For the Love of STRAWBERRIES!

BUYING:


• One pint of fresh strawberries equals about 3 ¼ C whole berries, or 2 ¼ C sliced berries, or 1 2/3 C pureed berries.

• In the store, shop with your nose. Always pick the plumpest and most fragrant ones. They should be firm, bright, and fresh with no mold or bruises. Caps should be bright green, fresh looking and fully attached.

• Strawberries DO NOT ripen after they have been picked, so choose ones that are fully ripened.

• Local strawberry season lasts only 3-4 weeks.



STORING/HANDLING:

• Store strawberries in a colander in the refrigerator or allow cold air to circulate. Do not cover them.

• Remove caps only AFTER washing. Caps keep the water from breaking down the texture & flavor inside.

• Prepare by rinsing with caps still attached under a gentle spray of cool water; pat dry with paper towel or use Salad Spinner. Wash them just before you plan to use them. Patting dry keeps them from absorbing excess moisture.



NUTRITION:

• Great source of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). One cup of fresh strawberries provides about 88 milligrams of vitamin C, which more than meets the Recommended Daily Allowance of 45 milligrams for adults.

• Strawberries are low in calories: One cup of unsweetened strawberries has only 55 calories.



FREEZING:

• Twelve pounds or 8 quarts of fresh berries will yield approx. 13 pints of frozen berries.

• Freeze using a “dry-sugar” or a “syrup” pack. You can freeze unsweetened, but they will not be as high in quality as sugar packed berries. The dry-sugar pack gives the best flavor and color retention for sliced or crushed berried. For whole berries, a syrup pack is recommended because it produces a plump, well-shaped berry after thawing.



• Dry Sugar Pack: Halve, quarter or slice clean berries into a bowl or shallow pan. May also be crushed. Sprinkle sugar over using 1/3 to ¾ cup sugar for each quart of fruit. Gently turn berries over and over until sugar is thoroughly dissolved. Package and freeze.

• Syrup Pack: Make a syrup using ¼ cups of (hot or cold) water to each cup sugar. Dissolve sugar. If using hot water, be sure to chill the syrup before using or it will damage the strawberries. Use about ½ to 1/3 cup of syrup for each pint container. Place whole or sliced berries in containers and cover with cold syrup. Freeze.

• Unsweetened Pack: Pack whole, sliced or crushed berries in containers. Cover whole or sliced berries with water or berry juice. For better color retention, add ascorbic acid to water, juice or crushed berries. Cover crushed berries with their own juice.



• When freezing, use only firm, fully ripe berries. To avoid bruising, wash only a few at a time in cold water, drain thoroughly on paper towels or in Salad Spinner. Remove the hulls with Cook’s Corer and chill in ice water to lower its temperature for fast freezing.

• In containers, allow a head space of ½” for pints, ¼” for half pints and 1” for quarts. Freeze and store at zero degrees F or below.



STRAWBERRY STARS: Remove caps with Cook’s Corer. Cut a deep X in the top of each berry, but not all way thru. Gently spread berry apart to make “petals”. Use Easy Accent Decorator to fill with one of the following fillings:

Cream Cheese Filling: Mix together 8 oz. cream cheese, ½ cup powdr’d sugar, 2 T light cream, 2 T orange juice, 1 tsp. orange zest.

Peanut Butter Chocolate: Mix together ½ cup creamy peanut butter, 5 T. milk chocolate chips, melted & cooled, 2 T. Cool Whip.