Finally picking some ripe strawberries! And are they good! All it took was a couple of days of sunshine.
I’m amazed that we have so many, despite the birds, the slugs, the snails and the rain.
I like strawberries the best while I’m picking them – still warm from the sun. You know how smell plays a big part in how we perceive taste? Well for me, the strawberry is proof. When I bite into a perfectly ripe strawberry, it’s the smell that gets me. In fact, I think I’m more in love with their aroma than their taste. It’s a soft, sweet scent – just slightly floral. It just makes me think “spring”, the way peaches make me think of summer. (Come to think of it, the aroma of a ripe peach also makes me swoon more than the flavor.)
Of course, once picked one has to eat them, so I made an impromptu strawberry shortcake. I tossed the berries with some orange sugar that I had left over from making candied orange peel, which didn’t give me quite as much orange flavor as I would have liked. Perhaps fresh orange zest would have worked better.
For the shortcakes I modified my favorite scone recipe, which included adding a bit of diced preserved ginger, and topping them with more orange sugar. They received the spousal award of approval.
And I bet the strawberries would be equally good over a bowl of ice cream tomorrow night!
