The early summer sunshine has worked wonders for this year's strawberry harvest. I brought a punnet that were among the most sublime I have eaten: Rich, sweet and intense, blowing away in one bite the old saw that things "don't taste like they used to". Locally and organically grown, they ticked a few green boxes for me, too.
What pleased me almost as much as their exquisite flavour was that these berries were on the small side. A lot of soft fruits have been getting bigger over the past few years. Pumped-up berries have none of the charm and intrigue of a tiny, jewel-like fruit and are often lacking in the flavour department, too.
The best pick
I get through a lot of berries. A couple of handfuls go into the early-morning smoothie and turn up again in some form or another after lunch. Berries also make a healthy treat — a box of blueberries is often what I absent-mindedly pick at while glued to Gardeners' World.
That early-morning smoothie is usually a whizz-up of thick, white goat's yoghurt and sweet almond milk but at its heart is always some sort of berry. The colour varies from a lurid purple (blackcurrants) to the pale green of a summer afternoon in Midsomer Norton (stewed gooseberries) and every shade of pink — from cupcake icing to the mother-in-law's wedding outfit. Much depends on the ratio of fruit to yoghurt.
Fresh flavours
I have a few tricks up my sleeve to get through that annoying muffling effect the dairy produce has on fruits. Even the most tasty little strawberry will have to fight a hard battle if it is not to get lost once it is churned with sugar and cream into a pink summer ice. A shot of lemon juice will bring out the flavour, as will a little grated orange zest. Curiously, a few raspberries will boost the strawberries' intensity (they carry more acidity, which acts like a squirt of lemon).
Warm berries will sing louder than those straight from the fridge, so I take them out the night before I need to use them; waiting till they are ever so slightly overripe helps, too.
A few drops of balsamic vinegar will breathe life into even the least promising piece of red fruit and can often make a good strawberry into a great one. Just cut the fruit in half, toss with a light sprinkling of sugar (a teaspoon per 200g will do), add a few drops of bog-standard balsamic and leave in a warm place for an hour. The flavour will be just as if they had been sitting in the Sun for an extra day.
Strawberry and elderflower sorbet
For the sorbet
II 250g strawberries
II 125g caster sugar
II 120ml water
II Juice of half a lemon
For the syrup
II 150g strawberries
II 75ml elderflower cordial
II 15 mint leaves
To make the sorbet, put the sugar in a saucepan with the water and bring to a boil. Remove it from the heat as soon as the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool.
Rinse and hull the strawberries and whiz them in a blender or food processor until smooth.
Add the lemon juice, then stir the strawberry purée into the cold sugar syrup. Next, either pour the mixture into an ice-cream machine and churn until frozen or place in the freezer for a couple of hours.
Remove and beat the freezing edges into the middle with a whisk. Refreeze for two hours and beat once more, bringing in the ice crystals from the outside into the middle. Return to the freezer until firm.
Make the syrup by cutting the strawberries in half and putting them in a bowl with the elderflower cordial. Chop the mint leaves finely and stir them into the cordial and berries. Cover, refrigerate and leave for 30 minutes.
To serve, place scoops of the sorbet into small bowls and spoon over the berries, and their mint and elderflower syrup.
Servings: 4-6
Strawberry and gooseberry jam
II 400g strawberries
II 150g gooseberries
II 250g sugar
II 2 tbs lemon juice
Rinse and hull the strawberries but don't dry them. Top and tail the gooseberries. Pile the fruits into a stainless steel or enamel pan with the sugar and lemon juice. Crush the fruit with your hands or a potato masher and place the pan on a low to medium heat.
Cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, spooning off the pink froth as you go. The jam should be thick enough to fall slowly from the spoon, like syrup, but nowhere near thick enough to set.
Pour into a bowl and serve with scones (where it will drip down your fingers) or slices cut from a sponge cake or spoon over goat's yoghurt or stir into a mess of whipped cream and crumbled meringue. Just don't expect it to set.
