The best strawberry desserts + where to eat them

27/2/2018

HAPPY STRAWBERRY DAY

IN CELEBRATION OF MY FAVOURITE FRUIT, AFTER BANANAS

In case you didn't know, February 27 is Strawberry Day. I'm unclear as to the origins of this "holiday", but as a devoted strawberry fan I thought it my duty to share with you some fun strawberry trivia, my best strawberry desserts - and the restaurants where I ate them/patisseries where I bought them.

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Restaurant Le Louis XV par Alain Ducasse, Monaco

Rivea par Alain Ducasse, Saint-Tropez

110 de Taillevent, Paris VIII

Le Bibent, Toulouse

Pakta by Albert Adrià, Barcelona

Ten's by Jordi Cruz, Barcelona

Le Saint-Placide, Saint-Malo

Le Chalut, Saint-Malo

Patisserie Cyril Lignac, Paris XVI

Paul Bocuse, Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or

Somewhere in Milan

Bam Bar, Taormina

Le Saint Paul, Saint-Paul-de-Vence

L'Atelier Saint Germain par Joël Robuchon, Paris VII

Somewhere in Bayeux, France

La Grand’Vigne, Les Sources de Caudalie, Bordeaux

Restaurant Le Hameau, Château de Chantilly, Chantilly

Boulangerie Chez Manon, Paris III

La Grande Table Morocaine at the Royal Mansour, Marrakech

Patisserie Yamazaki, Paris XVI

Chez Albert, Biarritz

N.B., Do keep in mind that strawberries are not always in season and that restaurants change there dessert menus all the time. Please don't go to a specific restaurant and expect the above desserts to be there. But for your sake, especially if you're a strawberry-lover, I hope they are!

À chacun son goût

Living in Paris has widened my strawberry horizons. Different varieties have different tastes (mainly to do with sweetness vs. acidity) and so depending on the task at hand - e.g. making jam to baking a pie to decorating a cake - will require a different strawberry for optimal results. When in doubt, I always ask the vendors at the fruit market. They're often so passionate and knowledgeable. They can also tell you things like:

"La Mara des bois or La Charlotte are the juiciest and the sweetest. Best for eating raw - or for making a Charlotte aux fraises"

"La Mara des bois [a small, round variety] is named after the Marionnet family who invented it in 1991"

"Gariguette strawberries [more elongated form] are better for making jam and, because of their shape, are the prettiest for decorating cakes"

"(Ex-)President François Hollande would only eat gariguette strawberries. They're the most prestigious"

"Strawberries and pineapples pair together well because they share similar notes"

Place des Lices, St-Tropez

Centro Storico, Bologna

Paris XVI

3 interesting facts about strawberries

i. The strawberry is technically not a berry. It has something to do with ovaries being pollinated, but I prefer not to think about it

ii. The strawberry comes from the same family as the rose (Rosaceae)

iii. The Romans loved the scent of fraises des bois [a very small, delicate variety in the wild] that they called them Fragaria vesca. Fragare comes from the Latin fragum, which in modern times became "fragrance" or "perfume"

About the author

I'm a freelance writer and culture reporter living in Paris. You and I will get along if - like me - you enjoy fashion, travel, art and gastronomy.
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