When I think of strawberries I think of the British summer and Wimbledon. Somehow those words conjure up the magic of lazy days in the sun. I have always wanted to go to Wimbledon. Not just for the tennis, but to see the mammoth catering operation that goes on behind the scenes. On the official Wimbledon website it lists the quantities needed to keep the crowds, who flock to the catering tents, fed and watered over the Wimbledon fortnight. As well as the 300,000 cups of tea and coffee, 250,000 bottles of water, 207,000 meals, 200,000 glasses of Pimm’s, 190,000 sandwiches, 150,000 bath buns, scones, pastries and doughnuts, 135,000 ice creams, 100,000 pints of draught beer and lager, 32,000 portions of fish and chips, 30,000 litres of milk, 25,000 bottles of champagne, 23,000 bananas, 22,000 slices of pizza, 20,000 portions of frozen yoghurt, 12,000kg of poached salmon and smoked salmon, 7000 litres of dairy cream, 6000 stone-baked pizzas… and an amazing 28,000kg (112,000 punnets) of English strawberries, that’s over 8500 punnets a day, that are hulled, inspected and served with 7000 litres of fresh cream!
So, if there are any strawberries left after Wimbledon fortnight, why not make some delicious strawberry jam, which you can use on buttered scones or between the layers of a Victoria sandwich. The sweet taste of summer packed into the jars is sure to convert you to homemade jam forever.
Find our strawberry jam recipe here.
