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Berry Good

© Sarah White

I know that spring is just now in full swing (at least where I live, in north Arkansas), though the hothouse tomatoes at the farmer's market try to convince me otherwise. Still, I can't help thinking about the sweet treats that lie just around the corner, and the one that keeps coming to mind these days is strawberries.

I blame Wal-Mart. The king of out-of-season produce has been stocking strawberries in stores around here for a couple months and I long to eat them, but they're just go yucky looking I can't stand it. I know they wouldn't be good. They won't be good for probably another month.

That's really sad, but when they get here, I'll sure be ready, thanks to the Web site for the California Strawberry Commission.

This site tells you a serving is about eight berries and provides 3 grams of fiber and 84 mg of vitamin C. It's also a good source of folate and potassium. Studies have shown that eating strawberries daily can lower blood pressure. California supplies 88 percent of the nation's strawberries, so it seems a good place to look for tips on the sweet little berries.

The site says to store berries loosely covered in the refridgerator and not to rinse them until ready to use.

And how do you use them? My favorite is strawberry jam, followed closely by spinach salad with strawberries and poppy seed dressing. But how about Frosty Strawberry Pops,Salmon with Strawberry Balsamic Vinagrette or Strawberry Sorbet Soup with Pound Cake Croutons?

There are even food service recipes bordering on the bizarre, such as Maine Lobster and Strawberry Shrimp Cocktail. I don't know how tasty those would be, but this site certainly gives you some different ideas for what to do with those berries.

The site also features an interactive educational section called Strawberryville, a section for professionals on market information, more health details (including information on popular diets and government guidelines) and industry communications for members and nonmembers of the commission.

The bottom line is this simple, strawberry-colored site offers a bevy of information and ideas on how to enjoy strawberries. As for me, I have a new job and a new boss with strawberry bushes who predicts he will have more berries than he knows what to do with. So maybe I'll get to find out how strawberry tastes with shrimp after all. Happy eating!

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