LIFE-AFFIRMING SYMBOL OF LOVE

Few people know that the strawberry is a whimsical, capricious beauty, the favourite of all - both young and old, which visits our tables "live" only for a short time and is nonetheless very useful. Truly, it can be called a berry of youth and beauty because it is useful not only for food, but also for a variety of cosmetic procedures.

Capricious beauty

Like with many other fruits, myths are associated with strawberries too. In the Roman Empire, for example, for their shape similar to the heart, strawberries were revered as a symbol of Venus, the goddess of love. There was even a legend that if a berry is cut in half and given to a representative of the opposite sex, the consumers will fall in love with each other. In the Middle Ages, strawberries were served as a symbol of peace and prosperity. In Belgium there is even a museum dedicated to this luscious berry. Strawberries and cream are almost an axiomatic delicacy served at society feasts, and in particular, they are known as a ritual dessert served annually at Wimbledon and have become the same symbol as an indispensable outfit with a cap.

Strawberries belong to the Rosaceae family and in the usual sense, were created by crossing two types of wild strawberries. Since ancient times, this invariable inhabitant of spring-summer exquisite desserts has been used for medicinal purposes. Strawberries are also bizarre and amazing because the seeds in them, unlike all other berries, are not inside the fruit, but on its surface.

Azerbaijan produces 600 tonnes of strawberries per year. In general, according to experts, the potential for the development of "strawberry-growing" in our country is such that there is no need to resort to imports and we can meet all demand by making our own product. Strawberries are also extremely widespread in mountainous and forested areas of Azerbaijan. Whole strawberry plantations are scattered in Quba, Xacmaz, Qusar, Saki districts, in Zaqatala and Lankaran. Of the 20 known varieties of this fruit, wild forest strawberries are common here. Unlike other varieties, forest strawberries start to bloom from May - early June to the end of summer. Their white flowers are unusually fragrant. Fruits ripening in July and August are very fragrant, juicy, sour, conical or egg-shaped. And their colour is different from that of the usual strawberries: there are red and sometimes even white and purple berries rich in essential oils. The leaves of forest strawberries contain from 250 to 380 mg of vitamin C. Wild strawberries with milk or cream are especially tasty and are used to make jam, marmalade, filling for chocolates, wine and soft drinks.

In 2013, the city of Ganja hosted a strawberry festival, where farmers from five regions of the country demonstrated Victoria strawberries grown since 2011. This kind is characterized by its dark red colour, small size and special, unique flavour. Moreover, unlike other local kinds, Victoria is also stable - it does not change its properties and freshness and can be stored up to three days. According to farmers, another advantage of this kind is the long (up to several months) period of fruiting. At the beginning of 2014, a number of districts of Azerbaijan - Yevlax, Tartar, Goranboy, Agdam and Barda - launched a project to expand the acreage of strawberries.

Life-affirming

Light and delicious, this berry also improves "our relationship with the world", intensifying metabolism and counteracting inflammation of the liver and gallbladder. It is able to awaken a taste for life, because the abundance of nutrients in it also helps to fight avitaminosis. The arsenal of substances in it include malic, citric and quinine acid (from 2.5 to 4 per cent), glucose and sucrose (about 10 per cent), vitamin C (20-50 mg - more than in lemon), pectin, carotene and folic acid, which is so useful for its hematopoietic properties, almost the entire alphabet of vitamins - A, B, E, antioxidants, zinc, potassium, magnesium, calcium, all in such a balanced way that strawberries work much better than any artificial vitamin complex. Apart from what confirms the epithet of this delicious berry as life-affirming, it contains a pleasure hormone that helps us to better endure the hardships of life. The juicy berry boosts immunity, improves the elasticity of blood vessels and lowers blood sugar in diabetics. Moreover, apart from strawberries themselves, their leaves are also actively used: dried and brewed as tea, they are used as an effective diaphoretic and anti-cold remedy.

As a cosmetic remedy, strawberries have been actively used for a long time. Masks and lotions from strawberries improve the complexion, make the skin soft and velvety and help to smooth wrinkles. In addition, strawberries improve the skin condition in such difficult-to-treat skin conditions like eczema.

When consuming strawberries, it is important to observe the following rule: eat them between or just before meals, but not after. Eaten for dessert after a hearty meal, strawberries will not do you anything good and will cause only an enhanced fermentation process.

The beautiful garden fruit has a significant drawback - it is quite a strong allergen. Therefore, it is not recommended not only for allergic people, but also for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and young children.

Strawberries are best to eat in their own short season - regardless of how tempting large fleshy fruits look in attractive packages in transparent containers at supermarkets on the New Year's Eve, they will not do you any good. It is also necessary to choose not too large bright red fruits with a distinctive flavour.

PANNA COTTA WITH STRAWBERRIES

20 per cent cream - 200 ml

Strawberries - 200 g

Gelatin - 10 g

Sugar - 100 g

Water - 100 ml

Sugar for the strawberry sauce to taste

Dissolve gelatin in 150 ml of hot water.

Put the cream, sugar and 100 ml of water on the fire. Cook it on low heat, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved. At the end of cooking, add the gelatin, but do not boil it. Pour it into moulds and put it in the fridge for the night.

Chop the strawberries and sugar with a blender. When the jelly hardens, get the moulds out of the fridge, put them into hot water for a few seconds, remove the panna cotta and garnish it with strawberry sauce.

FAST STRAWBERRY JAM

Making jam in this way is not only fast (judging by the name), but also useful as berries retain their shape and vitamins. Usually, water is not added to this jam, only berries and sugar.

Strawberries - 1kg

Sugar - 400 g

Rinse the berries, remove the stalk, put them in a container, sprinkle them with sugar and put them in the fridge for a few hours to drain juice.

Put them in a saucepan and boil them on medium heat, periodically removing the foam; after it starts to boil, cook it for another 5 minutes. Pour jam into dry sterilized jars.