The Art of Making Strawberries

 

I have been making Strawberries at Christmastime with my sister and mother as long as I can remember. This family tradition has an apprenticeship that I have brought my own children into. The shaping of the delicate strawberries is a fine art which is passed from one generation to another.

My mother presides over the whole affair, doling out the responsibilities each person is gradually afforded. The first job of a young Strawberry apprentice is grinding the nuts and coconut, or dying the almond sliver stems in green food coloring. Mixing the concoction is a more advanced position and one I was chastised for as recently as this year, for adding the ingredients in the wrong order. My mother claimed this affected the consistency and shaping ability of the batter. I strongly disagree, so do not be intimidated about trying this at home.

When the concoction is properly mixed, the apprentices sit at a table in assembly line fashion. An experienced (3-5 years) journeyman starts by rolling walnut sized balls between their hands and placing them on waxed paper. This job has one distinct benefit—when your hands become too sticky to roll balls, you get to lick them off, finger by finger, before washing your hands.

Job #2, is only given to Master Strawberry Makers (5-10 years). It requires experience and technique as you gently roll each ball first in red sugar while simultaneously shaping it into a conical form. One learns early to leave the top sugarless, so that when you dip it in green sugar for the calyx (you learned a new word, didn’t you?) it will stick. The youngest apprentice sits at the end of the table and pokes the green stem in.

My mother credits this recipe to Renee Pavey who was a neighbor of hers in Columbia, MO in the early 1960’s. Mrs. Pavey donated the unique treat to a church bazaar displayed in apothecary jars. She famously didn’t let her kids eat any of them. My mom admired them so much she got the recipe, and we have been making them as gifts for family and friends every holiday season since. And, yes the kids have always gotten to eat them, at times to the point of never wanting to eat another one.