The 3-Ingredient Trick for More Flavorful Strawberries

Summertime is very much strawberry time in my kitchen. Once berries are in season, I start throwing fresh berries into everything from my morning oatmeal to a pitcher of sangria. Much to my chagrin, however, berry season does not last as long as I wish it would. I’ve certainly found myself in the produce aisle of the supermarket in deep winter, more than once, staring at a package of off-season, not-sweet-enough berries with a long sigh.

That is, until I discovered Kelli’s roasted strawberry rhubarb shortcakes. It includes a berry technique that cures my winter berry woes: roasting. Kelli notes that roasting “softens rhubarb’s bite and makes ripe, juicy berries even better,” but what it also does is take less-than-perfect berries and give their flavor a boost and their texture a complete makeover. Here’s how to do it.

Lovely, juicy ripe strawberries are perfect just as they are, no notes, but not all berries are created equal. Sometimes the strawberries you bring home are not quite sweet enough, or have a mealy or tough texture. A quick trip in the oven enhances the natural sugars present in the fruit. A brief roast at 425°F is enough to cook berries down. Even if they were overly hard, they come out of the oven soft and tender, ready to be incorporated into anything from a quick cake to a pancake breakfast. In her recipe, Kelli tosses 8 cups of fruit in 1/4 cup of granulated sugar with the zest of 1 lemon. The addition of sugar and lemon to the mix adds sweetness while also brightening up the whole mixture. While my favorite way to use this technique is on imperfect fruit, it also works wonders on juicy in-season berries, taking their already delicious flavor to the next level. You can also use this technique on any berry, not just strawberries!

Roasted berries are great to use in baked goods like, a skillet pancake or berry crumb bars. You can also use them as a topping for ice cream or yogurt, just like you would with fresh berries.