Summer Cooking Camp

Strawberries: Wearing their Seeds on their Skin
By Gerry Furth-Sides

What says "summer" better than strawberries? And bet when you are savoring a fresh strawberry ice cream cone, looking for the pieces of luscious fruit in it, or savoring sliced fresh strawberries topped with crème fraiche, you probably don't even consider that strawberries are the only fruit that wear their seeds on the outside of their skins. Or that they are "early risers," the first fruit to ripen in the spring, with more than 40 million pounds per week being picked between April and June.

Strawberries actually can be traced back to the ancient Greeks, but the garden strawberry was first bred in Brittany, France in 1740 through a cross of the flavorful Fragaria virginiana (from eastern North America) and the large Fragaria chiloensis (from Chile and Argentina). The story goes that children selling the berries threaded into straw in the 19th century inspired the name.

Americans' love affair with strawberries is documented by 94% of U.S. households consuming strawberries to the tune of 3.4 pounds each of fresh strawberries each year. Surveys show that 53 % of seven to nine year olds chose strawberries as their favorite fruit. Why, there's even towns named "Strawberry" in Arkansas, Arizona and California.

Home cooks know that the versatile, simple and simply scrumptious sweet strawberry (which also freezes and cans well) can be used in desserts, as cereal toppings, in a smoothie and as a snack. This month at an exclusive celebrity dinner at the TV academy, the fun ice breaker was a do-it-yourself strawberry shortcake and whipped cream dessert bar, and everyone joined in. Try it at a party to bring out a great big smile on everyone's face.

This sweet berry is also well known an excellent source of numerous essential vitamins, including being a great source of vitamin C, fiber, folic acid and potassium. Strawberries also contain antioxidants and nutrients that protect the body's cells and enhance the body's immune defense.

And strawberries just made international medical news recently in a UCLA study that documented the strawberry's immediate health benefits. According to this study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food, the antioxidant power in strawberries becomes "bioavailable" or ready to work in the blood after just a few short weeks of eating, resulting in the potential to improve the body's defense against chronic disease.

"There's a lot of talk today about the levels of antioxidants in fruit," explained Dave Grotto, RD, and author of 101 Optimal Life Foods. "But," emphasized Grotto, " the UCLA study was about antioxidants in strawberries being available in the body for immediate use when eaten on a regular basis, which can increase the body's antioxidant capacity for heart, health and other benefits."

In the UCLA study, 21 healthy women ate about one-half pound of strawberries daily for three weeks. Several measures of antioxidant capacity in the blood were taken. Eating strawberries resulted in an increase in the body's ability to prevent the oxidation of blood lipids such as LDL cholesterol. (Increased levels of oxidized LDL cholesterol in the blood have been identified as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the number one killer of women and men.)

To celebrate this news and the late start of Southern California's strawberry season after a heavy season of rain, Henry's Farmers Market Customers can sample and purchase at special prices delicious strawberries, and pick up recipes on the website. Nutritionist, Janet Little, herself an avid berry eater and active tri-athlete, shares her healthy recipe for strawberry salsa with cinnamon tortillas.

Strawberries you'll find at Henry's are locally hand-picked and delivered to Henry's within 24 hours, including those grown by Dave Graves of Five-Star Produce near the ocean, and he assures us that despite the rain, "they will be just as sweet at ever this year!"

For information, recipes and special announcements check the Henry's Farmers Market website (www.henrysmarkets.com) (http://www.henrysmarkets.com).

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