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10 Cool Facts About Strawberries

Strawberries are delicious and for a very long time immemorial, people have eaten wild strawberries. In France, wild strawberries were first transplanted into gardens and in the 1600s, colonists discovered and shipped into Europe. Within no time, they became part of people’s diet. In Europe however, it did not become popular until the end of the 1700s and early 1800s in England. Since its introduction by French cultivators, who crossed the Virginia strawberry with the Chilian strawberry, the result has been amazing. It tasted amazing, it had a substantial size and was more hardy which remained in favour until 1909. So what are some of the cool facts about strawberries?

1. The Early strawberries taste the sweetest

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Strawberries are one of the fruits to ripen the fastest during spring. Their harvest season is usually really short at just about three weeks. It is therefore important to harvest them early and quickly before they go bad. The ones harvested early enough, are usually the ones that taste the sweetest. Hence, if you want to find the best ones that are sweetest and delicious, be mindful of the timing.

2. Strawberries are also a type of rose

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In terms of biology, strawberries belong to the Rosaceae family and the Rosoideae subfamily. These families also include roses. Typically speaking, plants that belong to the Rosoideae subfamily have at the very least, two pistils that aren’t really connected and develop into achenes. This is a feature that roses and strawberries share hence why strawberries are also considered as a type of rose.

3. They come in a variety of colours

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Most of us are used to strawberries being red and hence tempted to think that that is the only colour they have. However, you couldn’t be more wrong. In a refreshing turn of events, strawberries can also be white, pink, yellow and golden-hued. These colours are created and arrived at by crossing wild strawberries and saving the seeds from the different hued plants.

4. They contain more vitamin C than even oranges

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Contrary to common belief, oranges aren’t the only fruits that are rich in vitamin C. One might think that oranges are the only fruits with the most vitamin C out of any fruit, but strawberries contain more of that actually. According to scientific research, one large sweet red strawberry contains 10.5 mg, compared to the 70 mg of vitamin C found in oranges.

5. In America, eight pounds of strawberries are consumed every year

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According to research, it has been discovered that the average American consumes at least eight pounds of fresh strawberries every year. This figure reached an all-time high of 8.5 pounds per capita in 2020 and it made people realize how profitable they can actually be. Hence, strawberries apart from being delicious, can also create pretty good income for farmers who specifically grow them.

6. Strawberries can induce a phobia

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If you thought you heard it all, then hear this. There are people who have an insane fear of strawberries. While others run towards them because of how delicious and sweet they are, there are others who run the other way when they see strawberries. The phobia of strawberries is known as fragariaphobia and this word was derived from the category strawberries belong to, known as Fragraria. Hence, when you ever hear that someone fears strawberries, they are not pretending or overreacting.

7. There is a day dedicated to strawberry picking

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May 20th is a national holiday set apart to solely celebrate strawberries. It is known as the National Pick Strawberries Day. The day is meant to encourage people to take a trip to any local strawberry farm in order to pick them up and plant their own plants at home. In a way, it encourages people to be more open towards strawberry farming and this is how it also manages to commercialize the farming.

8. It is believed that strawberries alleviate a variety of ails

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In the ancient Roman era, it was believed that strawberries helped alleviate a number of ailments, including fainting, inflammation, fevers and melancholy. This is probably due to the fact that strawberries contain a very high amount of vitamin C. This therefore means that strawberries are not only sweet but also have some health benefits that come in handy almost always.

9. In Belgium, there is a museum just for strawberries.

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In Belgium, strawberry season is a very important one, especially in the town of Wepion. Because of this reason, an entire museum was dedicated to celebrating strawberries. They explain the history of strawberry growing in this region and its impact and importance on the economy. Probably if this was adopted everywhere, strawberries would be appreciated more especially their great advantage on the economy and profit side of it.

10. In the US, California produces 80% of the strawberries

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In the US, strawberries are grown all across it but California produces most of it, especially for the purposes of commercial. This is mainly because of the fact that their fields are more productive than any other area in the country. Due to this, California is the biggest producer of strawberries in the US and this is working out perfectly in terms of profit and economy.

Generally speaking, strawberries are delicious, juicy and very nutritious. Hundreds of years of cultivating them have slowly perfected the fruit and whether you are eating them in the form of chocolate dipped or fruit tray, the fact remains that strawberries are quite tasty.

Read more: /blog/world/60-facts-about-plants/