipped in from a warmer climate. They looked the same but the taste wasn’t the same. Even though in season just this week I paid £2.00 for a punnett from Asda at Hyson Green which on opening the next day had already started to turn to mush. I spotted a market stall in Beeston today selling 2 punnets for £2.00 maybe I’ll try those next time and support my local traders.
Something I haven’t done since the days of Dads strawberries is pick my own. I’ve occassionally seen signs at the side of the road but for one reason or another haven’t stopped to do it. Maybe I’d be disillused to get there and find I don’t have to crawl under a net curtain to hunt for my treasure. Its worth keeping an eye out for them though as this time of year is absolutely the best time to pick and enjoy them. One place I’ve spotted on the internet is a place called ‘Hills’ on the A617 at the bottom of Kirklington Hill between Newark and Mansfield (http://www.pick-your-own-fruit.co.uk/) where weather permitting they say you can pick your own berries 7 days a week.
Food has moved on since the days of Dads Strawberries. As kids we had them served one way and one way only – the traditional way – washed, sprinkled with sugar and then left to absorb the sugar, then pouring over fresh cream and serving. Although they were lovely (with the exception of the random days Mum chose to serve them with ‘Tip-Top’ – why Mum why?) there are now many more ways to serve strawberries. One of my particular favourites is Jamie Olivers version of strawberries and cream using Creme fresh with vanilla and mashing the strawberries and adding a dash of Sherry vinegar to add a kick. A modern take on the traditional dish which not only tastes great but looks amazing as well and is really easy to prepare.
Its funny how an item of food can evoke so many memories. What food item brings back memories for you ?
Tanya Raybould
