07 September 2013

VIBGYOR Series - 'R' for 'Red' - Strawberry Fruit


This post is part of the Chennai Bloggers Club's CBC VIBGYOR BLOG TAG where some
of us will write a post on the colours of VIBGYOR each day starting 1st of September to 
the 7th of September. The colour theme for today's post is RED.

The color red is often said to symbolize love and energy. It is also related to excitement, passion, power, courage, aggressiveness, anger and prosperity. 

Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) or garden strawberry is believed to be a hybrid species which comes under the Rosaceae family. They grow successfully in the temperate climatic conditions. The wild strawberry comes under the same family. Only the garden strawberry is cultivated widely for its edible fruit. The strawberry fruit is not a true berry because this fruit is said to be an aggregate accessory fruit ( a fruit in which the pulp/flesh of the fruit is derived from the adjacent tissue exterior to the carpel and not from the ovary of the plant ).

The Strawberry fruit is well known for its sweetness, bright red-color, aroma and juicy appearance. It is said to be consumed in large quantities all over the world in the form of juices, flavored milk, cakes, ice creams, chocolates and pies. Strawberries are used either freshly or as preserves.

As we look into the history of this plant, it is said that the first garden strawberry was grown in France in the 18th century. Before this, only the wild strawberries were grown.




Strawberry cultivation in India :

         As I read in a site about the strawberry cultivation in India, it was said that the strawberry cultivation was not that much successful in India till 2010. It is said that the strawberry plants cannot be grown successfully in hot climatic conditions. Hence it is hard to grow them in tropical and sub-tropical climates like in India. But in today's technological world, even such an obstacle can be cleared. In 2010, three learning institutes of Bihar has tried cultivating Strawberries using their scientific and technological skills which worked out successfully. The three institutes are Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour (Bhagalpur District) , Tirhut College of Agriculture, Kholi (Muzaffarpur District) and Rajendra Agricultural University, Pusa (Samastipur District). In that site they have mentioned that these three locations have produced about 300 kg of Strawberries (i.e. 661 pounds). Since the production of strawberries costs high, the Bihar Government is also said to have lend their support financially for this cultivation. With their support this group is said to have developed a safe laboratory for the production of Strawberries and other high value crops. This laboratory is called as polyhouse which allows to control the agricultural and climatic conditions. This polyhouse helps the production of Strawberry as it require cold conditions throughout the year.
Source of information : http://strawberryplants.org



Images Source : Internet


In India, Strawberries are well suited to the hilly areas and places with moderate temperature. Almost 80 percent of Strawberries are produced in Mahabaleswar, Satara district of Maharashtra. Mahabaleswar is also known as Strawberry capital of India. It is said that in 2010, 500 to 600 tonnes of Strawberries have been exported to UK and European countries from this place. The Indian Strawberry season is from November to March. Other than Mahabaleswar, Strawberries are grown commercially in places like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, West Bengal, Bangalore, the Nilgiri hills and Delhi.

How to choose best Strawberries :

                     Look out for plumpy, tender, bright colored strawberries with leaves attached to it. Choose full ripe fruits which gives you the exact nutrients. Don't choose either under ripe or over ripe fruits.

Nutrition's that are naturally available in Strawberry :

                     Vitamin C, Fiber, Calcium, Potassium and magnesium.


Health benefits and medicinal values :

              ~*As per some facts shared on a site, one cup of Strawberries(approx. 10 fruits) are said to yield about 150 percent of Daily value (DV) of Vitamin C. It says that you can obtain more Vitamin C for just 50 calories.

              ~*They are also rich in fiber which gives us 3 grams DV in one cup.

              ~*One cup of Strawberries are said to have 240 mg( 7 percent DV) of Potassium and 10 percent DV of Folate.

              ~*Strawberries are said to be good for your bones and hormones.

              ~*As per the article in Times of India, the Strawberries can also cure inflammation-related arthritis and inflammation-related eye diseases. And most importantly it helps in vanishing your wrinkles.
           
              ~*Some researchers at Harvard's Brigham and Woman's Hospital, Boston have found that Strawberries can save you from memory loss or atleast postpone it for 2 to 2.5 years.

              ~*It helps in preventing cardiovascular diseases.

              ~*It helps in regulating blood sugar and also decreases the risk of type 2 Diabetes.

              ~*It helps in preventing certain types of cancer.

              ~*It possess anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties.

              ~*The entire strawberry plant is said to be used for treating depressive illness. Then I hope that it helps me ;)

Note : Consult your physician before following any of the points above.

Strawberry recipes for you :

1.Strawberry Banana smoothie :

Ingredients :
(for serving two persons)

Two bananas,
Ten  ounces of organic Strawberries (Stemmed and sliced),
One cup of milk,
Six ice cubes and
one tsp of honey

Method of preparation :

Chop the peeled banana into pieces and freeze it for two hours. Then add all other ingredients to the banana mix and blend it for a min or half a min either using blender or mixer. Blend it until it gets smooth. And your Strawberry banana smoothie is ready to serve now :)

Recipe courtesy  :  www.mnn.com (Mother Nature Network)

2. Strawberry velvet by Chef Sanjeev kapoor :

Ingredients :
(for serving four)                                              
                                                                           
Strawberry crush           - 1/2 cup,
Strawberries (chopped)  -  8,
Yogurt                          - 4 cups,
Vanilla Ice cream           -  4 scoops,
Ice cubes                      - 10 to 12

Method of preparation :

Blend the Strawberry crush, yogurt, vanilla ice cream and ice cubes using blender or mixer. Pour this mixture in serving glasses and keep it in refrigerator for a while only just before serving. Then garnigh it with chopped strawberries :)

Images Source : Internet 


References :

whfoods.org
bbcgoodfood.com
wikipedia
www.mnn.com
theindianvegan
freshplaza.com
strawberryplants.org


Ending up the VIBGYOR Series with a fruitful note. Thanks CBC for such a wonderful opportunity to blog on colors. It was a colorful week and I enjoyed this series personally.

Wishing you all the sweetness of Strawberry in your lives. Have Blessed and fruitful years ahead :)

14 comments:

  1. I think it is grown in Ooty. I have tasted fresh strawberries there. The ones I find here are not that fresh. Congrats on taking up a challenging 7 day tag and completing it on time :)

    Destination Infinity

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow ! That's an additional info, have to try it in Ooty when possible :) Thanks DI, I hope A to Z tag would have been more challenging than this :)

      Delete
  2. Yumm...I love strawberries, esp to use in my cakes :)
    My daughter loves to eat it dipped in Nutella - it takes the strawberry to a different level, it seems ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh nice ! Have to try your daughter's suggestion :)

      Delete
  3. Nice strawberry post :) I like strawberry a lot but didn't know much about it before reading this post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jahid :) Glad that you got some info here :)

      Delete
  4. Looking Yummy, making me Hungry. . . a G+ for ur Post and Have a Nice Day. . . :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I don't like strawberry much. You can't find good strawberries but will try that shake with banana.

    Thanks for the recipe. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's true Saru, if the fruit is not at its best quality, it won't give us its original taste. Kindly share the outcome of that recipe :)

      Delete
  6. Very nice informative post.Thanks for sharing..:-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. A wonderfully informative post and highly tempting too. I remember having quite a lot of strawberries during my trip to Mahabaleshwar, as strawberries are produced there, one gets to taste the real flavor. :)

    ReplyDelete

Add your valuable comments here !