Strawberries
The Maresme strawberry is one of the most appreciated crops in the region’s vegetable garden. They began to be cultivated in the 1950s, with strawberries imported from France.
Each variety of strawberry can be harvested at different times, but the harvest is mainly concentrated in the spring, although we also find strawberries at other times of the year.
Maresme strawberries are grown on sloping land, which increases the amount of sunlight they receive, and in orographic conditions with great drainage capacity, so that the plant can develop better and offer a greater quantity and quality of strawberries. .
In addition, in recent years a thorough selection of seeds has been carried out. More than six hundred different varieties of strawberry were grown in the 1980s, today only four are grown.
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Strawberries are a highly prized food because of their flavour and because they have few calories and are rich in antioxidants. In fact, it is one of the most widely consumed red fruits and is notable for its fibre and mineral content such as magnesium, manganese, potassium, vitamins C, B2 and B3 and folic acid.
Also, strawberries are rich in anthocyanins and flavonoids, which help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, and are very digestive and high in fibre, low in sugar.
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Although the best way to eat them is simply as they are, to enjoy their freshness and nutritional properties, strawberries can also be used in various dishes. For example, we can cook them directly, stewing the strawberries with sugar to make jam, a coulis, a chutney, and so forth.
They can also be cooked at low temperatures or osmotised with a liquid (juice, syrup, liquor, etc.) to make very interesting dishes. We can also dehydrate the strawberries to get a crunchy product which can last longer.