Tips for use

Purchase and storage
Fresh strawberries have a shiny, red colour, are not bruised or damaged and feel firm to the touch. They also have fresh green leafy crowns. Preferably use produce as soon as possible after purchase. If you need to store your produce for a short time, then preferably do so in your refrigerator for maximum 48 hours.

Cleaning and preparing strawberries

If you wish to rinse your strawberries before use, then please rinse quickly under a gentle spray of cold water. Remove the hull after rinsing in order to prevent the fruit from absorbing too much water and losing flavour and aroma. Frozen strawberries tend to lose their shape, and sometimes their colour, when defrosted. Frozen strawberries are only suited for a coulis or in warm preparations.

Tips

• Serve strawberries and soft fruit, with whipped cream, yoghurt, fresh curd cheese, pudding, ice-cream,...
• Delectable Hoogstraten® strawberries are probably best enjoyed out of the hand and unrinsed. Our environmentally friendly cultivation techniques make this possible. If necessary, gently wipe the strawberries clean with a humid cloth or a kitchen brush.
• Rinse the strawberries. Melt white, milk or dark chocolate au bain marie (or place five seconds in your microwave oven). Hold the strawberry by its crown and dip it into the chocolate. Let the chocolate harden and serve the strawberries as a sweet.
• Add soft fruit to your fruit salad at the last minute. Don’t let it marinade.
• A light strawberry mousse will add a touch of colour and a sweet-and-sour effect when served with duck breast or any other poultry fillets with a vegetable garnish.
• Choose ripe fruit when preparing a coulis. Puree or blend your strawberries and sieve them. You can add molasses to taste, if you feel like it.
• A few drops of lemon juice will enhance strawberries’ flavour even more.
• Decorate a baked cake with soft fruit. Never bake the fruit in the oven on the cake. You can however bake a layer of sugared beaten egg whites.
• Fruit skewer: skewer apple, pear, pineapple, peach, strawberries and large stoned cherries or prunes on thin wooden skewers.
• Frozen strawberries tend to lose their shape and colour when defrosted. They are an excellent ingredient for fruit sauces or strawberry ice-cream.
• Puree leftover strawberries and add red currant juice and lemon juice. Flavour to taste with vanilla sugar and add sparkling water.
• Place a strawberry in each opening of your ice cube tray. Add water until strawberry is submerged. Freeze. Your guests will be pleasantly surprised by the delicious surprise in their drink or cocktail.
• Making strawberry sorbet is a piece of cake: beat egg whites with white sugar, add pureed strawberries. Carefully mix. Freeze (freezer at coldest temperature). Stir every half hour with a fork until the sorbet has stiffened. You will need to freeze your sorbet for at least four hours. An ice cream maker will stir the mixture during the freezing process and will prevent crystals from forming.
• Strawberry vinegar: chop bruised strawberries, remove any brown or bad spots, place the pieces in a bottle and add vinegar (acidity 7.0%). Add a branch of salad burnet or tarragon.

Did you know that…

• strawberries are ranked fourth in the list of fruit with the highest vitamin C content – behind blueberries, apples and red grapes – and well ahead of lemons (6th place) and oranges (ranked 9th)?  

• Hoogstraten® strawberries have a guaranteed shelf life of one week after they are picked, if you store the fruit in your refrigerator at home?

• fresh strawberries contain 60 milligrams of vitamin C per 100 grams?

• scientists believe that the high concentration of antioxidants in strawberries have a positive impact on the development of children’s cognitive skills?

• it is advisable to initially feed babies small slices of strawberries, in order to let their bodies get used to them?
• these delicacies are immediately placed in their final packaging after picking? They are not re-packaged or touched once in the sales cycle.
• spots due to strawberries are best removed with a borage solution. For older spots, use a solution of chlorine diluted with water.
• nutritionists recommend strawberry diets for cleansing one’s intestines.