Strawberry season is hopping here. The variety I grow at my house takes off from April to mid-May. Fortunately for me, there’s a huge you-pick farm down the road where I can pick-up a flat of strawberries all the way into June.
Up north, strawberries are considered a June-bearing activity. In fact, northern Native American tribes are attributed with naming the full moon in June the Strawberry Moon since it usually rose during the strawberry harvest.
When strawberries come in, they come in droves. And even if you don’t have a cheap place to pick them by the gallon, you can usually get them on seasonal sale in the spring at your local supermarket. Here are a few of my favorite ways to use all the strawberries when they come in by the gallon.
- Dutch Baby Pancake topped with Strawberries: I love making these and they are a family favorite. It’s easy, festive and doesn’t use refined sugar unless you choose to sprinkle powdered sugar or syrup on it.
- Strawberry Freezer Jam: Freezer jam is a great way to preserve strawberries. You can use much lower amounts of sugar and make much smaller batches. Because of the reduced sugar, it tastes much more like actual strawberries. It’s such a treat to thaw out and serve on biscuits on cold winter days.
- Strawberry Shrubs: This is a lower-sugar alternative to soda. It has a little bit of kombucha-like kick to it. I pour a little bit of this shrub into sparkling water. They lost for around 6 months in the refrigerator, so it’s a great way to preserve the taste of strawberries.
- Strawberry French Cake: This is one of my favorite cakes. I like this recipe the best. I have no connection to this person, but found this recipe on Pinterest years ago. This cake tastes like spring to me.
- Strawberry Buttermilk Ice Cream: I love Jeni’s Ice Cream and I love making ice cream. My boys bought me her cookbook for Christmas one year and the strawberry buttermilk ice cream is one of our favorites (Full transparency-as an Amazon affiliate, I profit when people buy cookbooks I recommend)
