How a delicate American fruit became a European favourite

The strawberry might be one of the most beloved fruits today, but it hasn’t always been this way. In fact, when it first appeared in Europe during the Middle Ages, it wasn’t even liked too much. The strawberry didn’t grow commonly in most European territories until around the 17th century. Before that time, Europeans mostly ate the fruit as a medicinal remedy and not as a tasty snack. Even though there are records of people cultivating strawberries as early as the 11th century, they weren’t widely available until much later. That being said, there is so much to learn about this small red berry and its fascinating history. So continue reading for some interesting facts about the strawberry and its past!

The early history of the strawberry

The strawberry is a plant that was originally native to South and Central America. It is related to other edible plants, such as the wild blackberry and the rugosa rose.

Archaeologists have discovered seeds of strawberry plants in pre-Columbian middens in Chile, as well as in Virginia but whether the strawberry was first domesticated by the Aztecs or by the Mayans is up for debate. However, it is clear that the Mesoamerican people were growing the strawberry by the time Europeans set foot in the Americas.

Historians believe that Europeans first encountered strawberries when they arrived in America. The early European explorers and settlers in America brought the strawberry back to their home countries, primarily as a medicinal herb.

The early history of the strawberry is wide and varied, but there are several key moments in its journey that helped shape the way we see and consume the berry today. For example, the rise of refrigeration technology and the development of commercial cultivation are two notable factors that affected the strawberry industry.

The first cultivation of strawberries in Europe

European strawberries were originally grown in monasteries, where monks would often use the fruit to make jams, and the first people known to eat strawberries in Europe were the aristocrats and the nobility. These wealthy people would sometimes have the berries made into make fruit tarts and jams.

The first people with more modest incomes to start growing strawberries may have been the English and during the reign of King Henry VIII some English farmers started to cultivate strawberries on a modest scale. It wasn’t until the late 16th century, though, that strawberries started to be eaten by the general public. How do we know this? Well, the poet and writer, William Shakespeare, mentioned strawberries in one of his famous plays, As You Like It. Shakespeare described the character of Rosalind as wearing “strawberries in her hair”. This hinted that the fruit had become fashionable to eat. With this increased popularity, more people started growing strawberries on their own lands.

Why people were slow to eat strawberries in Europe

The strawberry had many medicinal uses because it is high in Vitamin C and antioxidants. However, the fact that many Europeans were allergic to strawberries was one of the main reasons they didn’t like to eat them.

The other reason was horticultural. The strawberry is a delicate fruit that can be easily spoiled. Also, farmers had to grow the strawberry in an environment that was both humid and hot. This was hard for them to do since most Europeans lived in cooler areas.

There were other difficulties in growing them too. For example, grapes are grown high up on vines. Apples, pears, and peaches are grown on trees. But strawberries grew low to the ground and in order the maximise the crop they were often planted in rows that were just a few inches apart. This made strawberry farming a messy process. Dirt would often get on the fruit, causing farmers to have to wash their berries. Many Europeans thought that the strawberry was too dirty to eat. Some even thought that the strawberry might be poisonous!

How Europeans started growing and eating strawberries

As mentioned above, strawberries were grown in rows. Farmers would plant different varieties of strawberries close to each other. This is because it aided cross-pollination, and different species would be able to naturally protect each other from pests and diseases. However, this method of growing strawberries had a major drawback. It was difficult for the farmers to access the middle rows to harvest the fruit. Therefore, to grow strawberries, the farmers would dig long, deep trenches. They would plant their strawberries within these trenches. This allowed them to easily reach in and harvest the strawberries that were planted at the bottom. These trenches were called “beds”, which is where the name “bedding plants” comes from.

The strawberry’s popularity as a food source increased in the 19th century with the advent of refrigeration. At the time, the most practical way to store fruits and vegetables was to dry them out in the sun or by using fire and smoke. These methods, although effective, took too much time and weren’t reliable for long-term storage. Because of the strawberry’s short shelf life, people weren’t, before refrigeration, able to grow the fruit on a large scale.

A brief history of cultivation

Europeans started cultivating strawberries in the 16th century. However, for many years, the plant wasn’t very successful because farmers weren’t able to find the right conditions to grow their plants. However, by the end of the 18th century, European farmers found the right conditions to grow strawberries. This was thanks to the development of new seeds and the improvement of tools such as the hoe.

Strawberries became much more successful in the 19th century. This is because new breeds of plants were developed which were more resistant to different pests and diseases.

During the 20th century, advances in farming technologies enabled producers to harvest strawberries multiple times per year. This made the fruit much more available and always in-season.

Conclusion

The history of the strawberry is long and winding. This small but mighty berry has traveled a long way from its humble beginnings in the pre-Columbian Americas to its current status as a top-selling fruit, the strawberry has come a long way.

Strawberries are an easy fruit to grow at home, and they’re much tastier than the bland strawberries of yesteryear. The modern strawberry is sweeter, more plentiful, and less fibrous than its ancient predecessors but it really needs to grow in warm, humid environments where they can get plenty of sun.

If you want to try growing strawberries yourself, you should know what type of soil to plant them in and what conditions you need to grow them in. There is a lot more information about this on our 'how to grow strawberries' page.