[3 - 5] - One thing I find really surprising
[5 - 8] about strawberries is that they aren't actually that sweet.
[8 - 10] They contain only about one third
[10 - 12] of the sugar found in apples, cherries and pineapple.
[12 - 15] And about half as much as oranges and blueberries.
[15 - 17] But when I eat it in season strawberry,
[17 - 19] it comes off as really sweet.
[19 - 20] So, what gives?
[20 - 21] Well, what they lack in sweetness
[21 - 23] they more than make up for in aroma.
[23 - 25] Scientists who study strawberries
[25 - 27] have identified hundreds of aroma compounds.
[27 - 29] Volatile compounds that contribute
[29 - 31] to that recognizable strawberry aroma
[31 - 34] consist of furanones, esthers, and sulfur compounds.
[34 - 36] Individually, the compounds bring a wide range
[36 - 40] of aromas such as caramel, pineapple, and orange blossom.
[40 - 42] These are strongly associated with sweetness in our brains.
[42 - 44] So here's how it works.
[44 - 45] When we eat a strawberry, those aroma compounds
[45 - 48] shoot up a back channel in our throats
[48 - 49] and into our nasal passage.
[49 - 51] There, we process that information with what's
[51 - 54] in our mouths and perceive them as sweeter
[54 - 55] than their sugar content would suggest.
[55 - 57] That is really cool.
[57 - 59] I love the smell of fresh strawberries.
[59 - 61] It takes me back to being at a pick-your-own farm
[61 - 64] as a kid picking strawberries and eating them immediately
[64 - 66] while my mom gathered something we could actually take home.
[66 - 68] That love isn't just nostalgia.
[68 - 70] Strawberries in a sunny field are warm
[70 - 72] and that makes strawberries more aromatic
[72 - 73] and sweeter tasting.
[73 - 75] Volatile aroma compounds have a low boiling point
[75 - 78] so just a little bit of heat is enough to coax them
[78 - 79] out of the fruit and into the air.
[79 - 82] And our ability to taste sweetness is temperature dependent.
[82 - 83] Cold suppresses it.
[83 - 85] Taste a room temperature strawberry
[85 - 86] next to one straight from the fridge
[86 - 89] and you'll find the cold one far less enjoyable.
[89 - 91] Now, back to those aroma compounds.
[91 - 93] Apply too much heat to strawberries through cooking
[93 - 96] and you quickly drive off a massive amount of aroma.
[96 - 98] At the same time, the compounds that do remain
[98 - 100] in the fruit are often changed.
[100 - 102] The bottom line is cooked strawberry
[102 - 103] tastes very different from fresh.
[103 - 105] If you're like me and your primary goal in life
[105 - 107] is to maintain fresh strawberry flavor
[107 - 110] but you still want to change their texture,
[110 - 112] you have a secret weapon. Maceration.
[112 - 115] Maceration is a really fun word that means apply sugar
[115 - 120] and let osmosis and hygroscopy take over. Hygro what?
[120 - 122] Hygroscopy is the ability of a substance
[122 - 123] to attract water molecules
[123 - 125] and osmosis is of course the movement of water molecules
[125 - 128] from a place where there is less soluble material
[128 - 130] to a place where there is more soluble material.
[130 - 131] Apply sugar to strawberries
[131 - 133] and things really start happening.
[133 - 136] Water exit cells and starts to dissolve the sugar.
[136 - 138] The sugar is hygroscopic so it attracts
[138 - 139] those water molecules and holds them
[139 - 142] in its sticky, syrupy love nest.
[142 - 144] And sugar starts to diffuse into the berries.
[144 - 146] Clearly a lot is going on
[146 - 148] but the impact is easy and simple to appreciate.
[148 - 151] The strawberries are sweeter and more concentrated
[151 - 152] and the liquid surrounding them
[152 - 155] is sweet, red tinted strawberry flavored syrup.
[155 - 156] It's such an amazing transformation
[156 - 158] and it's one that starts almost immediately.
[158 - 161] Just take a look, and while I'll add sugar
[161 - 163] to any fruit any day of the week,
[163 - 164] strawberries are made for maceration.
[165 - 166] Check out this experiment.
[166 - 168] We tossed sugar on blueberries, whole strawberries
[168 - 171] and sliced strawberries, and came back 30 minutes later.
[171 - 172] You can see that the blueberries
[172 - 174] have a dusty coating of sticky sugar on them.
[174 - 176] The whole strawberries have started to give up some liquid
[176 - 179] and the sliced strawberries are truly transformed.
[179 - 181] The blueberries keep the sugar at bay
[181 - 182] thanks to a waxy cuticle
[182 - 184] that surrounds and protects the fruit.
[184 - 185] Strawberries have much less protection
[186 - 187] and can be macerated whole,
[187 - 190] but slicing them exposes loads of unprotected cells
[190 - 192] and really speeds the process.
[192 - 194] Macerated strawberries are the start
[194 - 196] of many of my favorite desserts.
[196 - 197] Strawberry shortcake being right
[197 - 199] at the very top of that list.
[199 - 200] My mom always made it with biscuits
[200 - 201] and I love that contrast
[201 - 203] of sweet strawberries and savory biscuits
[203 - 206] with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream.
[206 - 207] Mm, it is so good.
[207 - 211] We've got a recipe for it that you can grab at cooksillustrated.com/whatseatingdan.
[211 - 213] That's actually where you can grab every recipe
[213 - 215] from all six seasons of the show.
[215 - 217] Speaking of recipes, let's go to the kitchen.
[217 - 219] One way to really up your strawberry experience
[219 - 222] is to get your hands on some freeze-dried strawberries,
[222 - 224] whether in a store near you or online.
[224 - 225] And here's why.
[225 - 227] Because freeze drying doesn't involve any heat,
[227 - 229] it doesn't change the flavor of raw fruit
[229 - 230] the way that cooking does.
[230 - 233] So, you get fresh flavor minus all of that water.
[233 - 234] Now, why would you want that?
[234 - 237] Because it means we can add loads of fresh strawberry flavor
[237 - 239] to desserts and other preparations,
[239 - 242] like this super intense strawberry sauce.
[242 - 244] We'll combine six ounces of fresh strawberries,
[244 - 246] four ounces of sugar,
[246 - 248] and a half ounce of freeze-dried strawberries
[248 - 250] in a blender and blend on high speed until smooth.
[250 - 251] That'll take about a minute.
[251 - 253] Freeze-dried strawberries love to absorb
[253 - 255] and slightly thicken liquids.
[255 - 257] And since all the liquid in this recipe is juiced
[257 - 258] from the fresh strawberries,
[258 - 260] we are essentially rehydrating strawberries
[260 - 262] with sweet strawberry juice.
[262 - 263] And look at this color,
[263 - 264] and you're gonna have to trust me on this,
[264 - 266] but the flavor is incredible.
[266 - 268] I'd eat this sauce on anything.
[268 - 269] I love it with yogurt in the morning
[269 - 271] and it's great drizzled on ice cream
[271 - 272] but for the ultimate version,
[273 - 275] you gotta layer it into the ice cream as I do
[275 - 277] in my strawberry ripple ice cream recipe.
[277 - 278] Take a sweet cream ice cream
[278 - 280] or vanilla ice cream base, churn that up,
[280 - 282] and then when you pack it into the container to harden,
[282 - 284] layer in the strawberry sauce.
[284 - 286] Here's a finished batch that is ready to scoop.
[286 - 288] Isn't that just beautiful?
[288 - 291] Looks like a creamy, sweet, vanilla and strawberry marble
[291 - 292] except it's not made of glass
[292 - 295] and you can eat it without hurting yourself.
[295 - 297] The rich creamy ice cream and then this burst
[297 - 300] of fresh strawberry flavor and acidity.
[301 - 303] You know what goes great with ice cream? Pie.
[303 - 305] And while my favorite pie in the entire world
[305 - 306] is strawberry rhubarb.
[306 - 308] I'm actually not going to make that for you.
[308 - 309] (record scratching) Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
[309 - 312] Now, look, I can tell you're upset, but that's only
[312 - 315] because I'm saving it for a really fun rhubarb episode.
[315 - 317] Now, if you wanna see that rhubarb episode,
[317 - 318] let me know in the comments.
[318 - 319] While you're down there,
[319 - 321] hit that like and subscribe button.
[321 - 323] And that little bell, you know what that is?
[323 - 325] That will tell you, when I have fresh, fresh content.
[325 - 327] Did I say fresh, fresh content?
[329 - 331] Okay, back to strawberries and pie.
[331 - 334] This pie I'm gonna show you will make you giddy like a kid.
[334 - 335] Like, that's an actual promise.
[335 - 337] It looks like a pie from a story book
[337 - 339] and tastes just as good as I imagine those pies taste.
[339 - 342] And yes, it's a hit of pure, fresh strawberry flavor.
[342 - 344] This could not be simpler.
[344 - 346] We're gonna start by making a thick
[346 - 347] pectin-rich strawberry sauce.
[347 - 350] We have sugar, cornstarch, pectin, and salt in our pan.
[350 - 353] In go six ounces of strawberries that I pureed
[353 - 356] aNd we briefly boil to fully hydrate the cornstarch.
[356 - 356] (audience gasping) Okay, okay.
[356 - 359] So I'm cooking some of the strawberries here.
[359 - 361] But I have a plan, I promise.
[361 - 363] We will lose some fresh strawberry flavor in this step,
[363 - 366] but this sacrifice will create a jammy mixture
[366 - 369] that will enrobe and bind together whole fresh strawberries
[369 - 371] and that's what makes this pie so special.
[371 - 372] We then transfer it to a big bowl
[372 - 374] and stir in some lemon juice.
[374 - 375] Now, for those whole strawberries.
[375 - 376] I'm leaving these whole
[376 - 379] but if you have extra large ones, you can half them.
[379 - 380] We mix the berries with the glaze
[380 - 382] and mound them into a pre-baked pie shell.
[382 - 384] I'm using an all-butter pie crust here because...
[384 - 389] Wait, I don't have to give you a reason for all-butter. It's all-butter. All butter.
[389 - 390] We make it look nice and pretty
[390 - 391] and then just let it chill for two hours.
[391 - 393] Look at this pie.
[393 - 395] Honestly, it looks almost fake, right?
[395 - 395] It's so pretty.
[395 - 397] But if you think this looks cool,
[397 - 398] just wait till you see what a slice looks like.
[398 - 400] If you serve this strawberry masterpiece,
[400 - 402] I guarantee you hero status.
[402 - 404] The fresh strawberries gently cling to one another.
[404 - 407] They're sauce sweetens, while their aroma just pops.
[407 - 409] And that buttery crust? Mm, wow.
[409 - 411] Honestly, I think I've outdone myself this time
[411 - 415] because this is absolutely how to eat strawberries.
[417 - 419] Thank you all so much for watching.
[419 - 421] Now, strawberry season is extremely short
[421 - 422] so I won't keep you much longer.
[422 - 426] Check out the link below or go to cooksillustrated.com/whatseatingdan
[426 - 428] for all the recipes from this episode
[428 - 430] and every episode of the show.
[430 - 432] Now, I've shown you my favorite strawberry desserts.
[432 - 433] Now it's your turn.
[433 - 435] Tell me yours in the comments below
[435 - 436] and I'll see you next time.