Strawberry fields...forever, By TRINA SEVERSON, Staff Writer

The Swedes say jordgubbe and the Spanish say fresa. To Finns it’s mansikka and to the Dutch it’s aardbei. The Danes and the Norwegians all call it jordbær and the strawberry, to many, is the favorite garden star!

Until you’ve bitten into a deep-red strawberry picked right from the plant, you haven’t tasted its full potential. Warmed by the sun and so juicy they’re impossible to eat without dripping, home-grown strawberries are one of summer’s most anticipated arrivals.

Sure, strawberries shipped from California growers to our grocery isles are tasty, and available to enjoy year-round, but there really is no comparison. Let’s save those for the rest of the year and enjoy our own local harvest while we can.

Borderland has a few area growers who offer u-pick or buy on-site, and some are sold roadside or in parking lots this time of year. Or, if you have the room and even a little bit of a green thumb, you can grow your own strawberries — they even grow well in small containers like clay strawberry pots.

Although fresh strawberries are irresistible to eat just as they are, they are fantastic ingredients in an array of recipes. The few printed here should offer a start, but don’t tarry over them too long — strawberry season is short, so grab your bucket and run for the “hills!”

A bit about strawberries

A member of the rose family, strawberry plants grow low to the ground and produce “runners.” The small white flowers are attractive to pollinators and produce ripened fruit about a month after bloom.

Nutritionally, the strawberry is high in vitamin C, a good source of folic acid, potassium and fiber, fat-free and low in calories. According to the American Cancer Institute, strawberries can also reduce the risk of cancer or heart disease.

Americans love strawberries. California produces over 80 percent of the commercial strawberries grown in the U.S., with Florida being the second largest producing state. In fact, if all the strawberries produced in California this year were laid berry to berry, they’d wrap around the world 15 times, says the California Strawberry Commission.

That’s enough strawberries to provide every U.S. household with 12 pint baskets, they say.

Growing your own

Strawberry plants will give fruit for about two to three years before they need to be replaced. Give them an open, sunny place that gets plenty of air to keep molds and rot at bay. The plants do best in a well-drained soil with lots of organic matter. Mound the soil into hills and plant on top of the mound. Plant on raised beds with about two feet between each plant, in rows 3 to 4 feet apart. A good rule of thumb for gardening in general is to water the soil, not the plant. This is especially important for strawberries — the plants will rot easily when damp. Keeping the beds mulched (straw works well) will help reduce weeds and keep the fruit away from damp soil.

To avoid problems like gray mold and wilt, don’t plant in sites where raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes, or peppers have recently been grown. Pick every couple of days as they ripen, and leave their green caps attached. Refrigerate immediately after picking. Hull and wash just before serving.

Sweet-Hot Strawberry BBQ Sauce

2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

1/3 cup strawberry preserves

1/3 cup ketchup

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 large clove of garlic, minced

1 tsp fresh, chopped ginger

1/2 tsp cayenne powder

1/2 tsp fresh grated lemon zest

1 green onion, minced

2 Tbsp chopped, fresh cilantro

Place all ingredients in  blender and puree until smooth. Makes 2 Cups.

Strawberries in red wine

For each serving, spoon 3/4 cup quartered fresh strawberries into a large wine glass. Sprinkle with 1-1/2 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. orange-flavored liqueur and 1/2 tsp. Cognac. Fill each glass with red wine to cover the berries. Refrigerate for about  2 hours.

Strawberry Butter

1 pint fresh strawberries (or 10 oz. pkg frozen strawberries, thawed and drained)

1/2 pound butter, softened

1 cup confectioners sugar ( or 1/2 cup if using frozen berries in sugar)

Place ingredients in food processor or blender and process until smooth and creamy. Chill. Good on a bagel or your morning toast.

Strawberry Bread

3 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

2 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

3 cup mashed strawberries

1-1/4 cup oil

4 eggs, well beaten

1/2 cup strawberry juice, drained from mashed strawberries

8 oz. softened cream cheese

Mix first five ingredients. Make a well in center of mixture. Stir in berries, oil and eggs. Pour into two greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees  for 1 hour. Cool. For topping, blend reserved strawberry juice with cream cheese. Drizzle over cooled loaves.

Strawberry Soup

3 cups sliced strawberries

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1 Tbsp corn starch (mixed with 1 Tbsp water)

3/4 cup red wine

1 cup orange juice

1 1/4 cup sour cream

Combine berries, sugar and water in saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in corn starch and water mixture, wine and juice. Bring  to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened. Cool 15 minutes. Puree in a blender. Stir in sour cream, and chill. Garnish with sliced strawberries and mint leaves.

Strawberry Syrup

8 cups strawberries, crushed

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 cups sugar

1 cup corn syrup

3 hot, sterilized pint jars

Place strawberries in a four to six quart pot and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Strain juice, letting juice drip for about two hours to collect 3 or 4  cups of juice. Return juice to pot and add remaining ingredients. Stir constantly and bring to a rolling boil. Boil 1 minute. Pour  into 3 hot sterilized pint jars, leaving 1 inch headspace. Wipe rim of jar with damp cloth. Attach lid. Process in hot water bath for 10 minutes.