Ten Facts about the Luscious Strawberry

So we're in the middle of the happy strawberry season. Not that you'd know it from the skies. Still, there are plenty of strawbs in the shops, many thankfully local, so here are some facts about this, my favourite fruit. (Although I'm very fond of Sharon fruit, raspberries and lychees too.)

by sigusr0
via flickr.com

Strawberries
 1  They are a member of the rose family. (Much nicer though. Discuss.)
 2  Apart from humans, keen munchers of this fruit include aphids, thrips, weevils, beetles, 
          birds and moths as well our beloved national slimeball, the sl*g.
 3  They're rich in vitamin C.
 4  100g of this fruit contains only about 30 calories.
 5  The 17th century English writer Dr William Butler wrote about the strawberry:  
          "Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless He never did."
 6 This is the only fruit to bear its seeds on the outside - on average about 200 of them.
 7  Belgium has a museum dedicated solely to the strawberry. It's in Wepion, on the banks
          of the river Meuse, and is apparently rather small.
 8 The flowers are considered hermaphrodite; the fruit is commercially propagated from
          runners.
 9 Medieval stonemasons carved strawberries around the tops of pillars and on altars in
          churches and cathedrals, since they were said to symbolise perfection and
          righteousness.
10 For a similar reason, in Shakespeare's Othello, Desdemona's handkerchief is
          decorated with strawberries.

by Sancho McCann via flickr.com

Finally, has anyone yet tried the new variety which is white with red seeds? Said to be just as lovely, but I can't believe the 'experience' would be the same. 


Some of these facts are courtesy of The University of Illinois.