Kids Club Vol. 30: Strawberries
KIDS CLUB
VOLUME 30
Welcome to the latest issue of our ChopChop Kids Club newsletter!
Red, ripe strawberries. They brighten up everything from a fruit salad to a bowl of cereal to a glass of sparkling water. And they’re a sure sign that summer is on its way! We’ve got strawberry everything this month: easy, refreshing recipes, plus fun facts, juicy ideas, and simple activities to get you in that strawberry state of mind.
What’s your favorite way to eat strawberries?
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
- RECIPE
Strawberry-Orange Ice Pops
Strawberry-Orange Ice Pops
kitchen gear
- Blender or food processor
- Ice-pop molds or paper cups and wooden sticks
Ingredients
- 1 cup very ripe strawberries, hulled
- 1 cup orange juice
Instructions
- Put the strawberries and orange juice in the blender or food processor and blend until liquidy.
- Divide the mixture evenly among the ice-pop molds or paper cups. If you’re using paper cups, put them on a small baking sheet, cover them with plastic wrap, and then poke a wooden stick down through the wrap into each cup. Freeze until solid, around 4 hours.
- KITCHEN SKILL
How to Hull a Strawberry
Removing a strawberry’s stem, the leafy green top, and the hard little white core just below the stem is called “hulling,” and it leaves you with just the juicy, delicious fruit. It’s not difficult to do, and if you’re using strawberries in a recipe, you’ll need to learn how to hull them. There are a few different ways:
1. Pull off the stem and green top, twisting as you do to remove as much of the core as possible. If you need to, use your fingertips to get out the last of it.
2. Pull off the stem and green top, then remove the core with the tip of a teaspoon. Dig it into the strawberry about 1/2 inch deep, then turn it to twist out the core.
3. Push a drinking straw up through the bottom of the strawberry to poke out the core, the green top, and the stem all at once.
- MAKE IT YOURSELF
Strawberry Spritzer
To make this bubbly, refreshing drink, put ½ cup hulled strawberries (fresh or frozen) in a bowl and use a fork or potato masher to break them up until they’re mushy. Divide the berry mash between 2 glasses and top each with 1 cup seltzer. Add ice and a lemon slice, if you like!
A strawberry is not actually a berry, according to botanists. It’s what’s called an “aggregate accessory fruit.” (Say that ten times fast!) The seeds are not true seeds, but miniature fruits called achenes, with seeds inside them
- PRACTICE GRATITUDE
Yes you may!
What’s your favorite thing about the month of May? If you need a hint, try walking around outside. Look up; look down. What do you notice? What is there to see, to feel on your skin, to smell in the air? Every month is special. What’s special about this one?
Image by MiVargof from Pixabay
- BY THE NUMBERS
Strawberries by the Numbers
- Every strawberry has, on average, 200 tiny seeds.
- The largest documented strawberry in history weighed 8.17 ounces (over half a pound) and was the size of a large apple.
- 1/2 cup strawberries contains 45 milligrams of vitamin C, which is about three-quarters of the amount you need in a day.
- The garden strawberry was first cultivated nearly 300 years ago, in Brittany, France.
5 Ways to Eat Strawberries
- Top a toasted wholegrain English muffin with nut butter and strawberry and banana slices.
- Stir chopped strawberries into your cereal or oatmeal.
- Add sliced strawberries to a green salad.
- Flavor a glass of water with a few pieces of strawberry.
- Dip strawberries in plain yogurt.
- INSTANT FUN
Strawberry Anatomy
Look carefully at a strawberry, then use a pencil to draw it. Use arrows to label all the different parts of it. Can you find the peduncle, calyx, achene, and skin? (Look up an illustration of a strawberry online if you need a hint.) Cut the strawberry in half and look at it. What does the shape remind you of? Draw and label the cut side of the strawberry, then add color to your drawings with markers, crayons, colored pencils, or paint.
Bonus craft: If your strawberries came in a plastic basket, you can thread ribbon or yarn onto a wide-eyed needle and use it to weave in and out around the basket to make a decorative holder for your desk supplies.
