Earn Money from Homemade Strawberry Sweets

Everybody loves strawberries. A survey says, over 53 percent of 7- to 9-year old kids singled out strawberries as their favorite fruit.

These kids are wise because strawberries are highly nutritious. These ruby-red and succulent berry fruits have protein, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, vitamin C, folate, and vitamin A. There's also an ancient belief that strawberries have medicinal uses.

Unfortunately, strawberries don't last forever, in or outside the refrigerator. But with some sugar and a very short time of cooking and preparation, you can make these fresh strawberries last for a long while. And make money by selling them as strawberry sweets.

The strawberry could be the most prolific fruit on earth. There are so many ways to cook and prepare these luscious berry fruits. From beverages to desserts to sweets, the delectable strawberries always fit in.

There is an endless list of strawberry- flavored food and drinks: shakes, juices, wines, ice creams, fruit salads, leafy veggie salads, salsa side dishes, candies, chocolate fillings, lollipop fillings, doughnut fillings, muffin fillings, cupcake toppings, cake icings, pie fillings, biscuit fillings, wafer fillings, sandwich fillings, gelatine flavors, yogurt flavors, bread roll fillings, pancake syrups, crepe fillings, jams, marmalades, jelly, fruit preserves, and many more.

Fresh strawberries, even when not that sweet, are delicious to eat. Just remove the leafy part, wash thoroughly, and pop them into your mouth. Or sprinkle some powdery salt or sugar to remove some of the tartness.

Do you know that the American Indians were already baking strawberry bread when the Colonists arrive? They mixed crushed berries to the cornmeal they bake for their bread. The first Colonists to taste this were suitably impressed and before long, they concocted their own version of the baking recipe and called it the Strawberry Shortcake.

Here's one of the modern recipes of Strawberry Shortcake:

Ingredients for the shortcake dough:

• 1 stick of butter, melted
• ½ cup of white powdered sugar
• 2 cups of sifted flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon iodized powdered salt
• 1 piece of whole egg (with yolk and white)
• 1 egg white (yolk removed), beaten
• ½ cup of skimmed milk
• 1 teaspoon of grated lemon peel

Procedure:

1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, butter and salt in the food processor bowl. Press the pulse button to mix the ingredients gradually. When the mixture resembles a coarse meal, pour it into a bowl and set aside.
2. In another bowl, blend milk, lemon peel and the one whole egg. Gently mix the egg mixture into the flour mixture.
3. Blend thoroughly until a soft ball of dough can be formed from the egg and flour mixture.
4. On a floured surface, divide the balled dough into two halves. Roll each one into a 9-inch diameter circle.
5. Prick each circle with a fork and generously brush the surface with the egg white. Sprinkle with sugar.
6. Bake the two flattened dough at 425 degrees for 12 minutes, or until golden brown.

4. Place the second piece of the baked dough. Pour the remaining honeyed strawberries all over it very slowly, so that the second layer of shortcake would absorb the strawberry juice.

5. Decorate with the remaining yogurt and the reserved whole strawberries.

6. This dessert is best tasting if served at once.

Another version of the Strawberry Shortcake recipe is shown in this video.

The strawberries for this shortcake recipe are prepared separately.

Ingredients:

• 2 pints whole fresh strawberries (Note: 1 pint is equivalent to 3 ¼ cups of whole berries.)
• ½ cup honey
• 2 cups vanilla or plain yogurt
• 2 pieces of baked shortcake dough

Procedure:

1. Wash and clean the strawberries. Choose and set aside the perfectly-shaped berries.
2. Slice the strawberries into 4-6 parts and let soak in honey for an hour or longer at room temperature
3. Place one piece of the baked shortcake dough on a serving platter. Ladle half of the honey-soaked strawberries and its juice on top of it. Cover with yogurt, reserving enough amount of it for the topping decoration later.

In Poetry, the heart-shaped strawberry has become a symbol of simplicity, love and therapy.

Some legend says that if you share a double strawberry with your crush, you will fall in love with each other. Because the strawberry's heart shape and vibrant red color, it also symbolizes Venus, the Goddess of Love.

Strawberries are member of the rose family and are considered as the best of all berries.

The strawberry is the only fruit with seeds located outside. These are the white dots found on its shiny red skin. A single strawberry has an average 200 seeds.

During the Napoleonic period in France, fresh strawberry juice was known to be used for bathing by some royalty.

In Belgium, a museum was built in honor of strawberries only.

In Lebanon, the Oregon's yearly strawberry festival is the home of the world's largest strawberry shortcake.

In the Philippines, the La Trinidad town in Baguio City holds the Guinness Book of Records' largest strawberry cake in the world.

California is the largest strawberry producer in United States and Florida the second.

A kid has to eat only 8 strawberries to provide up to 140 percent of the recommended everyday intake of vitamin C. 1 cup of strawberries is only 55 calories. 94 percent of American households are regular consumers of strawberries.

This is good news for your new strawberry sweets business!

Watch the videos to get more great ideas on cooking strawberries.

Here's the easiest way to cook your home-made strawberry preserve. This is also an ancient recipe from La Trinidad, Benguet.

Materials:

• A large and thick-bottomed pot
• Long-handled cooking spoon (handle preferably made of wood)
• Large bowl for washing
• Large strainer
• A scale for weighing
• Clean and sterilized jars

You will need:

• 3 kilograms of fresh whole strawberries (choose the first class, if not the newly-harvested fruits; should be without bruises or damages)
• 3 kilograms white powdered sugar (should be first class, too)

Steps:

1. Using the scale, weigh exactly 3 kilograms of strawberries.
2. In a large basin or bowl, clean and wash the strawberries. Carefully remove the stems and leaves from the berries.
3. Transfer the fruits to a strainer to remove excess water.
4. Using the scale again, weigh exactly 3 kilograms of white powdered sugar.
5. Put the strawberries and sugar together in the large pot over medium heat. Stirring at regular intervals. Make sure to scrape the whole bottom to avoid burning.
6. Cooking time is up to 45 minutes only. Your strawberry preserve would look dark red with gelatinous syrup.
7. Use a clean and dry cooking spoon to remove the bubbles on surface of the syrup. The removal of these bubbles will give your strawberry preserve a longer shelf-life.
8. Transfer the sweetened berries into clean and sterilized glass jars only when completely cool.
9. Design a colorful and personalized label to glue on the jar's body. Close the lid tightly and seal it properly.

One helpful tip: While waiting for your strawberry preserve to cool, send emails to your relatives and friends. With a photo of your mouth-watering strawberries, orders will surely surge in and will make you busy in the kitchen everyday!