The Incredible Strawberry and improving their flavor..tips and photos

Southern California is one of the top Strawberry growing regions of the world, the problem is that although they look beautiful, they tend to remain crispy with little flavor..this, I believe is an Asian Hybrid variety, nothing like the English Strawberry nor the French Fraise de Bois.

IT IS A WELL KNOWN FACT THAT STRAWBERRIES DO NOT GET ANY SWEETER ONCE THEY ARE PICKED.

So this week I have been trying to find ways to improve on flavor without adding anything and I hit upon the idea of partially drying them.

SO AFTER HAVING WASHED AND AIR DRIED THEM I HAVE USED MY SIMPLE DEHYDRATOR AND KEPT THEM ON A LOW TEMP ( SAME TEMP AS A LIGHT BULB) FOR 1 1/2 DAYS.

THEN I HAVE ADDED THEM TO MY SOURDOUGH WAFFLE BATTER AND THE RESULTS ARE FANTASTIC..THE WHOLE HOUSE SMELLS OF STRAWBERRIES. AND THE WAFFLES, I ADDED WHOLEWHEAT, FLAX SEEDS AND VANILLA EXTRACT...ARE OUT OF THIS WORLD!

I USED 3 POUNDS RAW BERRIES FOR 20 WAFFLES!

ABOVE THE COOKED STRAWBERRY-VANILLA WAFFLES

I ALSO MADE SOME BLUEBERRY-ALMOND WHOLEWHEAT SOURDOUGH WAFFLES, THESE I USED FRESH BERRIES THAT I HAD FLASH FROZEN, THIS STOPS THEM BREAKING UP IN THE BATTER

ABOVE THE ALMOND-BLUEBERRY WAFFLES

Another way to improve the flavor of fresh Berries is to roast or bake them  in a 400f oven for 15-30 mins depending on the amount. They swell as they bake and are fabulous with vanilla bean ice cream or for crepes & etc.