Bathe in Strawberry Juice? Strawberry Goodness and Trivia!

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The above photo is a strawberry blossom.

I don’t often recommend striving for perfection.

Except for strawberries! They are perfection.image

As we recently celebrated Earth Day, we can also celebrate the arrival of this perfect fruit, here in the NC piedmont.

I know this might be a big tease for my northern friends and readers, so I apologize. Yours are coming soon, promise!

There is one caveat, however.

For the first time ever, strawberries are top of the list on Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list for the product with the highest number of pesticide residues. They displace apples, which headed the list for the last five years.

Here is the just released EWG’s Dirty Dozen list for you.

I suggest you visit your local farmer’s markets or “pick your own” farms for organic strawberries.

We can’t always be perfect, but we can try our best and use the list as a guideline.

Here are some very interesting and fun facts about this very versatile and nutritious fruit. Do you know how it got its name? Read below. And I dare you to bathe in strawberry juice! 

?234 B.C – There’s evidence that strawberries grew wild in Italy.
?1300 – France began cultivating strawberries for use as a medicinal herb.
?1400 – European monks start using strawberries for their illuminated manuscripts.
?1500s – Cultivation of the strawberry became more common. People began using it for its supposed medicinal properties.
?1588 – Strawberries were discovered in Virginia by the first Europeans when their ships landed there.
?1643 – Early settlers in Massachusetts enjoyed eating strawberries grown by local American Indians who cultivated strawberries.
?Late 18th century – First garden strawberry was grown in France.
?1835 – First American strawberries were cultivated.
?1900’s – California began growing strawberries and now produces 80 percent of the strawberries in the U.S., amounting to one billion pounds of strawberries a year!

?Folklore states that if you split a double strawberry in half and share it with the opposite sex, you’ll soon fall in love.
?There are more than 600 varieties of strawberries that differ in flavor, size and texture.
?Strawberry designs are carved in medieval stone masons as the sign of perfection and righteousness. These designs are often carved on altars or around the top pillars in cathedrals and churches.
?The strawberry was a symbol for Venus, the Goddess of Love, because it’s often heart-shaped and has a rich, red color.
?Madame Tallien, known as the pronounced figure at the court of Emperor Napoleon, was popular for bathing in the strawberry juice of 22 pounds of strawberries.
?Legend has been told that strawberries were named by English children who picked, strung it on grass straws and sold them as “straws of berries.”
?Strawberries belong to the family of rose, along with apples and plums.
?Strawberries are not classified as berries. Blueberries and raspberries have seeds inside while strawberries have their seeds outside.
?Strawberries were once thought to be an aphrodisiac and were served in soups to newlyweds in 13th century France.
?Ancient Romans used strawberries to alleviate symptoms of fainting, fevers, throat infections, kidney stones, halitosis, attacks of gout, and diseases of the blood, liver and spleen.
?At Wimbledon each year, strawberries and cream are eaten between tennis matches by properly attired English.

Information gathered from care2living. Read more!

Now, let me share with you some photos from my recent strawberry photo shoot. They all sat so still for me…..

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Happy strawberry season to you!

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Comments

Bathe in Strawberry Juice? Strawberry Goodness and Trivia! — 4 Comments

  1. I like your well behaved strawberries in your photos. No rolling around for those guys! I sure do love the season. . . But the pesticides not so much. Not always good to be Number 1.

    • I thought you would like the English children naming the berry! I do too. Very sweet image in my mind of little children stringing the berries and getting all messy!

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