Strawberries provide several health benefits

MANILA, Philippines – Who wouldn’t want to taste that sweet, succulent, and scrumptious strawberry?

Strawberries are so rare and expensive in our country that people regard them as high-class fruits. Hence, people consume fresh strawberries only during special occasions. Some even equate the red heart-shaped fruit with romance and affection, eating them during Valentine’s Day and wedding anniversaries.

Other than its rarity and steep price, strawberries are valued for their exquisite taste and aroma. The juicy fresh fruits are sweet yet tart – perfect for desserts, salads and healthy snacks. Meanwhile, its sweet one-of-a-kind aroma inspired scents for perfumes and oils.

Health benefits

Unknown to most people, these delicious fruits are also highly nutritious. Strawberries contain high levels of vitamin C. In fact, a cup satisfies 140 percent of a person’s minimum daily requirement of vitamin C. It also contains significant amounts of vitamins B2, B5, B6, and K, manganese, iodine, potassium, folic acid, omega 3 fatty acids, magnesium, copper and fiber.

Moreover, strawberries contain phytonutrients and antioxidants that fight free radicals, those highly reactive atoms, molecules or ions because of extra electrons and can easily bind themselves to other elements inside our body. There they transform into chemicals that damage cells that can contribute to certain kinds of cancer. It is believed that strawberries are filled with antioxidants, making the berries bright red.

Some even regard the strawberry as a “food of youth” because it can reduce the risks and effects of age-related diseases. For example, it can provide an increased protection against rheumatoid arthritis.

In a study published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, it was found out that vitamin C from fresh fruits and vegetables can lower the risk of developing inflammatory polyarthritis. Participants who consumed a low vitamin C diet are three times more likely to develop inflammatory polyarthritis.

Strawberries can also prevent the decline of motor and cognitive skills related to Alzeimer’s disease, lower occurrence of gout, stabilize blood glucose, protect against macular degeneration, improve wound healing, reduce wrinkles, alleviate varicose veins, strengthen the gums, and melt gallstones.

From the field to the table

Although strawberries are exceptionally nutritious, Filipinos rarely get to eat the fruit in its fresh state. This is because strawberries have a terribly low shelf life. If left in room temperature, ripe strawberries can only stay fresh for about a day. Even when refrigerated, the fruits only stay fresh for about three to four days.

Moreover, the country’s only stable source of strawberries is the province of Benguet. Since the province is situated 3,000 km above sea level, it would take a long time for the strawberries to get to the market. Worse, the descending terrain poses difficult handling issues. Bad handling can turn fresh strawberries into mush.

Fortunately, there are several ways to process strawberries. By cooking strawberries into different products, the shelf life is lengthened. Hence, every Filipino can enjoy the taste of strawberries in the comfort of his own home.

Benguet State University (BSU), a partner-member agency of the Highland Agriculture Resources Research and Development Consortium (HARRDEC), has the largest strawberry field in the country. It is also one of the leaders in strawberry processing through its Food Processing Center.

HARRDEC is one of the consortia of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD).

Dr. Jane Avila, project manager of the Food Processing Center, says that the ideal variety for strawberry processing is Sweet Charlie. They are characterized by small to medium sized berries that are very sweet when ripe. Avila says that the size of Sweet Charlie makes it easier to cut and cook.

BSU products

The strawberry preserve is their most famous product, according to Avila. The preserve consists of whole preserves that are cooked in heavy syrup. Upon cooking, the syrup changes its color to clear red. Though the product is sweet, the strawberries do not lose its flavor and nutrients.

However, the strawberry preserves can be a too sweet. Its recipe requires a cup of sugar for every cup of strawberry. Thus, they developed a low sugar version. These retain the taste of strawberry preserves without the guilt of too much calories.

Avila says that people normally consume the preserves as palaman for bread. However, full berries can be cumbersome to spread. Thus, they developed the strawberry spread. These spreads are made from sweetened pureed strawberries. It has the same taste of the famous preserve but with uniform consistency.

The Food Processing Center also ventured into baked strawberry products. The highest selling of these is the strawberry crumble. It is cooked the same way as butterscotch. However, strawberry is used instead of butter creating a multi-layered pastry of strawberry and moist bread.

Currently, Avila is developing dried strawberries for the market. However, in the previous batch that they dried, only 28 percent were of good quality. Their main problem lies in the strawberry’s make-up. Since the berry is mainly made of water, it shrinks when dried and loses some of its taste. Avila hopes that their next batch would yield better results.

Other available products include strawberry tarts, strawberry purees, and strawberry kisses.

Hence, do not forget to visit BSU the next time you are visiting Benguet. Here, you can find cheap, delicious and nutritious strawberry products that you can bring home to your family.