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The fragrant, sweet juiciness and deep red colour of strawberries can brighten up both the taste and aesthetics of any meal; it is no wonder they are the most popular berry fruit in the world.
Strawberries should be eaten as soon as possible. Do not remove the stalks or wash them until you are ready to use them.
To store strawberries, place them on a paper towel in a tightly-covered container and store in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. Leave the stalks on until ready to eat.
Strawberries are easily frozen. Gently wash them, dry, and remove the caps. Place on a baking tray and freeze. Once frozen, place in a zip-top bag, suck out the air with a straw, and seal. Return to the freezer for up to 6 months. Bear in mind, however, that defrosted strawberries do not hold their shape.
Each portion supplies 1.5 of your recommended 5-a-day!
240ml/8fl.oz. Milk
50g/2oz Rolled Oats
1 Banana
250g/9oz Strawberries
½ tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tbsp Honey or Maple Syrup
2-4 Ice Cubes, cracked
Place all of the Ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.
This frozen concoction is perfect for summer afternoon sipping. It's fruity, refreshing and cool!
2oz white rum
1oz lime juice
6 ice cubes
4 strawberries
1tsp sugar
Blend all together in blender until smooth. Serve with a strawberry slice and enjoy!
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Freshly prepared and sugared raspberries are excellent when served alone or with cream. The fruit can also be used to make delicious jams, jellies, pies, and other desserts. Besides their excellent flavour, raspberries are a nutritious food, contributing vitamins A and C and various minerals to the diet as well as a natural substance called ellagic acid, which is an anti-carcinogenic (cancer-preventing) compound.
18 Amaretti biscuits
8 tablespoons almond liquor (Amaretti)
6 teaspoons honey
450g (1lb) tub low-fat fromage frais
350g (l2oz) raspberries
- Reserve 6 biscuits for decoration.
- Place1 biscuit in the bottom of 6 glasses and crush the remaining
biscuits.
- Drizzle 1 tablespoon liquor over each biscuit in the glasses and
the remaining liquor over the crushed biscuits.
- Stir the honey into the fromage frais.
- Reserve a few raspberries for decoration and layer the rest with
the fromage frais and crushed biscuits in the glasses.
- Decorate with the reserved biscuits and raspberries and chill for
up to 2 hours.
Makes 20 drinks
½ cup Framboise liqueur
½ cup Brandy
½ cup Orange liqueur
½ cup Sugar
3 lemons, unpeeled
5 Oranges, unpeeled
2 cups Raspberries
6 bottles champagne, chilled
block of ice
- Combine Framboise liqueur, brandy, orange liqueur and sugar in large container and shake to dissolve sugar.
- Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about 2 to 3 hours.
- Slice oranges and lemons; add to container.
- Chill punch bowl.
- To serve, add block of ice to punch bowl and pour in chilled mixture along with raspberries; pour in champagne.
- Include a fresh raspberry in each serving.
- To be consumed while the punch is still fizzing.
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Blackberries |
| Blackberries are more versatile in the kitchen than most people realise; a little creativity can present many possibilities! Stir blackberries into pancake batter, roll them in dessert crêpes with crème fraîche, or fold them into sour cream, turn into a shallow dish, top with brown sugar and broil for a few minutes until the sugar is melted and bubbling.
Blackberries can also be used to make savoury chutneys, where their robust flavour stands up well to strong spices such as clove, cinnamon and nutmeg. For fresher, more summery flavours, add blackberries to a spicy fruit salsa or a salad of baby greens and goat cheese.
Preserve the season's best with this spicy blackberry chutney which is ready in 15 minutes! Makes about 400ml/14fl oz.
500g blackberries
140g red onions, sliced
3 tbsp fresh root ginger, chopped
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
150ml white wine vinegar
- Combine all the ingredients, except the vinegar, in a large saucepan.
- Stir mixture over medium heat until the blackberries burst.
- Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Add the vinegar and allow the mixture to simmer uncovered for 10 mins.
- Cool and transfer to a sterilised jar and seal immediately.
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Red Currants |
Red currants make excellent jams, jellies, pies, juices, and wines. They are full of pectin, so they gel easily (good to combine with other fruits for jelly/jam) and they freeze well, so they can be preserved for later use. They are an excellent source of vitamin C.
There's a certain satisfaction in making your own jars of translucent, succulent red currant jelly to use throughout the year for savoury dishes. It's even great to liven up your morning porage!
For a clear, transparent jelly, crush the currants gently - if you press too hard the jelly will have a cloudy appearance, although it will still taste good.
For best flavour, use ripe redcurrants for this jelly but avoid overripe berries, as the level of pectine reduces in berries as they ripen, and jelly won't set as firm.
1 kg red currants
1 kg sugar
- Rinse the redcurrants (no need to clean off the ribs!), place in a large saucepan with a dash of water. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring with a wooden spoon to avoid burning. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, until berries soften.
- Now add sugar, and stir, until sugar has dissolved.
- Boil for 8-10 minutes, stirring all the time.
- Cool a little, then pour through a fine sieve into sterilised warm jars and close immediately.
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Blackcurrants |
As well as being juiced and used in jellies, syrups and cordials, blackcurrants are used in cooking because their astringent nature brings out flavour in many sauces, meat dishes and desserts. It was once thought that currants needed to be "topped and tailed" (the stalk and flower-remnants removed) before cooking. However, this is not the case as these parts are easily assimilated during the cooking process. If preferred, however, the whole blackcurrant stem with fruit can be frozen, then shaken vigorously; the tops and tails are broken off and the fruit can then be separated easily.
These mouth-tingling purple lollies explode with taste. A great way to keep healthy and cool!
Makes: 14 50ml lollies
200g red currants
100g caster sugar
Grated zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
Water
- Place the blackcurrants, sugar, lemon zest and juice in a pan with 75ml water.
- Heat gently, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil.
- Simmer gently for 5 minutes then allow to cool.
- Purée the mixture with a hand-held electric blender until smooth (or tip into a blender to liquidise).
- Stir in 300ml chilled water.
- Tip the mixture into a jug then pour into lolly moulds and freeze for at least 4 hours, until solid.
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Gooseberries |
Gooseberries taste of a sweet tangy mixture of pineapple and strawberry. The fruits make an interesting addition to salads, cooked dishes, and as a garnish.
Cook with apples or ginger to make a distinctive dessert, or poach them with a little sugar and water to make a traditional accompaniment to mackerel.
Wash the berries and remove the stems and tops with scissors before eating or cooking. To cook them put the prepared berries in a pan with a little water and 1 tbsp sugar per 100g (1/2 cup) fruit (taste, and add more sugar if you need it once the fruit has softened). Cover and cook gently for 10-15 min until soft. Once cooked, the gooseberries can be used in sweet dishes and for savoury sauces.
Gooseberry Fool is one of the classic summer recipes for gooseberries. For this dish, make the puree as above, sieve to remove pips if you wish, then fold through whipped cream, using 250ml (1 cup) gooseberry puree to 250ml (1 cup) cream (measured before whipping).
No need to pre-cook the fruit!
- Place 900g (2 lb) prepared gooseberries in an ovenproof dish, and sprinkle generously with sugar.
- Top with crumble topping, made from 175g plain flour and 85g butter, processed until they resemble fine breadcrumbs (you can run the fat into the flour by hand if you prefer).
- Stir in 55g brown sugar and ½ tsp ground cinnamon.
- Bake at 180C/350F/gas 4 until the top is browned and the fruit begins to bubble - around 30 minutes.
1 lb (400g) gooseberries
3 tablespoons
(45 ml) clear honey 10 fl oz
(250 ml) double cream, whipped
1½ oz (40g) butter
3 ozs (75g) wholemeal breadcrumbs
1 or (25g) hazelnuts, chopped and toasted 2 tablespoons
(30 ml) demerara sugar
- Place gooseberries in a pan with 1 tablespoon (15 ml) water, cover
and cook gently for 15 minutes until soft.
- Cool slightly, then puree in a blender or food processor. Sieve
to remove tops and tails.
- Add honey and leave to cool. Stir in the whipped cream.
- Melt butter in frying pan, add the breadcrumbs and fry until golden
brown. Leave to cool, then stir in hazelnuts and sugar.
- Divide half the gooseberry whip between 4 glasses and cover with
half of the crumbs.
- Repeat the layers finishing with crumbs. Freezing of this dessert
is not recommended.
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