The image, above, shows the full wild strawberry plant(Fragaria vesca), left, with maturing seeds. The top,
centre, image shows the flower heads and the top, right, image
shows the maturing seed heads. Bottom right, the edible leaves
and leaf petioles (stems) are shown..
| Common Name: Wild Strawberry |
| Scientific Name: Fragaria vesca |
| Other Names: Woodland Strawberry, Alpine Strawberry and European Strawberry |
| Family: Rosaceae |
| Range: Much of the Northern Hemisphere, including Britain |
Physical Characteristics
Fragaria vesca is a hardy Perennial plant, growing to 30cm (1 ft) by 30cm (1 ft) in size. It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. The plant flowers from May to November and the fruit ripen from June to November. The flowers are hermaphrodite and are pollinated by bees, flies and lepidoptera.
|
| Edible Parts: Fruit, Leaves |
 Edibility Rating: 5 
|
 Known Hazards: None Known.
|
Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Wild Strawberry along with all the Wild Strawberry containing recipes presented on this site, with 0 recipes in total.
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Wild Strawberry as a major wild food ingredient.
The wild strawberry, Fragaria vesca, (also known as Woodland Strawberry, Alpine Strawberry and European Strawberry) is a perennial ground-covering flowering plant of the Rosaceae (Rose) family. The leaves are glossy, dark green and three-lobed and the small five-petalled flowers are produced in summer. The fruit itself is unusual in that it's classed as an accessory fruit (where the fleshy part is derived not from the ovaries which are the "seeds" (actually achenes) but from the peg at the bottom of the hypanthium that held the ovaries). Technically, therefore, it's only the yellow seeds on the surface of the strawberry that are the fruit of the plant.
Woodland strawberries rarely form runners (unless the soil supporting them is very poor) and tend to propagate either via seeds or via division of the parent plant. In the past this species of strawberry was widely cultivated in Europe, but was eventually displaced by the Garden Strawberry (an early 18th century accidental hybridizaton of of Fragaria virginiana from eastern North America, which was noted for its fine flavour, and Fragaria chiloensis from Chile and noted for its large size).
Wild strawberries remain common in woodlands and on walls and banks. They prefer chalky soils and often colonize limestone walls. The leaves may be used as n herbal tea which is believed to aid in the treatment of diarrhoea and in spring they can also be used as a wild leafy vegetable, typically cooked in soups. However, it's the fruit that are worth foraging for. They may be tiny in size, but they are very flavoursome (much more so than modern cultivars) and it's well worth the trouble of picking them. They are wonderful set in a wine-glass and topped with champagne. They also make a glorious coulis for use with other fruit where they are simply puréed with wine, black pepper and a little honey.
The fruit as well as being eaten raw or cooked into dessert can be made into preserves and sauces. The young leaves are edible and can be consumed raw or cooked. They are excellent aded to spring salads or used as a potherb. The fresh or dried leaves can also be infused in boiling water to form a tisane. In India, the root has, in the past, been roasted and ground to form a coffee substitute.
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Wild Strawberry as a major wild food ingredient.
The wild strawberry, Fragaria vesca, (also known as Woodland Strawberry, Alpine Strawberry and European Strawberry) is a perennial ground-covering flowering plant of the Rosaceae (Rose) family. The leaves are glossy, dark green and three-lobed and the small five-petalled flowers are produced in summer. The fruit itself is unusual in that it's classed as an accessory fruit (where the fleshy part is derived not from the ovaries which are the "seeds" (actually achenes) but from the peg at the bottom of the hypanthium that held the ovaries). Technically, therefore, it's only the yellow seeds on the surface of the strawberry that are the fruit of the plant.
Woodland strawberries rarely form runners (unless the soil supporting them is very poor) and tend to propagate either via seeds or via division of the parent plant. In the past this species of strawberry was widely cultivated in Europe, but was eventually displaced by the Garden Strawberry (an early 18th century accidental hybridizaton of of Fragaria virginiana from eastern North America, which was noted for its fine flavour, and Fragaria chiloensis from Chile and noted for its large size).
Wild strawberries remain common in woodlands and on walls and banks. They prefer chalky soils and often colonize limestone walls. The leaves may be used as n herbal tea which is believed to aid in the treatment of diarrhoea and in spring they can also be used as a wild leafy vegetable, typically cooked in soups. However, it's the fruit that are worth foraging for. They may be tiny in size, but they are very flavoursome (much more so than modern cultivars) and it's well worth the trouble of picking them. They are wonderful set in a wine-glass and topped with champagne. They also make a glorious coulis for use with other fruit where they are simply puréed with wine, black pepper and a little honey.
The fruit as well as being eaten raw or cooked into dessert can be made into preserves and sauces. The young leaves are edible and can be consumed raw or cooked. They are excellent aded to spring salads or used as a potherb. The fresh or dried leaves can also be infused in boiling water to form a tisane. In India, the root has, in the past, been roasted and ground to form a coffee substitute.
References:
[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
The alphabetical list of all Wild Strawberry recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 0 recipes in total:
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Page 1 of 1