Three myths about strawberries

Myth: Serve strawberries cold

Fact: It is better to enjoy your strawberries at room temperature for enhanced flavour. It is recommended that you still store the strawberries in the fridge to stay fresh for longer, but when you plan to serve them, take them from the fridge at least an hour before serving. Only rinse it with water just before you serve it. Now your strawberries will give you the best possible flavour explosion when you enjoy them.

Myth: Buy strawberries when they are not quite ripe yet, so they will last longer

Fact: It is better to buy strawberries when they are properly ripe, since they are the type of fruit that will not continue ripening properly after they are off the plant. We call this nonclimacteric fruit. So best to choose a punnet of which most of the strawberries are red all-round, firm, but not hard, and already smell of strawberry. Another indication of the ripeness is when the leaves look fresh and healthy green.

Myth: Only enjoy strawberries in the summer months when they are readily available

Fact: We are fortunate enough to live in a age during which most fresh produce are available to us year round. One of the great advantages of enjoying strawberries in winter is that they are very high in Vitamin C, and that is exactly the time when our bodies need to increase our immunity to fight of winter bugs. Since strawberries freeze so well, why not store them during the summer months, and enjoy them in your baking and, smoothies during winter.

Bonus tip: Don’t remove the leaves or wash your juicy strawberries up until when you are ready to enjoy then. If you do this before you store them, they will not last very long.