The Trick For Creating A Burst Of Flavor In Bland Strawberries

Most of us have experienced the sad moment of biting into a fresh strawberry only to be met with a lack of sweetness and even worse, hardly any taste of that signature berry essence. When warmer weather approaches you might feel giddy with excitement thinking of all the seasonal recipes you can make such as strawberry shortcake and frozen strawberry custard. Even though strawberry season begins in the spring and often extends into the summer and fall months depending on where you live in the U.S., not every strawberry picked between April and mid-June will have remarkable flavor.

Fortunately, if you're looking for convenient ways to add flavor to your recently purchased strawberries without adding extra ingredients, roasting them is the answer. Sure, cooked strawberries aren't exactly the same as the bright red berries freshly sliced from your fridge, but the heat from your oven will almost concentrate strawberries' hidden sweetness. To roast, simply cut strawberries to your liking and spread them out on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast them in the oven at between 350 and 400 degrees Fahrenheit for anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes. Roasted strawberries are great hot out of the oven over a bowl of ice cream, yet also prove to be tasty chilled with your morning breakfast. Before uncovering why bland strawberries exist in the first place and what we can do to naturally boost their flavor, it's worth exploring the other ways you can upgrade strawberries' sweet taste right in your home kitchen.

Apart from roasting your next clamshell of berries, there are other methods of reviving strawberries' hidden sweetness without cooking them in a high-degree oven. The most common method is to add some sugar and citrus juice to raw chopped berries. Add as much sugar and lemon juice as you prefer and let the ingredients macerate the berries for approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Once stirred, you'll notice the strawberries have deepened in color but also released more of their own natural juices. And what better way to use these juicy berries than by making toasted poundcake with macerated strawberries and whipped cream?

Besides adding a sweet and sour component, you can also freeze your subpar berries for later use in one of your favorite smoothie recipes. Using additional frozen fruit such as ripe bananas or adding extra sweeteners like honey or maple syrup will offset the lack of sweetness in those dull strawberries while still delivering that quintessential strawberry flavor. Lastly, don't shy away from cooking strawberries if they're a little lackluster. The extra sugar in pancakes or roasted strawberry muffins will even out the berries' lack of flavor in their natural state. Now that you are armed with all the creative ways to add flavor to bland strawberries, what causes this lack of flavor in the first place? Is there anything you can do to keep newly purchased berries tasting fresh and sweet?

If you need sweet and juicy strawberries for your next batch of raw strawberry oat bars, unfortunately, most of the flavor your current container of strawberries does or doesn't have pertains directly to how they were cared for while growing in the ground. Not only does soil health affect the taste of strawberry crops, but so does the amount of sun and water these plants get throughout their cycle of life. Strawberry plants with more sun exposure tend to grow sweeter, brighter-tasting berries. If the plants have been overwatered in the growing process, that excess water will remove some of the concentrated natural sweetness of fresh berries.

While all of this is helpful if you're growing your own berries, what are the telltale signs of flavorless strawberries at the grocery store? The best way to identify fuller-tasting strawberries is by seeking out the ones that look the healthiest (showing no signs of mold) and also have the deepest and brightest color. One 2010 study even suggests organic berries compared to conventional varieties not only have a higher nutritional profile but taste better overall. Keeping these factors in mind, only wash strawberries before consuming and keep them dry and covered in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to one week. If after all your tender loving care, your strawberries still lack flavor, simply roast these dull-tasting fruits for a sweet and easy alternative.