Supermarket Gourmet

by Buck Reed

Strawberries:

It’s a Summer Thing

Spring is firmly planted, and summer is around the corner. As we welcome the warm weather, we also welcome berries—more specifically, the strawberry. During the winter, you can find strawberries in most any produce aisle, and they might look nice, but for the most part, they are just not living up to their peak potential. Uninspiring and tasteless, they pale in comparison to what we will find in the next few hot summer months.

Since hot weather is the theme of the article, let’s start with a cold, refreshing drink. Take a summer favorite, lemonade, and add some mashed strawberries. You now have an upgraded favorite for beating the crushing afternoon temperatures or something to drink with your cookout. If you have popsicle molds, you can use this delightful beverage to make a treat for kids and adults. Or you can just freeze it and make a granita for a refreshing treat at dinner. On the cruise ships, we made a shrub by pouring juice over a scoop of sherbet, and orange would work very well with this. You might never find an end to this drink’s usages.

It’s no accident that rhubarb and peak strawberry season happen at the same time. This is a message from the universe that we need to combine these two marvelous ingredients to create some memorable desserts. Strawberry rhubarb pie, a crisp, or a cobbler should be welcome at anyone’s table. This magical pairing is provided by the cosmos once a year, so enjoy it now and spend the rest of the year looking forward to it next summer.

Then, we have my favorite: strawberry shortcake. I prefer the biscuit-type dessert popular in the south, but I do not look down on those who prefer any of the other interpretations out there. You can use a sponge cake or even buy a frozen pound cake, and almost everyone will be satisfied and even delighted. I would suggest that you use hand-whipped cream for this dessert, as it is well worth the extra effort, and it elevates this sweet course to new heights.  

Toward the end of the season, we have what some call the jam days. At this time, strawberries are at their peak flavor and availability. They are cheap, with a caveat that the strawberries will have a short shelf life. That means it is time to make jam for the winter. This takes a little work, and if you can get your canning game down, it’s well worth the effort. You can investigate making strawberry syrup for your fall or winter waffles and pancakes, or anything that this would taste good on in the cold days that will inevitably come back around. Don’t want to go through that much effort? Then just slice them up, macerate them with a bit of sugar, and freeze them in small batches.

Summer is for berries, and there’s no doubt you can find something to do with any of them, but strawberries are king right now. Their reign has a limited time, so now is the time to plan and enjoy the strawberry days of summer.