| The Gallivanting Gourmand |
 Greg Duncan  His previous columns are archived HERE. |
Posted 06.19.06 Montreal You've got your strawberries, your rhubarb
Sweet Strawberry Folklore
"What do I care?" First Man asked himself. Soon he saw it was a silly fight; he ran after her but could not catch up. The Great Spirit intervened and first put out grapes, then wild cherries, then and huckleberry bushes to tempt First Woman to slow down. She ignored them all.
So he created a new berry, red, irresistibly delicious and growing close to the ground. It worked! After First Woman had stopped to eat her fill, she soon ran to seek First Man.
"Are you still angry?" Great Spirit asked her.
"No, the sweetness of these berries has reminded me of the sweetness of our love."
When she found her husband, they shared the wonderful berry, anger forgotten. Since that time strawberries have always been there to remind them and their children of their mutual love.
The strawberries that we know and love today are the cultivated ancestors of wild varieties that once grew in abundance in colder northern climates, such as the Americas. We can thank First Nation peoples for demonstrating just what to do with them. In fact, our much beloved strawberry shortcake is an adaptation from simple strawberry bread made by Native Americans.
Strawberries captured the palates of many of history's explorers. In 1534 Jacques Cartier traveled to Quebec in Canada and wrote this description in his diary of what he had seen, "vast patches of strawberries along the great river (referring to the St. Lawrence) and in the woods."
Somewhere along the path to deliciousness a perfect balance of sweet and sour was born. Enter the arrival of rhubarb into the waiting arms of the strawberry. These two early summer treats are a match made in heaven for pies, tarts, cakes and jams.
It's time to put both of these ancestral ingredients to sugary good use and what better way to celebrate the arrival of summer?
Glazed Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie
1 1/4 cup sugar
Combine 1 1/4 cup sugar, salt, and flour. Arrange half the strawberries and rhubarb in a pastry-lined 9-inch pie pan. Sprinkle with half the sugar mixture. Repeat with remaining fruit and sugar mixture. Dot with butter. Install top crust and flute edges to make high standing rim. Brush top of pie with cold water and sprinkle on 1-tablespoon sugar. Cut steam vents in top crust. Bake in hot oven (425 F) 40 to 50 minutes or until rhubarb is tender and crust is browned.
Flaky Pastry for 2-Crust Pie
1 1/2 c flour, sifted
Sift flour and salt into a medium bowl; cut in shortening with a fork or pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle cold water over mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time; mix lightly with a fork just until pastry holds together and leaves sides of bowl clean. Make a ball; flatten it. Wrap dough in plastic and store in refrigerator until ready for use. |