In Season Florida Strawberries 21 February 2009

For most of the country, winter is not the season one expects to get really good, fresh strawberries. Berries from California, Mexico, and South America are available pretty much year round, but these out of season fruits never have the tart-sweet, spring-fresh intensity of locally grown fruit in season.

Fortunately, we are only a few miles from the Florida border, and orange juice is not the only fresh and seasonal thing we get from the Sunshine State in the dead of winter. From early in January until March, we also get delicious seasonal berries from the farms around Plant City.

This year they’ve been especially good, and bring us an early touch of spring on our tables that the erratic cold snaps have not been able to take away as they have some of our early-blooming flowers.

Look for rich color, taut, glossy skin, and full, crisp looking green caps. The most effective way to store them is in their plastic carton in the refrigerator. Wash and trim them just before using. A berry huller is a good tool to have for taking off the leafy cap and pithy core (if there is one—some of them haven’t really had a core).

I leave small berries whole in most recipes, or at the most cut them in half, and thickly slice large berries. The most satisfying way to eat them is right out of hand, but they’re also good served in small bowls with superfine caster sugar (available at specialty grocers) and thick heavy cream passed separately.

You can also make up a batch of shortcakes and pass them in a basket, letting each person at the table build his own shortcake to suit his own tastes. Just avoid that awful, artificially flavored shortcake “glaze” that is sometimes found in the market next to the berries and sponge cake cups.

They can also be sliced, sprinkled with sugar to taste and a splash of Grand Marnier, bourbon, or a sprinkling of real Aceto Balsamico di Modena (Balsamic vinegar) and left to macerate for a half an hour. Serve them alone, over vanilla ice cream, Greek yogurt, or Coeurs à la Crème.

Strawberries in Bourbon or Grand Marnier

Serves 6

2 pints strawberries, washed, cored, and thickly sliced

Julienned zest of 1 orange

1/3 to 1/2 cup granulated sugar or turbinado sugar

3-4 tablespoons bourbon or Grand Marnier

1. Toss the berries with the zest, 1/3 cup sugar, and bourbon or liqueur. Let macerate 30 minutes.

2. Taste and adjust sugar and macerate until sugar is dissolved into the juices. Serve over vanilla or dulce di leche ice cream, coeurs à la crème, or drained Greek yogurt.

Coeurs à la Crème

Serves 6

1 8-ounce package cream cheese

1/4-to-1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

1 cup heavy cream, well chilled.

1. With a mixer, mix together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until the cheese is well mixed. In a separate, chilled bowl lightly beat the cream until it is beginning to hold firm peaks.

2. Beat a little of the cream into the cheese, then fold in the rest of it a little at a time with a silicone spatula. Line one large or six individual coeurs à la crème molds with a double layer of cheesecloth (you can also use a large round or conical wire mesh sieve). Spoon the cheese into the mold, smooth the top, and set the molds in a rimmed baking sheet (or if using the sieve, over a bowl). Drain, refrigerated, 6 hours or overnight.

3. Turn the molded cheese out onto a chilled plate or individual serving plates, carefully unwrap, and serve with berries macerated in sugar and Grand Marnier or bourbon.