Thanks to the Chapman University FSNSA Club, students
got to take a strawberry tour at Tanaka Farms and pick strawberries...for just $2!!! The farm is located in Irvine,
CA and it offers various tours, including strawberry tours, cookout tours,
watermelon tours, and pumpkin patch tours. The first strawberry tour started
back in 1998 because the people of Tanaka Farms wanted to educate children
about where fruits and vegetables come from and how they are grown.
The farm tour was led on a tractor pulled wagon ride.
Students had the chance to see how various fruits
and vegetables grew on the farm. Additionally, everyone got to sample freshly
picked vegetables, such as carrots, sugar snap peas, green onions, cilantro,
and spinach.
The last stop of the tour was at the strawberry
fields, where students got to pick and eat strawberries. Best of all, everyone
got to pick a one pound basket of strawberries to take home and enjoy.
And of course, pictures of the FSNSA Club members
were taken to capture the fun memories of the tour.
After the strawberry tour, I wanted to learn a
little bit more about the fruit and I was pleased to have stumbled upon some
interesting facts. Referred to as the sweetheart of fruits, the fragrantly
sweet strawberry is one of the most popular fruits around the world. Although
they are delicious as whole, fresh fruits, strawberries are also frequently
used in a wide array of toothsome recipes. Some delicious strawberry desserts
include strawberry fool, strawberry buckle, and strawberry flummery.
These fruits specked with seeds were also
historically significant. In fact, the ancient Romans used strawberries for
medicinal purposes to alleviate inflammation, fevers, and gastrointestinal
discomforts. Throughout the medieval times, strawberries represented
righteousness and perfection. The stonemasons carved strawberry designs on
altars and around the tops of pillars in churches and cathedrals. During the
same time period, the fruit also symbolized peace and prosperity. As a result,
they were always served at important state functions.
So how did strawberry get its name? There are
actually several theories that surround the origin of the fruit’s name. One
theory is that English children from the 19th Century strung strawberries
together on grass straws and sold them as “straws of berries”. An alternative theory
is that the name may have derived from the practice of placing straw around the
strawberry plants to protect the ripening fruit.
Fun Facts about Strawberries:
1. Have
any of you tried counting the seeds on the strawberries? There are
approximately 150-200 seeds on a strawberry. Of course, the seed numbers will vary
by the size of the fruit.
2. The
external, fleshy part of the strawberry actually derives from the receptacle
that holds the ovaries. The “seeds” that you see on the outside are the
ovaries, with a seed inside them.
3. The
strawberry is a member of the Rosaceae (Rose) family.
4. The
fruit belongs to the genus Frugaria, which means “fragrance” in Latin.
5. If
you haven’t noticed, strawberries bear a resemblance to a heart. The Narragansett
North American Natives called the fruit "wuttahimneash", which means "heart
berry."
6. Did
you know that over 80% of the strawberries produced in the United States are
grown in California? In order to grow well, strawberries require warm, sunny
weather and cool nights.
7. Strawberries are hand-picked because they are
very fragile and tend to bruise easily.
8. If
you lined up all the strawberries grown each year, they would circle the Earth about
17 times!
9. Since
the times of ancient Rome, strawberries were touted as an aphrodisiac fruit. In
mythology, the strawberry was a symbol for Venus, the Goddess of Love because
of its beautiful heart shape and succulent red color.
10.Traditionally,
newlyweds in France were served strawberry soup to celebrate their love…and to
help promote the aphrodisiac of honeymoon romance.
11. During Napoleon’s reign, a French social figure
named Madame Tallien bathed in the juices of fresh strawberries because she
believed the fruit will preserve her beauty.
12. According
to folklore, if you split and share a double strawberry with the opposite sex,
you will both fall in love.
13. Strawberries
are the first fruit to ripen in the spring.
14. Botanists
do not consider strawberries a “berry” simply because “true berries” such as
blueberries have seeds inside.
15. Queen
Anne Boleyn was the second wife of Henry VIII. People claimed she was a witch
because of the strawberry-shaped birthmark on her neck.
Photo
Credits: Crystal Lin, http://heyfranhey.com/post/5545294796/findvegan-strawberry-rhubarb-flummery
