Pure Strawberry Juice - A Taste Sensation

This is strawberry juice. Not liquidised strawberries, but the pure juice of strawberries and it is a quite awesome elixir.

I had some strawbs in the fridge and kept forgetting to take them out to get to room temperature for eating so they risked going off. My housemate recently invested in a top-of-the-range juicer, and we’ve had lots of fun concocting potions with fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices. Pineapple, cucumber, pear, ginger, mint and beetroot have become favourite ingredients, but the fun thing about this adventure has been that the flavours of pure juices are often quite different from the un-juiced item. It seems that secret magical flavours are locked away in the structure of all fruit and vegetables, and releasing them adds a whole new dimension to food preparation and cooking.

Strawberry juice, still a little frothy on top

So, I juiced my chilled strawberries. I didn’t add anything else, because I wanted to experience the flavour on its own first. Unlike liquidised whole strawberries, it didn’t need lemon juice or sugar to enhance the flavour. It was pretty special; smelt mainly just like strawberry but was intensely clean-tasting. Essence of strawberry but also somehow the taste of fresh verdant countryside air, slightly floral, and if the juice hadn’t been dark red I would have immediately thought it tasted ‘green’ – I realised that later. As I carried on sipping and savouring I could also taste cucumber, and every mouthful brought new flavours and scents. 

Borage in Pimm's

I'm lucky that my parents have got a whole patch of borage, ready for adding a bit of magic to food and drink. Pink Pimm's and lemonade looked so special and summery yesterday evening, with strawberries, cucumber, tangerine, mint leaves and the pretty blue borage flowers (starflowers). They really do taste of cucumber, although the flavour is quite subtle. I was too wrapped up in enjoying the Pimm's moment with family and friends to take photos, damnit, but here is one I took today of the flowers.

Borage or starflowers

Homegrown Strawberries

Hmmm... well, I mentioned that I'm excited to get back to my kitchen and to garden produce in France, as well as to the superb local strawberries. So it's of a bummer that the strawberries in my garden are ready right now! Hopefully there'll still be some late ones ripening by the time I get home, but in the meantime I'll have to make do with this juicy photo of a small proportion of the strawbs from my garden, and console myself with the fact that my kind friend who tends the garden is getting a well-deserved reward. (Photo courtesy of gardening friend.) I must plant some more varieties so that there are always strawberries whenever I arrive between May and September.


Juicy, fragrant, delicious, organic, homegrown strawberries.