Strawberries

This morning I crushed a strawberry into a cup of lemonade (which was delicious, obviously) and it occurred to me how little pressure was needed to mash the strawberry.

I don't know how many of you have had the chance to crush a strawberry at home, but I can tell you that it's no easy task. You have to hold them still and apply a lot of force to make them pulpy.   But these French strawberries sort of collapse on themselves if you apply light pressure with a spoon.

It's noticeable when you eat them as well.  As you bite into them they melt into pulpy messes. At home a strawberry is a more formidable thing - it holds its shape as you go.

I like both of them - the American strawberry for its bright color, plump appearance, and sweetness - and the French strawberry for its delicateness and its less sweet, but more flavorful taste.

I wonder how much the differences have to do with climate, soil content, genetic modification, and selective breeding.  We certainly like things to be bigger and sweeter in the US, so it would make sense if we had bred our strawberries to be larger and more sugary, but it might just be differences that happened by chance.

Either way: delicious.