FROM THE COOKBOOK OF PHILIPPINE WELSER
»Wilt du ain erber dortten machen – so leg die erber auf das bedalin vnnd yber ses mit zucker dar nach leg aber erber dar auf vnnd wyder zucker bis das es yber let ist den mach ain zer schnite decke dar yber vnd las syttich bachenn wan er halb bachen ist so dau ain buder dar auff«
TransCript
(If you want to make a strawberry cake – spread strawberries over the base, cover them in sugar; repeat the process; cover the strawberry-sugar-mix with a cut crust and let it bake until it is half done; put some butter on the crust and finish baking the cake.)
Today we can buy fresh, big, and juicy strawberries in greengrocers and supermarkets as early as in April – but how and when did Philippine Welser get her strawberries?
In the sixteenth century, strawberries were exclusively small and wild, monthly berries cultivated since the Middle Ages. After the ‘discovery’ of America, a new species of strawberries was introduced in Europe. The Fragaria virginiana was first mentioned in a European gardening catalogue in 1623. It was aromatic, much bigger than the wild strawberry, and could be grown with high yields. In 1714 the first species of strawberry from South America, the Fragaria chiloensis, arrived in Europe. As its yields were not as high, Antoine Nicolas Duchesne cross-bred the two species in Amsterdam in 1750, creating today’s garden strawberry, Fragaria ananassa. Today there are far more than 1,000 varieties of strawberry, all developed from the same ancestor.
The strawberry is also a frequent motif in the fine arts. They are a symbol of modesty and humility because of their low growth habit. As a plant of the rose family, it is an attribute of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Its three-part leaves were viewed as a symbol of the Holy Trinity; the five flower petals represented the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ; the red, hanging fruit signified the spilled blood of Jesus Christ.