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10 Facts About Strawberries

You can find strawberries in abundance during the summer months in Quebec, Ontario and beyond. Learn all about this beloved red fruit of the season, including how to bake with it and enjoy it!

1. Multiple personalities

Many varieties of strawberries are cultivated. Here are the main ones:

  • Kent: large strawberries perfect for decoration
  • Jewel: bright red
  • Bounty: dark red
  • Veestar: one of the first, in early June
  • Seascape: autumn strawberry
  • Chambly: easy to remove the stems
  • Redcoat: excellent in jams

If, like us, you want to know more about ingredients, here is a guide on strawberries’ availability, including a description of each variety and how best to use them.

2. Accident victims

Being fragile, strawberries don’t like heat, humidity, shock or excessive handling. But you can still make use of damaged strawberries by adding them to compote, jam, in a smoothie, in a cake, in a coulis or to fill a pie or tart.

3. Flavour rush

Take strawberries out of the fridge one hour before serving. Don’t remove the stems before soaking them in water, as this will make them lose their flavourful taste.

4. Equivalents

A tray of strawberries (also called a flat) contains, on average, 225 strawberries divided into 12 baskets. Each basket holds about 15 strawberries, which is the equivalent of one pint, or 2 cups (280 g).

5. Storing

Unwashed, stems on, and well-spaced, strawberries can keep two to three days in the fridge. If you prepare them in advance, spray them with lemon juice or sprinkle with sugar to keep their colour. You can also freeze them: After they’ve been thoroughly cleaned and drained, place them side by side on a baking sheet. Once frozen, put them in a freezer bag until you need to use them.

6. For dessert

Calculate about 1 cup (140 g) of strawberries or 8 medium strawberries per person, for a total of only 45 calories.

7. Scrabble

An average strawberry has 200 small “seeds,” called achenes. This is a great word for Scrabble lovers to keep up their sleeve.

8. Eight

The number of large strawberries you need to eat to obtain as much vitamin C as a California navel orange.

9. Pick your own

Do you want to pick your own strawberries? There are farms across Quebec, Ontario and many other provinces that offer self-pick options.

10. Strawberries for grown-ups

Place sliced strawberries in a bowl. Sprinkle with a bit of white or brown sugar, add a few lemon thyme leaves (or chopped basil) and drizzle with limoncello, an Italian lemon liqueur. Wait patiently for a few hours before treating yourself to some freshness.

Here are a few more recipes that are berry tasty: 

Hélène Laurendeau

A nutrition and health enthusiast who loves to share: this description fits Hélène Laurendeau to a tee. She has been active for more than 25 years in the media and communications field. Nutritionist, host, columnist, author and speaker, Hélène holds a Bachelor degree in Nutrition and a Master degree in Epidemiology. She has spread her knowledge alongside Ricardo every week since 2005, as part of his daily show broadcast on ICI Radio-Canada Télé, as well as in Ricardo magazine, where she pens the Bien se nourrir (Eating Well) column.