Some interesting facts you may not know! –
Strawberries were originally cultivated in ancient Rome Madame Tallien, a prominent figure at the court of the Emperor Napoleon, was famous for bathing in the juice of fresh strawberries. She used 22 pounds per basin – needless to say, she did not bathe daily. The American Indians were already eating strawberries when the Colonists arrived. The crushed berries were mixed with cornmeal and baked into strawberry bread. After trying this bread, Colonists developed their own version of the recipe and Strawberry Shortcake was created. The strawberry, as we know it, was originally grown in northern Europe, but species are also found in Russia, Chile, and the United States. The berries seem to be strewn among the leaves of the plant. The plant first had the name strewberry, which later was changed to strawberry. In France, strawberries were cultivated in the 13th Century for use as a medicinal herb. Historical Medicinal Uses of Fragaria Vesca (Alpine Strawberry): It is said that the leaves, roots and fruits of this variety of strawberry were used for a digestive or skin tonic. Internally, the berry was used for diarrhoea and digestive upset, while the leaves and the roots were used for gout. Externally, it was used for sunburn and skin blemishes, and the fruit juice was used for discoloured teeth. Legend has it that if you break a double strawberry in half and share it with a member of the opposite sex, you will fall in love with each other. The strawberry was a symbol for Venus, the Goddess of Love, because of its heart shapes and red color. The first documented botanical illustration of a strawberry plant appeared as a figure in Herbaries in 1454.
: Strawberry Facts,History and Origin & Other Details at Queensland.
Contents
When was the first strawberry found?
What is the history behind strawberries? Strawberries are indigenous to both the northern and southern hemispheres. They have been found growing by the seaside, in the woods, and on mountain tops. The strawberry was first described in literature as early as 1000AD and the first sketch of a strawberry plant was printed in 1484.
The first mention of strawberries occurred sometime between 234-149 BC in the writings of Cato, a Roman Senator. The first descriptions published were mostly for the medicinal uses of the plant and not for the benefits of the fruit. For a period of time in the 12th Century Saint Hildegard Von Binger, then an abbess, pronounced that strawberries were unfit to eat due to the fact that they grew close to the ground; it was thought that the fruit was contaminated by the snakes and toads that may have touched them.
This, along with the support of her theory by local political figures, caused many people to avoid the fruit and decreased its growing popularity. Charles Linnaeus, however, put this superstition to rest by prescribing for himself a diet of only the fruit.
- Strawberries began to be sold at a London marketplace around 1831.
- They were most likely harvested from nearby fields or woodlands and not from “commercial” production areas.
- In England and mainland Europe as the consumption of strawberries became more popular, many commoners as well as aristocrats would have a patch in their home gardens.
France, though, became the the front runner in strawberry production. The word Strawberry is in itself, peculiar to the English language. The name has a variety of possible origins. Straw was commonly used to mulch the plants during the winter and as weed and soil control to keep the berries cleaner.
In London children used to collect the berries, string them on pieces of straw, then sell them at the markets as “Straws of Berries”. The runners which the plants produce are said to be strewn or dispersed around the plant. In some literature the fruit is called strewberry. In Latin the fruit is referred to as “Fragra” or Fragrant.
Charles Linnaeus gave strawberry the species name of Fragaria. In French, Italian, and Spanish the fruit is referred to as a “Fraise” or fragrant berry.The Narragansett Indians of North America called the fruit “wuttahimneash” or “heart berry”. The explorer Cartier brought strawberries back to France from his first trip to the Quebec Province of Canada in 1534 while another explorer, Harriot, brought plant specimens with him from Virginia to London.Image of a hand holding 5 huge strawberries Other strawberry plants were brought to Europe from Chile and Peru where they had been cultivated and marketed long before the Spanish arrived.
The strawberry plants found native in North America, were superior to all European varieties in size, flavor, and beauty. Only in 1697 were the first detailed accounts of strawberry production for larger fruit, including correct soil conditions, pest problems etc. written by the gardener at Versailles.
In the 18th Century one of the first breeding crosses was made to improve the strawberry. A Virginia variety with good flavor and fruitfulness was crossed with a Chilean variety which lent the resultant offspring both size and firmness. This variety became known as the Pineapple or Pine strawberry due to its distinctive flavor.
Are strawberries genetically modified?
Strawberries and Hybridization Are Strawberries GMOs? It is important to note there are currently no genetically modified strawberries on the market. If you see a ‘non-GMO’ label on a package of strawberries, remember all strawberries are non-GMO, even if the label doesn’t say so.
Do strawberries come from Japan?
What makes Japanese Strawberries Different? – 
One of the most delectable strawberries in the world is the Japanese variety. In Japan, strawberries are taken seriously with their enormous size, sweetness, and juiciness, and people frequently send them as gifts to friends and family. There are many varieties, and it seems like a new one enters the market every year.
Who first discovered strawberries?
Strawberry Historical Facts: –
Strawberries are thought to have been cultivated in ancient Rome. The strawberry, as we know it, was originally grown in northern Europe, but species are also found in Russia, Chile, and the United States. The berries seem to be strewn among the leaves of the plant. The plant first had the name strewberry, which later was changed to strawberry, In France strawberries were cultivated in the 13th Century for useas a medicinal herb. Historical Medicinal Uses of Fragaria Vesca (Alpine Strawberry): It is said that the leaves, roots and fruits of this variety of strawberry were used for a digestive or skin tonic. Internally, the berry was used for diarrhoea and digestive upset, while the leaves and the roots were used for gout. Externally, it was used for sunburn and skin blemishes, and the fruit juice was used for discoloured teeth. The first American species of strawberries was cultivated about 1835. The first important American variety, the Hoveg, was grown in 1834, in Massachusetts. The hybrid variety was developed in France. The strawberry is considered one of the most important small fruits grown in the Western Hemisphere. Today every state in the United States and every province in Canada grows the strawberry plant.
Strawberry Horticulture Facts:
The strawberry is a small plant of the Rosaceae (Rose) family. All varieties of the strawberry plant belong to the Fragaria genus. It grows both as a wild plant and as a cultivated plant. Some strawberries, called everbearing, produce berries throughout the summer and fall. Strawberry plants can be planted in any garden soil. But the richer the soil, the larger the crop. The plant grows best in a cool, moist climate and does not do well in warm temperatures. The plants may be planted in the spring or fall, but if the temperature is too cold, fall planting requires a great deal of care. The strawberry grows close to the ground on the stem in groups of three. The greenish white fruits turn to a rich red colour when they ripen. When the strawberry ripens, the petals of the flower fall off and all that remains is the calyx, a leafy substance shaped like a star. Not every flower produces fruit. Strawberries are not really berries or fruit in the “botanical” sense (i.e., the end result of a fertilized plant ovum). A strawberry is actually an “aggregate fruit” – the “real” fruit are the objects we think of as the “strawberry seed” – properly called “achenes” – which are fruits in the same way that a raw sunflower seed with it’s tough shell is a fruit. The “berry” is actually an “enlarged receptacle” and is not reproductive material. As a result, strawberries must be picked at full ripeness, as they cannot not ripen once picked. The strawberry plant has seeds on the outside skin rather than having an outer skin around the seed, as most berries do. They do not however, normally reproduce by seeds. When the fruit is developing, the plant sends out slender growths called runners. These look like strings. They grow on the ground and send out roots in the soil. The roots produce new plants which grow and bear fruit. Sometimes these plants are taken from the soil and replanted to start a new plantation of strawberry plants.
Ancient Medical Uses: The roots, leaves, and fruits of the Alpine Strawberry, Fragaria Vesca, were used as a digestive aid and skin tonic. The berry was prescribed for diarrhea and digestive upset, while the leaves and roots were supposed to relievie gout.
The berry itself was rubbed on the skin to ease the pain of sunburn and to relieve blemishes. The juice of the strawberry has its own special prescription-it brightened discolored teeth. The ancient Romans were staunch believers in the curative powers of the strawberry. They believed it relieved melancholy and masked bad breath.
According to the ancients, strawberries could cure inflammations, fevers, throat infections, kidney stones, gout, fainting spells, and diseases of the blood, liver, and spleen. Interesting Strawberry Facts:
“Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did.” (Dr. William Butler, 17 th Century English Writer) Dr. Butler is referring to the strawberry. Strawberries are the best of the berries. The delicate heart-shaped berry has always connoted purity, passion and healing. It has been used in stories, literature and paintings through the ages. In Othello, Shakespeare decorated Desdemonda’s handkerchief with symbolic strawberries. Madame Tallien, a prominent figure at the court of the Emperor Napoleon, was famous for bathing in the juice of fresh strawberries. She used 22 pounds per basin, needless to say, she did not bathe daily. In parts of Bavaria, country folk still practice the annual rite each spring of tying small baskets of wild strawberries to the horns of their cattle as an offering to elves. They believe that the elves, who are passionately fond of strawberries, will help to produce healthy calves and abundance of milk in return. The American Indians were already eating strawberries when the Colonists arrived. The crushed berries were mixed with cornmeal and baked into strawberry bread. After trying this bread, Colonists developed their own version of the recipe and Strawberry Shortcake was created. In Greek and Roman times, the strawberry was a wild plant. The English “strawberry” comes from the Anglo-Saxon “streoberie” not spelled in the modern fashion until 1538. The first documented botanical illustration of a strawberry plant appeared as a figure in Herbaries in 1454. In 1780, the first strawberry hybrid “Hudson” was developed in the United States. Legend has it that if you break a double strawberry in half and share it with a member of the opposite sex, you will fall in love with each other. The strawberry was a symbol for Venus, the Goddess of Love, because of its heart shapes and red color. Queen Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII had a strawberry shaped birthmark on her neck, which some claimed proved she was a witch. To symbolize perfection and righteousness, medieval stone masons carved strawberry designs on altars and around the tops of pillars in churches and cathedrals. The wide distribution of wild strawberries is largely from seeds sown by birds. It seems that when birds eat the wild berries the seeds pass through them intact and in reasonably good condition. The germinating seeds respond to light rather than moisture and therefore need no covering of earth to start growing.
Interesting Stawberry Links: http://www.museums.org.za/bio/plants/rosaceae/fragaria.htm http://www.nalusda.gov/pgdic/Strawberry/ers/ers.htm http://www.vegparadise.com/highestperch45.html http://www.dobrev.com/ UMMMMMMMMMM!!
Is there DNA in strawberry?
DNA Extraction Lab: Strawberry – Background: The long, thick fibers of DNA store the information for the functioning of the chemistry of life. DNA is present in every cell of plants and animals. The DNA found in strawberry cells can be extracted using common, everyday materials.
- Strawberries are soft and easy to pulverize.
- Strawberries have large genomes; they are octoploid, which means they have eight of each type of chromosome in each cell.
- Thus, strawberries are an exceptional fruit to use in DNA extraction labs and strawberries yield more DNA than any other fruit (i.e.
- Banana, kiwi, etc.).
We will use an extraction buffer containing salt, to break up protein chains that bind around the nucleic acids, and dish soap which helps to dissolve the phospholipid bilayers of the cell membrane and organelles. This extraction buffer will help provide us access to the DNA inside the cells.
- heavy duty quart ziploc bag
- Strawberry
- Table salt
- Shampoo (look for sodium lauryl sulfate as a first ingredient)
- Water
- Cheesecloth or similar loose woven fabric
- Funnel
- 50mL vial / test tube or similar container
- 500 mL beaker or mason jar
- glass rod, popsicle stick, wooden skewer or toothpick
- chilled (refrigerated or briefly frozen) isopropyl alcohol
Warning: Isopropyl alcohol is a skin irritant, and inhaling or consuming it can make you sick. Use in a well ventilated space. Alcohols are also flammable and the vapors can ignite. Keep away from open flame. Procedure:
- Gather all materials.
- Prepare the DNA extraction buffer.
In 500 mL beaker add
- 400mL (1 ¾ cups) water
- 50mL (3 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon) shampoo
- 5mL (2 teaspoons) table salt
Slowly invert the bottle to mix the extraction buffer.
- Place one strawberry in a Ziploc bag.
- Smash/grind up the strawberry using your fist and fingers for 2 minutes. Careful not to break the bag!
Why? The physical smashing breaks the plant’s cell walls and allows the cytoplasm to leak out.
- Add 10mL (2 teaspoons) of extraction buffer (salt and soap solution) to the bag.
- Kneed/mush the strawberry in the bag again for 1 minute.
Why the detergent? The soap breaks down the lipids (fats) in the phospholipid bi-layers of the cell membrane and nuclear membrane. This releases the contents from the cell and the chromosomes containing DNA from the nucleus.
- Assemble your filtration apparatus as shown to the right.
- Pour the strawberry slurry into the filtration apparatus and let it drip directly into your test tube.
Why? Filtering strains all the large cellular junk out of the mix. The DNA, still tightly wound, is so small it slips through with the liquid and into the test tube. Caution! From this stage onward, you must be careful not to agitate the mixture.
Gently Slowly pour 20mL (1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) cold alcohol down the inside wall of the test tube to form a separate, clear layer on top of the cloudy strawberry mixture below (You should see small wisps of gel-like material forming above the boundary.) OBSERVE
Why? The polar/non-polar boundary layer causes the DNA to precipitate. The tiny bits of wispy junk floating in the alcohol just above the boundary layer is DNA.
- Dip the glass rod or wooden stick into the tube where the strawberry extract and alcohol layers come into contact with each other. OBSERVE
- If the procedure worked really well (it often doesn’t) you will get long strands of DNA forming, sometimes more than an inch long! Using the bamboo skewer or toothpick, gently wind up the precipitated DNA.
- As you gently lift the skewer or toothpick out of the container after winding, it will carry long strands of a mucus-like substance that looks like “boogers.” That’s concentrated DNA, just like they do it on CSI 😉
If it didn’t work perfectly, don’t despair. Most people see the wispy stuff, but you have to get a bit lucky to get the long strands to form References and Resources: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/squishy-science-extract-dna-from-smashed-strawberries/ https://science.wonderhowto.com/how-to/extract-dna-from-strawberry-with-basic-kitchen-items-0140302/ https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/strawberry-dna/ Video: https://youtu.be/vPGKv53zSRQ Video: https://youtu.be/usaE_XZx-a8
Do strawberries have DNA or RNA?
Ripe strawberries are an excellent source for extracting DNA because they are easy to pulverize and contain enzymes called pectinases and cellulases that help to break down cell walls. And most important, strawberries have eight copies of each chromosome (they are octoploid), so there is a lot of DNA to isolate.
Why are strawberries so big now?
Are the extra large strawberries in the grocery store genetically modified organisms (GMOs)? Answer: No, there are no commercially available GMO strawberries. Quick take: There are only 10 commercially available GMO crops in the USA, which include: alfalfa, apples, canola, corn, cotton, papaya, potatoes, soybeans, summer squash, and sugar beets.
The strawberries you see in the grocery store or at farm stands are the result of long-standing traditional breeding practices. These practices involve selectively cross-pollinating parent plants that exhibit characteristics that breeders would like new varieties to have. Over time this has led to larger and larger strawberry fruit size! Cultural practices like irrigation and fertilizer application can also contribute to large fruit size.
The explanation: Have concerns about what a GMO is and what it means to eat GMO’s? See more facts here: https://www.uaex.uada.edu/publications/pdf/FSFCS97.pdf
Why is fruit rare in Japan?
Tokyo Q&A: Why is fruit so expensive in Japan? Any visitor to Tokyo has likely ogled over a ¥20,000 musk melon that costs more than a Michelin-starred meal, posted Instagram shots of gold-lined boxes of ¥3,000 a pop peaches, and tried to personally justify ¥5,000 for a bunch of shine muscat grapes.
Shopping for fruit in Japan is more like shopping for jewellery. But why is it so? It’s a combination of factors. For starters, fruit plays a very different role in Japan. In many parts of the world, fruit is eaten as an everyday snack, but for Japan, it is regarded as a precious gift given to someone you want to impress, show your gratitude to, or wish well.
It’s also common to be served a few slices of fruit at the end of a high-end, multi-course kaiseki meal. 
Photo: Elianna Friedman/Unsplash Shine muscat, a premium grape variety in Japan This regal status means the fruit must be a premium product worthy of gifting. In other words, it should be perfect and blemish-free: elegantly round and rosy peaches; gleaming scarlet strawberries; plump, juicy grapes; perfectly spherical and fragrant melons.
Aside from this luxury status, there are regulations on size, colour and taste set by JA (Japan Agricultural Cooperative), the national regulatory body, when buying produce from farmers for resale. The landmass of Japan is also almost 80 percent mountains, which doesn’t leave a lot of room for fruit crops.
Many fruit farms in Japan are run by family-run or small-scale businesses, for whom fruit cultivation remains a labour-intensive process, and one that is undertaken with a typically Japanese sense of tenacity and pride. 
Photo: Pigprox/Dreamstime The precise and hyper-controlled environment in which prized Japanese melons are cultivated For an example of the lengths fruit farmers will go to, take the famous crown musk melons of Shizuoka: they are grown just one melon per vine in uniform rows in climate-controlled greenhouses; donned little plastic hats to avoid sun damage; and given gentle rubs by the farmers in cotton gloves to stimulates sweetness.
Cheap(ish) fruit is available in Japan. Look for it when visiting rural regions, where it doesn’t bear the logistical costs of transportation to the city. Go for local varieties that are in season: strawberries and native citrus like amanatsu in spring; peaches and anzu (native apricots) in summer; figs, nashi (Asian pear), grapes and persimmons in autumn; mandarins and apples in winter.
Also, shop at farmers’ markets to buy fruit directly from farmers, who can sell their less ‘perfect’ fruit. : Tokyo Q&A: Why is fruit so expensive in Japan?
Are strawberries natural?
Where Do Strawberries Come From? – Strawberries are native to North America, and Indigenous peoples used them in many dishes. The first colonists in America shipped the native larger strawberry plants back to Europe as early as 1600. Another variety, also was discovered in Central and South America, is what the conquistadors called “futilla.” Early Americans did not bother cultivating strawberries because they were abundant in the wilds.
- Although they have been around for thousands of years, strawberries were not actively cultivated until the Renaissance period in Europe.
- The plants can last for five to six with careful cultivation, but most farmers use them as an annual crop, replanting yearly.
- Strawberries are social plants, requiring both a male and a female to produce fruit.
Crops take eight to 14 months to mature.
What is the oldest fruit discovered?
THE date-palm fruit, called simply ‘date’ is also known as ‘heavenly fruit” because of its mention in religious scriptures. Even otherwise, the fruit in known since ancient days. The fruit is almost too sweat and very delicious in taste, so also it is a digestive and its use is considered as one of the best cures for many diseases.
It contains rich carbohydrates, vitamins B and D, calcium, potassium, iron and other tonic ingredients. One of its special variety is known as “Ajjoa”. Nowadays “dates” are increasingly used by bakeries in preparing sweats of different kinds and the fruit is grown in more than 40 countries of the world, including Pakistan, Iraq, Algiers, Saudi Arabia,Iran, America, Spain, Turkey, Nigeria, Bahrain, Palestine, Qatar, Yemen, UAE, Somalia and other tropical countries.
In Pakistan, date-palms are grown mostly in district Khairpur Mir where nearly 20,000 new date palm trees are planted every year and as per official data, a large area of 70,000 acres is covered with date-palm trees, through which the country earns over one billion rupees every year by exporting dates to India, Britain, Russia and several other countries.
- In Therhi town there are three date factories where more than 1500 women workers are employed.
- There are several varieties of date-palm trees grown in this district.
- Rains are the only danger for this crop and excess rains almost ruin the crop,
- Dates become fully ripe in the months of June and July and even upto August when almost 30,000 workers are seen busy taking care of the fruit at various stages.
The soaked dates (Shoonharas) are prepared from half- ripened dates (Dokkas) in an iron vessel (Karah), within which a chemical known as “Soda” is used.Later these dates are spread in open sunshine to get them dried. When the President of Pakistan, General Perveiz Mushrraf visited India this year, he also met a a delegation of Indian traders who expressed their interest in importing dates.
Did Egyptians have strawberries?
Egypt started cultivating strawberries during the reign of Mohamed Ali, as Hassan Zayed, the deputy minister of agriculture in Qalyubiya, explains. Strawberries were initially grown in the fields of Maadi, and then in the village of Deir in Toukh, Qalyubiya.