Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with strawberry

Half preserved

Blazecock Pileon — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 01:43:49 -0800

I made a half-full jar of jam, is it safe to eat? Never thought I'd ever ask a "is it safe to eat" question, but here I am.

I made some strawberry jam for the first time and I was only able to fill the last jar halfway full. The other jars were filled to 1/4" from the lip.

I gave it the same boiling and cooling time as the full jars. Due to the air pocket acting as a floatation device, I had to use a meat tenderizer as a weight to hold down the jar as it was boiled.

The jar lid dimple is depressed, so it looks like a good seal was made. There's some condensation inside the jar's sides, where the jam doesn't cover.

Will it be safe to consume, or should I toss it?

Also, the mashed berries seemed to separate during cooling. There's about 1" of jelly at the bottom of each jar and mashed fruit bits at the top — is that normal, in general?

Is it safe to cook with over-ripe strawberries?

joannemerriam — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:49:28 -0800

Is it safe to cook with over-ripe strawberries? I bought some strawberries the other night and we haven't eaten all of them yet. They're quite ripe, and a few are soft and have those super mushy areas strawberries get. None of them are moldy or anything.

I was thinking I'd use them up by making banana bread with the strawberries instead of bananas. My husband worries I may give us all food poisoning or that it may not be safe to eat them now. Is he right and I should just throw them away?

What is this amazing drink?

mustcatchmooseandsquirrel — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:46:05 -0800

A bartender made me an awesome drink that had basil, cucumber, strawberries, and (white?) rum in it. What was it? I think that he combined the first three in a mortar and pestle and later added rum (and maybe some other stuff?). It was not very sweet at all but tasted light and refreshing and nice. (at least I think it was. I was already on the far end of schnockered when I drank it)

What is this drink? Or, how can I create a drink from these ingredients that tastes amazing?

Hydroponic and/or solar-powered container gardening?

allterrainbrain — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 01:26:04 -0800

Solar-powered and/or hydroponic apartment gardening: have you done it or something like it? Do you like or dislike any commercial solar kits or hydroponics kits, or suppliers of seeds & equipment for container gardening? I'm good with plants, but I haven't gardened with a focus on producing food since I was a kid. I've started doing research on container gardening, minimal solar systems, and hydroponics -- both on mefi & elsewhere. I'm looking to set up a system that will pay for itself within a couple of years (cost of all the gear vs. what I'd pay for the amount of organic produce it produces), so we're probably talking under $1000.

So this question is about putting those three elements together with budget as a big factor, and about specific crops to try. I'm thinking cherry tomatoes, strawberries, basil, mint -- generally, any stuff I like that's both expensive to buy organic and decently efficient to grow in a container.

Have you done this or anything like it?? What were your successes & failures? Do you recommend any particular suppliers of hydroponic kits, solar kits, or seeds?

For reference: I'm in NYC, facing south-by-southwest with sun all day; I pay for my own electricity; and I have only a fire escape (no balcony), so I can only put very minimal amounts of stuff outside -- we're talking shallow windowboxes plus hydroponic containers just inside the windows with additional (artificial) lighting. Thanks for all thoughts!

Finding chocolate dipped strawberries... ?

MarkB — Mon, 04 Jul 2005 14:53:01 -0800

Aside from buying the ingredients and making them myself, where would one go to buy chocolate dipped strawberries in Southern California - preferably in the San Fernando Valley? There are countless companies who will ship these to me but I need them for Tuesday evening and with the holiday today that makes shipping, sadly, impossible...

Where can I obtain wild strawberry plants?

alfhild — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 23:13:23 -0800

Where can I obtain wild strawberry plants? (Preferably in South-East England.)

Strawberries and Food Dye

geryon — Fri, 01 Apr 2005 19:50:25 -0800

Are most strawberries dyed, or sprayed or color-augmented in any way? I'm trying to settle a bet with my housemate. I know that most fruit growers add a little color to most of their fruit, but I was unsure about strawberries. My housemate says no, strawberries can't be dyed, I say yes, they can and they do. My google-fu isn't very good, so please help me end this argument!