20 species range across the northern hemisphere The plants are easy to grow and therefore are grown widely, from sub-arctic Finland to tropical Ecuador The strawberry is unusual in bearing its “seeds” on the surface of the fleshy portion, not inside The “seeds” are actually miniature dry fruits (achenes), similar to buckwheat and sunflower “seeds,” and the fleshy portion is the flower’s swollen base, not its ovary During ripening, the cells of the strawberry interior enlarge and pull apart from each other The berry is therefore filled with tiny air pockets, and its shape is maintained by the pressure of the cell contents pushing each cell onto its neighbors When this pressure is released, by water loss from drying out or from freezing that punctures the cell walls, the structure weakens and the fruit becomes soft and mushy Strawberries don’t improve once picked, so they must be picked ripe Thanks to their thin skin and fragile structure, they only last a few days, even in cold storage The pineapple note in standard strawberries comes from the presence of ethyl esters Some sulfur compounds and a complex caramel-like oxygen-containing ring, furaneol (also characteristic of pineapple), round out strawberry aroma The smaller European woodland strawberries have a flavor of Concord grapes thanks to anthranilates, and a clove-like spicy note (from the phenolic eugenol) Strawberries are rich in ascorbic acid and in phenolic antioxidants, including its red anthocyanin pigments They are poor in pectic materials, so strawberry preserves are often supplemented with prepared pectin or pectin-rich fruits The Domestication of the Strawberry Most of the strawberries grown today derive from two American species which were brought together and hybridized less than 300 years ago — and in Europe, not in the Americas! ... pectin-rich fruits The Domestication of the Strawberry Most of the strawberries grown today derive from two American species which were brought together and hybridized less than 300 years ago — and in Europe, not in the Americas!...cold storage The pineapple note in standard strawberries comes from the presence of ethyl esters Some sulfur compounds and a complex caramel-like oxygen-containing ring, furaneol (also characteristic of pineapple), round out... (also characteristic of pineapple), round out strawberry aroma The smaller European woodland strawberries have a flavor of Concord grapes thanks to anthranilates, and a clove-like spicy note (from the phenolic eugenol) Strawberries are rich in ascorbic