Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Hulling Strawberries - WFMW

There is a lot of controversy about strawberries in kosher circles. Here in the Ima-house (I take this funny turn-of-phrase from my kindred spirit over at the FrummieHouse...), we don't keep a formal style of Kashrut. It's perhaps a longer post, but in a nutshell, I have a little bit of trouble with the whole hechsher concept - how can I "accept" the hechsher of an organization that wouldn't recognize my own religious observance? So basically, we keep a vegetarian household - as organic and natural as we can get - using few prepared foods that would require a hechsher anyway.

All that said....I also am not as meticulous as kosher cooks are about things like strawberries. In fact, when I decided to write this post, I realized that this style of hulling strawberries will in fact render the strawberries un-kosher because they shouldn't have a hole in them. Oh well....

I can't remember where I learned this strawberry-hulling trick, but here it is. I was told once that the center part of a strawberry is bitter and should be cut out before consuming. This trick accomplishes that with very little waste to the strawberry. It also removes the greenery, which is for some reason offensive to my children.

You need: strawberries and a drinking straw


Stick the straw into the strawberry from the bottom end, up through the middle. Look what happens:
And voila, a neatly hulled strawberry. Wash and it's ready to eat!

It's best to avoid doing this until just before eating, if you can, since unwashed and uncut strawberries will last longer in your refrigerator.

That's what works for me!
See what works for other people over here....

13 comments:

Juggling Frogs said...

That's a cool tip!

We do keep kosher, and I hope to use this tip - after inspecting for the bugs, etc.

We have some strawberries in the refrigerator, so I look forward to trying it today.

Anonymous said...

I have also posted about strawberries - and raspberries - today, but in a completely different type of post.
Thanks for the tip Phyllis.

Rafi G. said...

what do making holes in the strawberry have to with them being kosher or not? I never heard of such a problem.

Beth @ TheAngelForever said...

Oy! That is all I can say about the kosher part. It never fails to amaze me all of the different "rules" that exist on each and every type of item. With that said it reminds me that we need to find out when strawberry picking starts around here!

Jendeis said...

What a fabulous tip!!

Leora said...

You make it look so easy! Gorgeous strawberries.

If you or anyone else cares to read about the latest Kashrut and strawberries melodrama, read Rav Amar says strawberries are kosher. You may enjoy the comments, too.

Actually, your method may make them kosher, as you are getting rid of the stem? After washing off the little buggies, of course.

Eat 'em organic if possible, non-organic strawberries have the most pesticides.

Tamar said...

Hi Phyllis, I found your blog recently and keep meaning to stop and write a comment - here I am finally. First of all, thanks for the strawberry tip, it's brilliant! Second of all, I would love to hear your thoughts about kashrut because we are in a similar situation. (Except that my husband is a devoted carnivore, and we are both concerned with animal welfare....)

- Tamar (an ima but not on the bima)

UnfinishedMom said...

What a great tip! I'm a bit jealous, we don't have fresh strawberries here for another week or two, but this tip will definitely make the job easier. It might even make it fun enough that my kids will help!

Can I share this on Kitchen Tip Tuesday @ Tammy's Recipes next week or do you want to do it?

Amy said...

Thanks, I will be trying this out as I have had several near misses with a knife lately.

Jew Wishes said...

What a fantastic tip, Phyllis.

Phyllis Sommer said...

Unfinished Mom - thanks for the idea, I will go share it there on Tuesday!:-)

To all else - I don't know exactly why cutting/holes/etc render kosher or less kosher. I was just referring to what was written in the OU post about making holes. I think as long as you're careful to wash them it ends up being okay. And it does make it safer than a knife - even the kids could do it!

Niki Jolene said...

Cool tip!

:)

Joanna Brichetto said...

I can't say I'll be pre-ordering the updated "OU Guide to Checking Fruits, Vegetables and Berries" from Amazon...
I really thought I couldn't be surprised by kashrut, but you proved me wrong.
And we will have fun with the straw trick after dinner.
Thanks,
Bible Belt Balabusta