Nature Description:
Strawberry is nature fruit. Strawberry is not really a fruit or a berry but is the enlarged receptacle of the flower. Straberries are grown in every state in the U.S. and every province in Canada. Straberries were cultivated in ancient Rome and were used as a medicinal herb in the 13th Century. They are a member of the Rose family. Amuseum dedicated to them in Belgium. During the 1700's, a hybrid variety was developed in France by breeding wild strawberries brought from North America with others from Chile. The first important American variety, the Hovey, was grown in 1834 in Massachusetts.
Straberries are the only nature fruit with seeds on the outside. The average straberry has 200 seeds. The ancient Romans believed that straberries alleviated symptoms of melancholy, fainting, all inflammations, fevers, throat infections, kidney stones, bad breath, attacks of gout, and diseases of the blood, liver and spleen. To symbolize perfection and righteousness, medieval stone masons carved strawberry designs on altars and around the tops of pillars in churches and cathedrals. In parts of Bavaria, country folk still practice the annual rite each spring of tying small baskets of wild strawberries to the horns of their cattle as an offering to elves. They believe that the elves, are passionately fond of strawberries, will help to produce healthy calves and an abundance of milk in return.
Madame Tallien, a prominent figure at the court of the Emperor Napoleon, was famous for bathing in the juice of fresh strawberries. She used 22 pounds per basin. Needless to say, she did not bathe daily. Strawberries are the first fruit to ripen in the spring. In medieval times, strawberries were served at important functions to bring peace & prosperity.
Nutrition and Consumption:
One serving of strawberries contains 20% RDA of folic acid. That's more per comparable serving than any other fruit. Folic acid is a water-soluble B vitamin which has been proven to reduce birth defects involving brain and nerve disorders. Strawberries are one of the most delious and nutritious fruits. According to FDA regulations, strawberries are a sodium-free, fat-free food. They are not only cholesterol free but low in calories as well. Eating strawberries, which are rich in nitrate, can increase the flow of blood & oxygen to the muscles by 7%. This prevents muscle fatigue, making exercise easier. In a test, subjects who ate nitrate rich foods like strawberries, before exercising burned 100 more calories than those who did not.
