Strawberry: My Own Favorite Fruit

      Last Friday, when I finished my writing class, I felt really hungry. So I went to the dining hall in Centennial Halls to get something to eat. Fortunately, there were some strawberry cakes served in the dining hall that day, so I took one piece. I ate the strawberry cake happily and enjoyed the fresh strawberries on the top of the cake a lot. I am that kind of girl who loves to eat strawberries. Not only because the strawberry tastes sweet, but also because the strawberry contains so many nutrients. Now the only thing I know about strawberry is that it is full of nutrition. However, other important properties of the strawberry are still mysteries to me. So, in order to find out other important properties of the strawberry, I have to search and analyze the history and production of the strawberry.

       My high school history teacher once said that “knowing the history of one thing makes us better understand this thing”. It is true. So in order to better understand the property of the strawberry, we have to analyze the history of the strawberry at first. In the early history, the strawberry had not been seen as a kind of fruit. People only gave the name to the strawberry, but no one actually paid any attention to it (Dallow, par. 1-2). In Dallow’s book, he explained that Pliny (23-79 A.D) was the last known writer to mention the strawberry. “In the twenty-first book of [Pliny’s] Natural History, he listed ‘Fraga’, the fruit of the strawberry, as one of the natural products of Italy” (par. 5). However, time goes by, the strawberry became more and more popular all over the world. By the 1300’s, many French recognized the importance of the strawberry and began to plant a kind of strawberry, the wood strawberry. “In 1368, King Charles V had his gardener, Jean Dudoy, plant no less than 1200 strawberries in the royal gardens of the Louvre in Paris” (Darrow, chapter 3, PARA 7). Just like France, England was also an early admirer of the strawberry. The greatest contribution England people made to strawberry is that they changed the name of strawberry, from “Streowberige” and “Strea Berige” to “StrebereWyse” and “Strawberry”. Nowadays, the word “Strawberry” is widely accepted by the people all over the world and fruit strawberry becomes one of the most famous and delicious fruits on our tables.

       Same as the history, the production is another important way for us to analyze the strawberry. As a kind of plant, strawberry is a little bit different from other plants. It requires a fairly long-term commitment because it is normally harvested during the second, third, and fourth seasons after planting, while other plants are always harvested in their first season (Davis and Fellman). As for the management, the strawberry also requires more complex management than other plants. Davis and Fellman once described the difficulties of growing strawberries, “Growers must know the physiological needs of the crop, proper cultural practices, and identification and control of insects, diseases, weeds, and pests” (par. 6). Just because the strawberry will only be harvested in the second, third, and fourth season, so for the growers, they have to consider the cost of the strawberry and the money they will lose on the first season of the strawberry. All these factors should be considered in the production of the strawberry. So we can say that the production of strawberries is not only mainly focused on the soil condition, the brand of the prestige, or the sunshine time, but also focused on the original cost while planting strawberries. In the United States, California is the main state that produces strawberries. In the article “The U.S. Strawberry Industry”, written by Dlane Bertelsen, the author said “California produced nearly 80 percent of the U.S crop on less than half of the strawberry acreage due to higher output per acre than other States” (par. 1). So, if the people in Denver want to eat strawberries, they have to be transport from California to Denver.

       After finishing all this research, I do feel that I learned a lot in strawberry’s field. In the past, the only thing I knew is that the strawberry is full of nutrition; but now, I know something new. I know that the strawberry was first famous in France, then import to England, and finally, well-known all over the world. I also knew that the production of the strawberry is really complicated. The growers not only have to consider whether the environment is suitable for the strawberry to grow, they also have to determine whether the costs they spend are greater than or less than the benefits they receive from the strawberry. I also know that California is the biggest State that grows the strawberry in United States, so next time I decide to go on a tour, I will definitely choose California as my destination.  

With the understanding of the difficulties of the strawberry growers, I think I will cherish the strawberry I eat every day more because every strawberry contains the hard work of the strawberry growers. The strawberry is not only my favorite food, but also the greatest example for me to learn. In my studies and works, I must work very hard, just like the strawberry growers, so that I can receive the sweetest “strawberry” in the future.