Wednesday, June 16, 2010

The Best In The World...

Strawberries
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
1905

I feel so sorry for anyone who doesn't live in British Columbia right now. It's strawberry season, and B.C. grows the very best strawberries in the entire world -- probably the universe. If you were to compare a B.C. strawberry with one from anywhere else, there would be no comparison, B.C. strawberries are the best. Well, maybe I am exaggerating just a little bit, but they are wonderful. They're a deep red in color -- all the way through -- and sweet and juicy. Succulent.

Did you know that strawberries:

• Were cultivated in ancient Rome.
• Were used as a medicinal herb as early as the 13th Century.
• Are not really a fruit or a berry but are the enlarged receptacle of the flower.
• Are grown in every province in Canada.
• Are a member of the Rose family.
• Have a museum dedicated to them in Belgium.
• Have only 55 calories per cup, 0 cholesterol and 0 fat.
• Are very high in vitamin C, potassium, and antioxidants.

One of my favorite ways to enjoy B.C. strawberries -- and I have many -- is to slice them up and serve them with some (low fat) ricotta cheese, sprinkled with confectioner's sugar and cinnamon. Yum! Don't you wish you had some right now?

23 comments:

The Bug said...

Well now that's just evil :) I'll have to go searching for a poor substitute later today.

ZB said...

I certainly wish!You are blessed.:)

PinkPanthress said...

I love Strawberries so much! ❤

Imho, they are best eaten raw, without anything else, so you can savour the whole taste of them... *sighs*

Bon Appétit, my dear & have a nice day!

Charles Gramlich said...

I don't know. Louisiana is pretty proud of it's strawberries. They have a great strawberry festival here. Lana loves 'em but I don't eat them much.

TC said...

We've eaten more strawberries this year than we did when I would buy flats and make jam. Ours come from FL, CA, and then locally though..I have some on cabinet ripening which won't get ripe because I keep picking @ them!

Carl said...

Nice. We get some great wild blueberries up in the mountains here.

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

I'm afraid I can't just take your word for it that BC has the best strawberries in the world. For an independent opinion, please send several "test" cartons my way.

Katy said...

Fresh strawberries on homemade vanilla ice cream... the best thing ever!

Single and Sane said...

Oh, I do wish I had some strawberries right now!

Carol E. said...

Well, if I would go to a pick-your-own local strawberry field I may just have to argue with you about who has the best. I have some in the fridge and will enjoy them in just a few minutes. Yummmmmmmm.

Sam Liu said...

Oh you've really wetted my appetite now, Jo :D I have a real craving for fresh strawberries (which happen to be my favourite fruit) with cream, yum indeed! Great post - I didn't know any of those strawberry facts so thanks for sharing. Informative and delicious, its a perfect combination :)

Alicia said...

MMMmmmmmmmm! I love Strawberries. And while I'm sure you have some pretty good ones there the best definitely come from California :-)

I love to eat them by dipping them in sour cream and just barely dipping them in Brown Sugar...Oh my goodness...it's sheer heaven.

Jo said...

Believe it or not, the BC strawberries are better than the ones from California. Waaaaaaay better. We get California strawberries here too, and they pale in comparison. :-)

Rosaria Williams said...

I bet they are not the commercial ones that have little taste. We enjoy the local harvest this time of the year.

Strawberry shortcake is my favorite dessert.

DJan said...

Fortunately for me I am living here in Bellingham, just an hour away, with strawberries GALORE! They look like yours, and I'm on the other side of the border, so there!

Whitney Lee said...

My daughter loves 'strawbewwies' with yogurt for breakfast each morning! I didn't know they had their own museum-learn something new every day:)

Unknown said...

We picked some pretty nice strawberries last weekend here in New England... LOL - I have a bowl of themn my counter too - yum!

Marguerite said...

Beautiful strawberries, Jo! Love the video! Our Louisiana strawberries are awesome, too. Enjoy!

Firefly the Travel Guy said...

I can do with some strawberries and cream right now to enjoy with the FIFA World Cup. I am rooting for Germany or Holland to win.

A human kind of human said...

You are a cruel woman, torturing me like this. Here I sit looking at those wonderful strawberries and tasting them from your words and there isn't a strawberry to be had within a 100 kilometres from me.
It is said that it is tradition that the newly crowned Miss World feasts on strawberries and cream for breakfast the first morning after the crowning ceremony?

nomore said...

Nice inform the member of the Rose family...I'v never know...Is it so great ? Pass it some...

heartinsanfrancisco said...

I love strawberries, which are also in season in California. The best I ever had, though, were grown in Portland, TN, near Nashville, and sold off the backs of trucks everywhere for a couple weeks. I am growing some in my garden, but honestly, they are not the best around although it's thrilling to pick them from my very own plants.

Mia said...

Actually the best strawberries in the world grew very close to my backyard in China.