4 keywords that apply perfectly to our popular strawberries:
- Regional: from Lower Austrian strawberry farmers or from their own garden
- Seasonal: freshly picked from June
- Healthy: low in calories and full of vitamins and minerals
- Delicious: whether fresh from the bush or prepared - a heavenly treat.
But that is not all. Join us on our journey through the strawberry field, past various recipe books, into the jam jar and learn interesting facts, tips and tricks about the power fruit from our dietician Verena Hut.
The history of the "queen of fruits" goes far back, more precisely, to the young Stone Age. At that time, however, it was not our popular garden strawberry, but the WALDERDBEERE, which various finds prove. Some time later, the wild strawberry was praised by Roman poets in their works and was also served to noblemen as a delicacy. It was not until much later, about 250 years ago, that the time came. The GARDEN strawberry was bred. This is a cross between the wild scarlet strawberry and the large-fruited chile strawberry. In order to be able to grow the red fruits at different altitudes and under the respective climatic conditions, numerous new varieties soon followed. Our dietician Verena Hut reports enthusiastically: "The variety of these delicious fruits is impressive. Today, there are already over 1000 different strawberry varieties."
Strawberry fans take note: Did you know that the name "strawberry" actually leads to total confusion?
The shock news: the strawberry is not a berry! But how can that be? "From the botanical point of view, the strawberry is not a real berry. The actual fruits of the strawberry are the small greenish-yellow dots ("nutlets") on the red surface. That's why the strawberry belongs to the "SEEDED NUT FRUITS"," explains Verena Hut.
And what about the health benefits of the royal fruit? Strawberries remain true to their nickname "red vitamin bombs." Especially vitamin C, vitamin K and folic acid are contained in large quantities. Already with 6 medium-sized strawberries (100 g) we reach about 60% of the daily requirement of vitamin C. This means that strawberries even outperform citrus fruits such as lemons and grapefruit. It also scores as a mineral bomb due to its potassium and iron content. Here we reach with 6 medium strawberries about 10% of the daily iron requirement.
The strawberries are of course not sugar bombs. 6 medium strawberries (100 g) contain about 4 g of fructose, which is equivalent to a single sugar cube. If you were to eat the same amount of chocolate, i.e. 1 small bar of 100 g, that's a whopping 15 pc. of sugar cubes. Lump sugar - a madness! Our dietician Verena Hut reveals another interesting detail "Not only in comparison with sweets is the drastic difference in sugar apparent. Strawberries also get a top spot in the ranking with other fruits. Pineapples, for example, provide you with 3 times as much fructose as strawberries." Water, on the other hand, is present in large quantities. With about 90% water content, the red fruits have very few calories (32 kcal/100 g).
You are certainly familiar with numerous ways of preparing the popular strawberry:
- jam, jelly, compote, puree, syrup
- fruit salad, vegetable salad (asparagus, arugula)
- cake, pie, roulade, cream
The "queen of fruits" harmonizes particularly well with
- dairy products (such as buttermilk, yogurt or curd cheese)
- raspberries, blackberries and blueberries as well as bananas and rhubarb
- mild pepper and dark balsamic vinegar
Whether sweet or savory, hot or cold, chunky or pureed - the red fruits taste delicious in every variation. Our dietician proudly tells us: "The really great thing about my beloved strawberries is that they not only taste delicious, but are also very healthy! Modifying tried-and-tested recipes, experimenting with new things and lovingly arranging them - that's how Verena's favorite creations come about. See for yourself: How about a "strawberry cream cheese ice cream in a crispy fritter" or "pot dumplings with walnut crumbs and strawberry yogurt sauce"?
We are very happy about the abundant harvest of wild strawberries from our medicinal herb garden. And what could be better than to process your own self-harvested fruit? Our kitchen team immediately took the opportunity to boil down fresh jam from it - Mhmmm..., simply wonderful in taste. Our guests were then able to taste for themselves the unique aroma of "canapés with wild strawberry jam".
Dietician Verena Hut tells enthusiastically: "In every single jar of our homemade wild strawberry jam there is, besides the healthy nutrients, so much love inside - that makes us, the Nuhr Medical Center, very proud!"
