The Un-Berry

     When is a berry not a berry?  When it is a strawberry!  Technically strawberries are not a botanical berry, but an aggregate accessory fruit.  That's a distinction only a botanist could explain.  But strawberries are unique and different from all the other berry fruits that we enjoy.  They are the first to ripen in the Spring and are the only fruit to have their seeds on the outside, not on the inside like all the others.  And again the botanist would correct that statement by informing us that what we think of as those 200 or so "seeds" are actually achene, or miniature dried fruits.  The structure of the strawberry is composed of many small fruits that grow internally, pushing against each other to form the cone shaped fruit that we enjoy at this time of the year.  

     Strawberries were cultivated in Europe in the late 18th Century from 3 different geographic species: North American, Chilean, and European.  But they had been growing wild for centuries prior to that.  The Romans used strawberries to treat various ailments, everything from melancholy, fainting, and fevers to throat infections, bad breath, gout and kidney stones.  The French regarded strawberries as an aphrodisiac (no surprise there) and served a strawberry soup to newlyweds.  Throughout Europe the strawberry was considered a religious symbol of perfection and righteousness and appears in the artwork of many cathedrals.

     A member of the rose family, the strawberry is a wonder fruit.  One cup of sliced strawberries contains only 49 calories and is loaded with Vitamins A & C.  In fact, they contain more Vitamin C than citrus fruits.  They also provide vital minerals like magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium and calcium.  Additionally, they are a rich source of phenolic antioxidants like ellagic acid and anthacyanins that can reverse inflammation, and aid in weight loss and slow the aging process.  Strawberries stimulate metabolism and suppress appetite as well as reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke.  They increase blood flow and oxygenate the blood, preventing muscle fatigue, making exercise easier. In a recent study it was reported that subjects who consumed nitrate rich foods like strawberries before exercising burned 100 more calories than those who did not.  Strawberry juice has been proven to be an effective dentifrice that whitens tooth enamel and when applied to the skin clears blemishes and reduces the redness of sunburn.  It is said that one prominent female member of Napoleon's court bathed regularly in the juice of 140 pounds of strawberries!