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Fresh, juicy, with a bursting flavor, strawberry is the red jewel of summer. The abundance of beautiful, ripe strawberry leads us to pick up more than we can possibly eat. As strawberries pass their peak to the point of becoming overripe, they begin to lose their vibrant flavor, color and juiciness. But the more pressing question is how can we use them up — and fast? Here are ten tasty ideas for using up strawberries that are past their prime.
1. Make Quick Bread: Strawberry quick bread is perfect for breakfast, brunch or an afternoon snack, sweet enough to satisfy your sweet tooth. You can even make it into muffins, kids will love it.
2. Make homemade strawberry jam, it is so delicious and so easy. You just need equal parts of strawberries and sugar and a watchful eye. For a quick breakfast or snack, toast slices of country-style bread and top with ricotta cheese and a dollop of strawberry jam. You can check this strawberry jam recipe to get started.
3. If you’re looking for the perfect fruit pie, crumble or cobbler, this is it! A fresh strawberry pie on a warm summer day is possibly the best thing ever. Besides being gorgeous and delicious, pies have a practical side too –– the open sections allow some of the overripe strawberries moisture to escape during baking, leaving you with a perfectly-cooked fruit filling.
4. Make Smoothies: whipping up a juicy, vibrantly colored smoothie with a sweet strawberry taste is just an outstanding feat of nature. If you are trying to make an effort to eat more fruit, I would suggest not only incorporating smoothies into your day, but in a cute glass jar to make it a bit of fun. Perfect for kiddies, and if you add something colorful such as these pretty straws, I bet the kids will be begging you for a strawberry smoothie each day!
5. Make delicious, fresh salads. There are many great produce out there to create wonderful flavors with strawberry. You can make a salad as a quick snack for all family or make it as a dessert (with a little whipped cream), as a side or as just a quick healthy snack.
