Anne-Charlotte PasseraDo you have any recipes with strawberries?
Picking strawberries is all fine and dandy, but what do you do with all those strawberries once you get home? Sure, there’s a strawberry pie or jam, but when you don’t have the time or aren’t particularly good at baking, it can end up being very problematic. After all that time spent crouching in a field harvesting our strawberries, it’s not for them to end up in the garbage all rotten.
My adventure with strawberries started last May when I was writing my article on the June activities in Montreal.
Strawberry Season
Indeed, the month of June, or even July, is a good time to pick your own strawberries, at least here in Quebec. It’s an activity I did only once in my life, about 20 years ago when Junior was little. This activity is cheap and interesting to do with children. It will allow them to work on their fine motor skills and you’ll be able to work (without them realizing it) on numbers: find me 2 little strawberries. Moreover, it’s not an activity that lasts very long which can be practical when children are young and not very attentive.
There are plenty of places around Montreal to pick strawberries or a little further away like the Eastern Townships or Orleans Island (Ile d’Orléans). I name a few places in my June article or in my Roadtrip to L’île d’Orléans.
By the way, it seems that the best strawberries are found on the Île d’Orléans. That’s where the idea of a little road trip with my best friend to discover and test the strawberries came from. Moreover, since the strawberry fields around Montreal were starting to look empty and the ones on Ile d’Orléans the harvest is usually done 2 weeks later, we had a lot of them to pick. We went there during Canada Day weekend.
Preparing your strawberries after picking them yourself
After picking your own strawberries and coming home, you’ll feel like a young mother with a newborn baby. You’re a bit overwhelmed, not knowing what to do with all those strawberry trays that you’ve pleasantly filled. In my case, it was just one, but I was still confused.
I had told myself I would make a strawberry pie, but I chickened out, discouraged before I even started with the, albeit not too complicated, steps to make. My husband doesn’t eat fruit, my kids are on vacation. Clearly, I wasn’t going to stuff myself with 3L of strawberries in a few days. So what to do?
Just like a newborn baby when it comes home for the first time, you have to take it out of its car seat. Same thing with strawberries. Take them out of their trays.
Then wash them to remove the pesticide coating they must have on them. If I had known that fact prior to the activity, I would have saved myself a little embarrassment before stuffing my face with them while picking. Oops! However, I didn’t get sick!
Once washed, remove the tails from the strawberries. Don’t throw them away, they can be used. I tell you exactly how below.
Put the ones you want to use or eat in the next few days in the fridge and freeze the rest.
How to freeze your strawberries
There is nothing easier than freezing your strawberries, but luckily my friend told me how to do it because I had no idea. Don’t worry it’s not that complicated.
Just place them on a tray without touching each other and put them in the freezer for 1 hour. Then take them out of the freezer, put them in zip locks, and put them back in the freezer.
This will prevent them from huddling together.
Strawberry drink appetizer recipes
I discovered a recipe on Sugar and Charms using strawberries. I wrote about it in my June article. You’ll need rosé, strawberries, a little lemon, and mint to make a sort of frozen smoothie. It’s perfect for drinking by the pool (or lake) on a hot day.
Have you ever put a strawberry in a champagne flute? Yes, like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. It brings out the flavor and looks super fancy!
But strawberries in the summer rhyme with diabolo or a Sherley Temple on the sunny terrace and a nice little BBQ, if you want to be chic.
Here are two recipes that I just discovered and tested. It’s very simple to make and doesn’t require much.
Strawberry Tail Infusion
As I said before, don’t throw away the strawberry tails. First of all, it avoids waste and second of all it can be used to make a drink.
I found the recipe on Savourer Mag which you can discover in detail HERE (in French).
You just have to boil some water, put the strawberry tails in it (I also added some basil leaves), and then put it in a Masson jar.
Then, put it in the fridge for 24 hours.
I tested this infusion with lemon water, a little orange juice, and a touch of vodka. Not bad. But you can try it in different ways as you like.
Strawberry syrup
We love fruit syrup in France! There are all kinds and the most popular brand is Teissère that you can find here in Quebec, particularly at Adonis.
You mix a small drop of syrup with water or 7-Up (Sprite). In France, we call it a diabolo!
Have you ever tasted a Monaco? I discovered this drink one summer in the south of France during summer camp (I was about to turn 16). Basically, it’s grenadine syrup mixed with beer. It’s really good, but one is enough because it’s sweet.
Otherwise, mix the syrup with 7 Up or soda water, a few lemon slices, and Vodka (for adults). My friend made the mix with rum and she liked it better than gin. Yes, we made several different mixes.
Although the strawberry syrup doesn’t taste as good as the grenadine, in my humble opinion, the kids won’t know the difference too much.
To do this, I tested and tasted the recipe from Femme Actuelle which you can read about in detail HERE (in French).
The syrup can be stored in the fridge for several months. Don’t forget to shake the bottle before each use.
To make the syrup, you’ll need strawberries, water, lemon juice, and sugar. In terms of quantity, it will depend on how many strawberries you have picked or bought. The recipe of Femme Actuelle will give you the exact quantity of the ingredients accordingly. It’s so practical!
The steps to strawberry syrup
I’ve translated the steps to make your life easier.
- Sterilize a 1L glass bottle and its cap.
- Carefully wash the strawberries, drain them, remove the stems and dice them.
- In a large saucepan, bring the water, lemon juice and sugar to a boil.
- Lower the heat and add the strawberries. Bring back to a boil and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Cover the pan, let it cool and place in the fridge overnight.
- The next day, strain the syrup and boil it. Then let it cook for another 5 minutes while skimming.
- Pour into the bottle and place it in the refrigerator.
Strawberries for dessert recipes
There are plenty of strawberry-based dessert recipes. But to simplify your life, here are some easy ideas for eating strawberries at the end of a meal that the kids will enjoy.
- A small bowl of strawberries sprinkled with sugar. You can also add plain yogurt or granola.
- Strawberries to accompany your vanilla ice cream.
- A fruit salad with strawberries, peaches or nectarines and a little lemon juice.
- Strawberry crumble.
There is nothing easier to make a crumble. You can prepare it in advance and freeze it in small portions in your freezer. Then, if your fruit starts to look bad, take the crumble out of the freezer and place it in the oven on top of your fruit until it turns golden.
Crumble recipe (with strawberries)
To make a crumble, you will need the following ingredients which you will then mix in a bowl.
For 4 people:
- 100 gr of flour
- 50 gr of butter
- 80 gr of sugar
Mix everything together to make a sandy dough, adding the butter last. If you want to eat it right away, place the dough on top of your fruit in a buttered dish and put it in the oven for 25 minutes at 180°C (about 350°F).
If you wish, you can add almond powder or muesli to your dough. For the butter, you don’t have to melt it, but you can in order to obtain a finer crumb.
So what about you? Which recipes with strawberries do you like to make? Leave a comment below.
