Home · Ingredients · Strawberry

Produce · Sw

Strawberry

pH 3.4 · low pectin, hard to set

Per 100 g

32 kcal Energy

0.7 g Protein

7.7 g Carbs

0.3 g Fat

2 g Fibre

Gluten-free GI 40

Let’s cook with it → Invent something with it

What it is for

They bring water, fibre, acid and colour. Most are 80–95% water, and much of cooking them is really about managing that water.

Where it catches you out

Under a lid they cook in their own water; in a crowded pan they steam. If you want colour, give them room and take the lid off.

The knack

Hull it after washing, never before: a hulled strawberry leaks its juice and flavour into the water.

Storage and health

How to keep it, and who it suits.

Keeping it

Unwashed, in a single layer in a loosely covered box, 3-5 days in the fridge. Washing halves its life, so wash it just before eating.

Gluten-free

Strawberry is naturally gluten-free.

Glycaemic index

40 — glucose is taken as 100. Below 55 is low, 56–69 medium, 70 and above high. The number says nothing about portion: at the same index, twice the amount is twice the load.

The source table has a single study for this food. It is a real measurement, but it may not be typical: variety and ripeness move this number easily.

Row in the table: Strawberries, fresh, raw (40+/-7)

Atkinson et al., Am J Clin Nutr 2021

What it works with

Pairings, and the reason for each

"They go well together" is not an explanation. Every pairing below has a chemical or structural mechanism under it.

Sugar →

Osmotic maceration draws the cell water out into a syrup that dissolves and carries the fruit’s volatile esters, which is why macerated strawberries smell far stronger than fresh ones.

Basil →

A real shared-compound pairing: both carry linalool and related monoterpenes, so the aromas fuse rather than sit side by side.

Also works with

Milk

Yoghurt

Honey

Black pepper

Lemon

Cinnamon

What it fights with

Baking soda

Alkali shifts the anthocyanins to blue-grey and then degrades them.

What goes on top

Kaymak or cream, sugar, torn mint or basil, cracked black pepper

Key compounds

Furaneol (DMHF): The caramel-strawberry core note — and it is the *same* molecule that forms in browning butter and in Maillard reactions generally, which is why strawberry and caramel are natural partners.

Nutritionally

Strawberries carry about 59 mg of vitamin C per 100 g, more than an equal weight of orange, plus anthocyanins. Both are heat-labile, so raw is nutritionally meaningful here.

Terms on this page

Linalool: The floral aroma compound found in both basil and strawberry — the reason the two work together.
Maillard: Protein meeting sugar above 140 °C to produce crust, colour and that roasted smell.