Will the Real Strawberry Please Stand Up

by Mark R. Vogel

Saint Hildegard was a 12th century German abbess, (the nun in charge of a convent), who supposedly had prophetic and apocalyptic visions. The theological authorities at the time confirmed her visions as authentic.

In addition to her prophesies about God and the end of the world, Saint Hildegard believed strawberries were unfit for human consumption. Because they grew close to the ground, she reasoned that snakes and toads contaminated them.

Clearly her "vision" was shortsighted. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, world strawberry production in the 1990's averaged over 5 billion pounds a year.

The US is the largest producer with California leading the way. According to the US Department of Agriculture, the average American consumes almost five pounds of strawberries a year.

Strawberries are a member of the rose family and are indigenous to the Americas, Asia, and Europe. They are the only fruit with seeds on the outside. The ancient Romans thought they cured a plethora of medical ailments while the French, (of course), believed they were an aphrodisiac.

Anne Boleyn, the doomed second wife of King Henry VIII, should have stayed in France where she spent part of her childhood. She had a strawberry shaped birthmark on her neck which some felt proved she was a witch.

So there you have it. The strawberry has been deemed a poison, a panacea, a love potion, and a demonic symbol.

The common American strawberry is the result of cross breeding between the wild Virginia strawberry and a Chilean variety.

It began in the 1700's when a Frenchman spying on Spanish forts in Chile brought local strawberries home. This marriage produced a hardier berry, amenable to modern production and transportation.

Strawberries are available year round with the peak season between April and June. They do not ripen after being picked. Choose firm, bright berries with their greens attached.