Strawberries—beautiful in appearance, poor in taste
Strawberries are the first fruit to appear on the market each year. During the Spring Festival, strawberries are an excellent gift for friends and relatives. The beautiful color of strawberries comes from cyanidin and pelargonidin in anthocyanins. When strawberries ripen, their sugar content (fructose and glucose account for about 80%) is 6% to 9%. The composition of malic acid, ellagic acid, and about 88% citric acid minimizes the acidity. The ripening process of strawberries is controlled by auxin. When the amount of auxin reaches its peak, the cell walls of the strawberry break down, which makes the ripe strawberry sweet and juicy. The cyanidin, pelargonidin, and abundant vitamin C in strawberries are all excellent antioxidants. According to chemical composition analysis, good-tasting strawberries contain more than 350 volatile compounds. The compounds that give strawberries their aroma include 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone, among others.
When cultivating new varieties of strawberries, researchers aim for large fruit size, beautiful appearance, and strong disease resistance. Like tomatoes, larger fruit size and higher yield can reduce the sugar content in strawberries. At the same time, new varieties bred according to these criteria may lose some of their original good genes. Therefore, strawberries from cultivated varieties do not taste very good. Wild strawberries contain more aromatic components and some additional ingredients compared to cultivated strawberries. For example, wild strawberries also contain components such as α-pinene, β-myrcene, myrtenyl acetate, and myrtenol. If cultivated varieties are crossbred with wild ones, the resulting plants will produce smaller strawberries with a taste closer to the wild type.
Choosing Strawberries: "Three Look's"
Look at the shape: Do not buy strawberries with odd shapes. Some strawberries are brightly colored and large, with deformed bumps on the surface, and are hollow when bitten open. These deformed strawberries are often caused by the misuse of hormones during the growing process, and long-term consumption in large quantities may harm human health. Pregnant women and children, in particular, should not eat deformed strawberries.
Look at the color: When selecting, try to choose strawberries that are brightly colored and have a luster. When buying strawberries, you can gently wipe the surface of the strawberry with your hand or a piece of paper. If a large amount of red rubs off onto your hand or the paper, be cautious.
Look at the surface: Good strawberries have fresh green caps with fine hairs, a shiny surface, and no damage or decay.