Long live the strawberry !

An history of travels and flavours

Known since ancient times, the strawberry delights us with its bright red color and enchanting fragrance.

The red fruit belongs to the Rosaceae family, and more specifically to the genus "fragaria", a name that comes from the Latin fraga (strawberry) and fragum (fragrance), because of it's so distinctive delicate smell, as explained by the Swedish botanist and naturalist Carl von Linné. Fragaria is also the origin of the Italian name for the strawberry, fragola.

Early in its history, the strawberry was only found in America, Asia, and the sub-mountainous areas of Western Europe. The Romans, who love the fragaria vesca (wild strawberry), used it as a beauty mask. It is only in the 15th century that the French, English, German and Italian horticulturists begin to be interested in it.

During the Renaissance, the fruit seduced a larger public. Tasted with cream and wine, it was appreciated by gourmets. The gardener of Louis XIV, La Quintinie, even introduced it in his vegetable garden.

The strawberries we know today, plump and chubby, were introduced in France in 1713, by a naval officer with a predestined name, Frézier.

The Nîmes strawberry, PGI since 2013, from mid-March to the end of June

The species of strawberries are numerous. They are known by names that are more poetic and flowery than the others: the Gariguette (the first spring strawberry from France .... whose cultivation in the open ground gives the fruit its typicality linked to the soil: earliness, balance, sugar-acidity) and the Ciflorette (both Label Rouge and the only French strawberries cultivated in the open ground and under cover), the Pajaro, the Cigaline, the Cireine, the Darselect, the Royal de Carpentras, the Reine de la Vallée and so many others.

If its virtues seduced the Romans, did you know that this pretty rubicon fruit has recognized therapeutic properties?

Powerful ally to fight against cholesterol, it is rich in minerals and vitamins, and even competes with the orange for vitamin C. Its roots are diuretic and astringent, and it is recommended in the treatment of kidney diseases, rheumatism and arthritis. Rich in iron, it is a precious food in case of asthenia. Possessing quercitin in its genetic heritage, it is good to eat it to fight against free radicals, if and only if its culture has not been treated.

Recipes

Strawberry mousse

1 cup of egg whites, 1 cup of sugar, 3 jars of fresh cream, 1 cup of strawberries macerated in 3 tablespoons of sugar syrup, 1 tablespoon of gelatin dissolved in a cup of water, ½ cup of strawberry flavored gelatin.

Beat egg whites with sugar, add dissolved gelatins while continuing to whisk the mixture.

Add cream and strawberries.

Decorate with whipped cream or strawberry pieces.

Strawberry cocktail

Soak a kilo of diced strawberries in sugar for 1 hour.

Add cognac and macerate for another hour.

Pour the whole into a large bowl, and add 1 or 2 bottles of champagne.

Enjoy!