7 Consider the Strawberry
Reflection
When I eat, I always choose the best of foods. I choose foods that are hydrating, nourishing, digestible, and pleasing to my tastebuds. And of all the foods, berries are among the very best. I find them fruiting in the wild and growing in my backyard garden. Fields of them are farmed, and they are available at most grocery stores. And of all the berries, one of my favorites is the strawberry.
The taste of a freshly harvested, fully sun-ripened strawberry is amazing. Sweet and juicy, they are perfect to eat right off the vine. I also like them in my smoothies and as toppings for salads, smoothie bowls, and nice cream. They make great sauces and also salad dressings. Some people even make them into jams and jellies and pies. A Native American recipe that you might be interested in trying involves crushing the berries into a paste-like substance and mixing this with cornmeal to make strawberry bread. Whatever way this berry is prepared, early on, I discovered that the strawberries are nutritious-especially when eaten raw. They are notably high in iron and in vitamins C, B1, B2. They also have significant amounts of calcium, potassium, fiber, and folate and are full of antioxidants.
This nutrient rich food has many health benefits. Studies show that when eating a half to a whole pound a day, strawberries promote cardiovascular health by reducing insulin resistance and decreasing cholesterol and triglycerides.
Of the rose family, the strawberry is a low growing herbaceous perennial which, as you well know, produces brilliantly red, beautiful and heart-shaped, juicy-sweet, edible fruits. The wild strawberry is ancient. Fossilized pre-historical remains have been discovered. The strawberry has been cultivated since pre-Christian times. Praised by the Greeks for its medicinal value, they recognized then that it was good for cleansing the blood and organs of the body. They also suggested that eating strawberries produced an inner calm and so prescribed them in handfuls to those who were quick to anger or other emotions. It wasn’t until the beginning in the 15th century, that farmers begin to seriously grow this fruit. During this time, aside from eating the fruits for their delicious flavor, many steeped the leaves of the strawberry to make a tea which they would drink to ward off ill spirits and nightmares. Later, in the 1500s, the English had strawberry recipes to cure everything including bad breath and bone maladies and elsewhere, during the same period, a strawberry mix was sponged onto the skin and taken as an elixir to cure leprosy. Praised as a beauty aid throughout the ages, the strawberry has always been associated clear complexions. If you dream of this berry, good things will come to you. Identified symbolically with the Virgin Mary, this berry represents goodness and purity, and interestingly, those born with the small red strawberry mark on their skin are counted as royalty.
Like all plants, there are several species of the strawberry, and over time, this plant has evolved. The oldest recorded is native to temperate and mountainous tropical regions. The various varieties of the common strawberry now grown Europe and America are derived from two strains which were brought to Europe by New Word explorers, having its roots from Chile and North America. One of the most popular fruits in the world, today, there are over 1,000 different varieties of the strawberry, with one quarter of the world’s production being grown in California.
So if you haven’t already, stock up on those berries. Create a berry patch in your back yard and watch them grow. I love my berries! I love my berry patch! It is convenient, it is perennial, it is beautiful, it multiplies, it benefits the bees and it benefits me. It is good for the Earth to grow things, and it’s good for your body to eat the berries in large amounts - take them on a daily basis!
Works Cited:
Main, Debra. “Once Upon a Strawberry.” Children’s Digest, vol. 59, no. 3, May 2009, pp. 21–23. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=prh&AN=43318157&site=eds-live.
SAMPLES, EVANGELINE YVONNE. “Sensational STRAWBERRIES.” American Fitness, vol. 33, no. 3, May 2015, pp. 64–66. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=102221033&site=eds-live.
“Strawberry.” Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, Mar. 2021, p. 1. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=134496873&site=eds-live.