Red, Sweet and Juicy

Strawberry is a red, juicy and luscious fruit, grown on strawberry plant. It has several F&B applications.

- Jhuma Biswas

Though in popular perception strawberry is being thought of as a berry, but it is not a berry in strict botanical sense.

It is stated in Wikipedia (the fact in turn is derived from an academic source) that strawberry technically is an aggregate accessory fruit, where the fleshy part is not derived from the plant’s ovaries but from the receptacle that holds the ovaries. Each apparently looking seed on the outside of the fruit is in reality one of the ovaries of the flower. Henceforth, we would refer strawberry only in the context of fruit.

The Rich Legacy

Like many other fruits, strawberry too has a rich legacy. The origin of garden strawberry can be traced to 1750s in Britanny, France, but before this wild strawberries were cultivated. Strawberry fruit was first mentioned in ancient Roman literature, in the context of its medicinal use.

French began to harvest strawberries by taking them from forest to their gardens, during the 14th century. Charles V from France had more than 1000 strawberry plants in his royal garden. By the mid 16th century, strawberry farming became popular in England. Strawberry’s cultivation in Europe gained some momentum by the end of the 16th century.

But modern strawberry as we know today, emerged during the 18th century, through crossing of Virginia strawberry from North America, to which Europe was introduced in the 1600s, and Chilean strawberry, to which Europe was introduced in the early 18th century. According to an academic article, all modern strawberry varieties have come from crossing of Virginia and Chilean strawberries.

Cultivation