STRAWBERRIES

Zgodovina

The ancient Romans had already been using strawberries in traditional medicine; however, in the 14th and 15th century they were brought from the forest and planted in the royal gardens and were also first mentioned in some monastic manuscripts. The first garden strawberries were cultivated in Brittany, France, during the late 18th century after successfully cross-breeding one of the European varieties with Chilean strawberries. 

Uporaba

Raw dried strawberries are a delicious snack, which can be eaten on their own, but can also be used almost the same as fresh strawberries, e.g. in breakfast cereals, pastries, fillings, shakes, no-bake desserts and many more.

Strawberries are perfect with chocolate, coconut or various nuts.

Strawberry powder can be used to bring out the strawberry flavour in various dishes, to colour cakes in red, to prepare summer shakes, to use them as an ice-cream topping or mix them in a sorbet.

Pridelovanje

The cultivation of strawberries is most widely spread in the USA, Turkey and Spain, even though, unofficially, China is the leading producer of strawberries in the world.

 More than 4.5 million tons of strawberries are produced annually across the globe.

Strawberries can be found everywhere, except New Zealand, Australia and Africa. 

Zanimivost

In 1970, in Wépion, Belgium, a museum was opened dedicated specifically to strawberries.

They are the only fruit variety with seeds growing on the outside.

The seeds (each fruit has approximately 200 seeds) are used in the cosmetic industry; whereas the fruit itself is also perfect for making home-made face masks, peelings and creams.

At the Wimbledon Tennis Championship in Great Britain, which is held during the strawberry season, strawberries (topped with cream) have become somewhat a traditional snack, and it is said that during this time as much as 28 thousand kilograms of strawberries are consumed.