"Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did." William Butler (1535-1618)
The favoured summer berry for all ages, strawberries are thought to have originally been cultivated in ancient Rome and was commonly found throughout Northern Europe, although species have been found in Russia, Chile and the United States. There are two schools of thoughts as regards its name. The first refers to the manner in which the berries are strewn among the leaves of the plant, hence the name "strewberry" which was later modified to "strawberry". The second theory is more straightforward and relates directly to the straw used to surround the growing plants.
The leaves and fruit of wild alpine strawberries were traditionally used as a medicinal herb to treat digestive and skin disorders, with the juice and seeds being used to remove stains from teeth.
Strawberry nutritional information
| Nutrient | Amount/100g | RDA of nutrient |
| Water | 89.5g | |
| Energy | 27kcal | 2000kcal (women) 2500kcal (men) |
| Protein | 0.8g | |
| Fat | 0.1g | |
| Carbohydrate | 6 g | |
| Glucose | 2.6 g | |
| Fructose | 3 g | |
| Fibre | 1.1 g | |
| Folate (Folic Acid) | 20 micrograms |
200 micrograms |
| Vitamin C | 77 milligrams | 60 milligrams |
| Vitamin E | 0.2 milligrams | 4 milligrams (men) |
| 3 milligrams (women) | ||
| Potassium | 160milligrams | 3500 milligrams |
| Iron | 0.4 milligrams | 8.7 milligrams (men) |
| 14.8 milligrams (women) |
Nutritional information from The Composition of Foods (5th Edition); Holland, Unwin, Buss
Recommended Daily Amount
as recommended by the Foods Standards Agency (UK)