STRAWBERRIES from the garden to the kitchen
The strawberry, the symbol of Venus the goddess of love, is probably the world’s most beloved fruit. The Romans ate wild woodland strawberries and used them medicinally; in the fourteenth century the French transplanted strawberries from woodlands to gardens for culinary use, and as aphrodisiacs.
The development of the garden strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) is attributable to a French spy who brought large-fruited Chilean strawberry plants (Fragaria chiloensis) from Chile to France in 1714. These were interplanted with Virginian strawberries, and their natural hybrids are the forebears of all modern strawberries.
Strawberries are perennial members of the rose family, whose relatives include loquat, quince and pear. Strawberries are botanically unique as they’re the only
