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We have grown strawberries in our family for 75 years. You have pictured more ways to use strawberries than I have ever tried. We never had time to come up with lucious desserts. As a kid, I helped Dad put out over 1,500 strawberries plants in just one patch. The most I could ever pick in a day was 110 heaping quarts. My daughter, when she was 9 years old was an expert strawberry picker and could knock out 126 heaping quarts. All we ever had left to eat for ourselves were the scraps, the ones that a bird had pecked on or had a little bad spot. We only sold perfect berries that had not been touched by anyones fingers. Each berry had to have a little bit of the stem. If you touched the berry, it had a bruise where you touched it. Berries should never be washed before you are ready to use them and then just rinse.

Just last week, I put out 125 plants just for our own use. I do love strawberries in any way shape or form. Sadly, most people don't know what a real strawberry should taste like. Those you buy in the supermarket, I'd bet money, are picked green then run through a gas process to turn them red. That's why they are so hard and tastless. Strawberries should be firm, but not hard and have such a wonderful fragrance that 2 quarts will make the kitchen smell good. Growing strawberries is labor intensive, but well worth every minute spent tending the plants for a bountiful harvest.

I hope you remember me. A while back you not only gave me a great recipe, but you encouraged me to experiment a little. I was so grateful! Can you help me with a recipe for about 2 lbs. of strawberries. I do not have an ice cream machine, nor can I afford one. However, I'd like to turn these delicious berries into a sorbet of sorts. I know such recipes exist but can't find any that doesn't require a machine. Do you have such a recipe and if so, would you mind sharing it with me? I'd be soooo grateful! Thanks so much!

Take care!

chicagosinger

Hi CateC!

I have used the Grands biscuits dipped in sugar as shortcakes.  Tasty.  However, my favorite is still Bisquick drop biscuits sprinkled with sugar before baking.  Plenty of real whipped cream is a necessity.  Angelfood cake is a good alternative to the biscuits as well.  Have a great weekend!

Strawberries Everywhere !

What a great story about strawberries from omamcm ! Stories like that make us appreciate our present day lives even more. Funny how life goes full circle. I remember going on Sunday outings to the farm stands in upper state NY to buy fresh veg and fruit. The peaches were so delicious, still remember them to this day ! This morning I will take a walk to our local farmers market to buy fresh produce that was picked yesterday in Oxnard, CA . The famous Gaviota strawberries are too delicate to ship to grocery stores and the taste is a treasure. We use strawberries to eat plain, in salad s and of course desserts. One of my first cooking advertures was strawberry shortcake with Bisquick while my Mom provided guidance. Have to make some homemade strawberry preserves for July 4 brunch, everyone looks forward to this special treat. Fits perfectly with our red, white and blue decorations. Strawberries spell spring and summer good times !

May I ask how you make your strawberry preserves? I find that almost all fruits that I am familiar with have enough natural pectin so using bought pectin is not necessary. Using Sure Jell or Certo require less cooking time, but also use way more sugar. I can remember my Mom used apple peelings for fruits that had no pectin, such as cherries or pears. I simply use cup for cup. Cook no more than 4 cups at a time in a LARGE  pot. 4 glass measure full to the top, (not the line) cup of sliced strawberries, 3 tablespoons of vinegar, cook 3 minutes, skim add 4 level full dry measure cup of sugar. Cook at a hard boil about 10 minutes, until preserve sheets from the spoon and ends in 2 thick drips. Allow to cool and spoon into any glass jar with a lid and put in the freezer.While the berries are boiling hard, you have to stir constantly or it will stick and burn. You will see it change state when it's almost ready. The bubbles will be large and burst kind of leaving a crater. You can turn it off and put a little in a saucer, set in the fridge and see if it's the consistancy desired. If it's too thick, add a little water, if not thick enough, cook a little longer.  Last week, I pulled out a jar from 2002, (it got lost in the bottom). It was just as good as the day I put it into the freezer. An added caution, you need a large pot so when the berries, at first,  are cooking and foam up, you don't have the pot run over. If you have some foam at any point, skim it off. You can pour the whole batch into a large mixing bowl, leave set on the counter, cook some more if you have lots of berries, add it to what you've already cooked, stir it all together and jar it later. It won't hurt anything.

Shirley 

Hi Shirley,

Thanks for sharing ! I have always used the recipe from Sure Jell but I hate to use so much sugar so now I have a new recipe that I will try ! I love how you have provided all the details from start to finish ! I think next week I will have an empty spot in my day I I can make some  of your strawberry jam- how fun ! Just between you and me I think you shoud write a cookbook. I hope you have made a collection for your family, what I have seen on line are recipes that should be passed to your children and grandchildren. Thanks again for taking the time to share.

Joanne

Joanne, there's one thing I am not sure of. I have never tried making jam from supermarket strawberries. Since I suspect they are picked green, I'm not sure if they have developed the natural pectin as freshley picket ripe strawberries. My niece in Tex. cooked some from supermarket strawberries and she said it was a good, but a little stringy. I have never experienced that and since it was her first and only time, without me standing next to her, I'm not sure what might have caused that. It should spread nicely, not too runny, not too stiff. Thank you for your kind words. I will be 79 this month and have been at feeding a family for many years. I have put together a recipe book of sorts. There are certain things that the kids and grandkids want to be able to cook when I'm gone.

There's not much I haven'nt done, from butchering pork and making sausage, to hunting small game and cooking my own soap. I also started working for the Dept. of Defense during the 50's and retired after 30 years in 1990. It has been a diverse life, always full of lots of hard work with an abundance of rewards and a comfortable life now.

Shirley, I appreciate the extra details about the jam. Luckily I can purchase delicious ,sweet ,just picked strawberries at our farmers market just down the street from where we live. We actually have a farmers market on Wed. early in the morning  a few miles away for our local chefs with restaurants in Santa Monica , Brentwood and the surrounding areas. The rest of us have to wait until 8 am to purchase what we want but there is always plenty of everything that a person might want to buy. We have farmers mkt on Fri, Sat and Sunday so there are lots of choices. The Gaviota strawberry is picked when ripe and delicious. I found out the hard way that the finished product doesn't improve with added sugar and cooking. If it wasn't sweet and ripe going in nothing improved the taste. You have to start with a good product.

I was pleased to read you have written down favorite recipes for your family. My Mom gave each of us a collection of her favorite family recipes last Christmas with added notes. We were all thrilled to receive such a special gift ! It will be treasured for years to come.

I be sure and give you an update on how the  California/ IIlinois jam turns out .

correction  -- I'll be sure and give you an update on how the California /Illinois jam turns out .

( Will do a better job proof reading next time ! )

Hi CateC_BettyCrocker_MOD!!! Yum, strawberries, one of my FAVORITE foods ever! Thinking of strawberries reminds me of going to my grandparents house. They live on an orchard and during the summer, they always have an abundance of fresh produce  ( sometimes maybe a little too much )  I always remember making fresh strawberry jam and jelly (A.K.A the best jam EVER!). We also always made strawberrry cobblers, cakes, and pies! One year, they had so much fruit, we ate/devoured 8 whole berry pies in one week!!! We would put strawberries on EVERYTHING!!! But, I'd never get tired of them because nothing beats eating a fresh picked strawberry during the hot summer sun! Those are my favorite memories of strawberries, eating them at breakfast, lunch, snacks, and LOTS of desserts every day!

I loved reading everyone's responses. Thank you for taking the time to share with me and the community!

really. All responses are very helpful

Hi CateC!

Yum

i like it

and well i like it in a strawberry shortcake 

The strawberry lemonade cupcakes were amazing.

I also LOVED the strawberry lemonade cupcakes!!