Strawberries by any other name are still good for you

Strawberries aren’t actually berries. It’s true. The University of California at Davis says so, and UCDavis is one of the leading strawberry research centers in the world (if you’ve ever tasted a fresh California strawberry, this won’t surprise you). Perhaps even harder to believe: the university swears that strawberries are actually members of the rose family and are known as “false” fruits. And — stay with me here — it’s not the rich red flesh that’s the actual fruit, it’s the tiny membrane known as an achene that surrounds the seed that’s the fruit, at least as far as botanists are concerned.Doesn’t that kind of blow your mind?In the end, it doesn’t really matter. They’re still delicious, they still have tons of vitamin C, fiber and folate and they still help fight cancer in all kinds of ways. Current research indicates that they’re especially helpful in fighting off liver cancers. If you’re like me and you secretly wonder if it’s worthwhile to buy organic instead of the standard big-farm brands, research shows that the organic ones are in fact higher in nutrition, and are especially rich in vitamin C (which is one of the most powerful of the cancer-fighting antioxidants).It should be fairly easy to find organic berries at this time of year, when local strawberries are ripe and are throwing off their tantalizing scent from their boxes at farm markets such as Paley’s in Sharon. If you find an organic pick-your-own farm, or if you just can’t resist buying multiple boxes at your favorite farmstand, here’s a tip for preserving berries from the scientists at UC Davis: Freeze them or turn them into jam or jelly but don’t can them. I’m not sure why anyone would can them without turning them into jam or jelly first, but I’m not exactly a big expert on preserving. To freeze them, you’re supposed to choose ones that are slightly tart (I know, this entire article is like a giant leap of faith). Wash them, cut the tops off and slice or crush them. Pack them in sugar or a simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, boiled until the sugar crystals dissolve). Serve them with some of the ice crystals still on them, according to UC Davis, or your fruit will be mushy (or shall we say, it will be even mushier, since obviously the frozen fruit will not be as firm as the fresh version).If you’re like me and are too lazy to learn how to make jam and preserve it, try this recipe by Daniel Orr, published in Food and Wine magazine. It’s great and it’s easy. And in keeping with the counterintuitive nature of this entire article, it’s spicy and peppery. It’s called an “icebox jam” because it isn’t put up in sterilized jars; it’s stored in your refrigerator and should be eaten within two weeks. You can also try freezing it; I’ve had very good luck with freezing jam in small plastic storage containers.Icebox strawberry jamAdapted from Food and Wine magazine2 cups of strawberries, thickly sliced; 1/4 cup honey; 1/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest; a pinch of coarse salt and a grind of finely ground fresh pepper; a splash of a jammy red wine (optional)Put the strawberries (if you have some raspberries, black or red, add them in too), honey, lemon zest and salt and pepper in a heavy smallish saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 40 minutes (start keeping a close eye on it after 20 minutes; add the wine, if using, at around that 20-minute point, too. The boiling seems to intensify the bite of the pepper, so be careful when you take your first bite. And yes, it’s a surprise when strawberry jam bites you back; but if you’ve lived a little bit of life then you know that jam is better when it’s more than just sweet.