In addition to "the first cup of milk tea in autumn", I wonder if you have caught up with "the first strawberry in winter"? If you don't catch up, don't miss this wave at the turn of winter and spring.
You may not know that the strawberry you are eating now is actually the fruit of summer. Shui Lingling, bright red, like a small lantern strawberry, take a bite, soft and juicy, sweet and sour, with a strong fruity aroma, it has the reputation of "Queen of Fruits" in Europe. In fact, strawberries like warm and cool climatic conditions, and the most suitable temperature is 15-25 degrees Celsius. The "Queen of Fruits" is also very delicate: neither too hot nor too cold, too low or too high temperature will inhibit its growth; if it drops below minus 8 degrees Celsius, it will make it "sweet away". Therefore, the strawberry harvest season should have been late spring and early summer.
Strawberries are rich in vitamin C, dietary fiber, potassium, salicylic acid, tannic acid and other organic acids and flavonoids. They have good antioxidant effects, maintain skin and hair, and help lose weight. The dietary fiber and tannic acid in strawberries can adsorb and prevent the absorption of carcinogens. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that strawberry is sweet and cool in nature, has the functions of moistening the lungs and promoting body fluid, invigorating the spleen and stomach, diuretic and swelling, relieving heat and dispelling summer heat.
That's right, your favorite strawberry is actually an imported variety. It belongs to the large-fruited pineapple strawberry. It was introduced in the early 20th century, but only has a history of more than 100 years. In the decades since the introduction of strawberries, it was basically a single open-air cultivation method, and it has not received commercialization attention. The planting area is small, the yield is low, and the variety is very small. At that time, strawberries were simply a luxury. Not to mention eating strawberries in winter, it would be hard to eat strawberries in summer. In today's winter, as soon as you enter the fruit store, strawberries will not be absent and placed in a prominent position. Strawberry cakes, strawberry croissants, strawberry drinks and many other "Berry" products also occupy the top spot in the dessert shop.
So, how did strawberries, originally a summer fruit, become available all year round and even become "winter limited"? In fact, this is all thanks to greenhouse cultivation technology. The current greenhouse technology requires only a small amount of artificial heating, or even without artificial conditions, to provide a cold-proof and heat-preserving environment for plants that love temperature, so that they can grow normally in unsuitable growing seasons. And Xiwen's strawberry is one of the lucky ones who "stay in".
After finding a suitable home for the strawberry, the weather is cold, and it has to be put on a "winter coat": in order to achieve the ideal growth temperature of the strawberry, sometimes it is like a nesting doll, the greenhouse is covered with the middle shed, the middle shed is covered with a small shed, and an additional layer is added. Mulch, wrap the strawberry seedlings tightly. It is not that the strawberry seedlings are put into the greenhouse, and a pack of plastic film is done. Strawberries grown in the greenhouse usually require varieties with strong disease resistance, low temperature resistance, and good cold resistance, such as the common Japanese red face, American sweet charlie and so on. In case the wrong variety is selected and the temperature is not well controlled, the delicate strawberry seedlings can only face the end of pearls sinking and jade breaking.
The "Queen of Fruits" is not only delicate during the growth process, but also untouchable when picking. "It will rot if you press it, and it will break if you squeeze it". It is strawberries. So now strawberry packaging is used to cover the fruit with foam net sleeves, or use boxes with holes to separate the strawberries for shock absorption and buffering, all to reduce the damage of external force during transportation. At the same time, in order to preserve freshness, freezer preservation, chemical preservation, air-conditioned refrigerated trucks, etc., can be described as eighteen kinds of martial arts. Just to get fresh strawberries right in front of you.
Perhaps, you are worried about whether the big sweet strawberries have been sprayed with pesticides? In fact, you can rest assured that off-season strawberries grown in greenhouses are safe and hygienic. The improvement of seedling breeding technology has made strawberry seedlings no longer "soft and drooping, thin and timid and forbidden to dance", and the resistance has been enhanced, resulting in fewer insect pests, and basically no need to use pesticides. In the selection process, you can also "look, hear, and ask". The appearance is fresh and intact, no peculiar smell, no insect damage. And the redder the strawberry, the more ripe it is.
If you are still not at ease, you can wash the strawberries you bought. Rinse with clean water to remove contaminants on the surface, and then add some baking soda to soak it. The baking soda solution will remove pesticide residues to a certain extent. After careful care, I believe that the strawberries in the mouth must be extremely delicious.