What would the British summer be without the delicious, versatile strawberry?

This year, make the most of the strawberry season by buying local, homegrown fruit. If there's any one fruit that symbolises the British summer, it's the strawberry. This succulent, fragrant fruit is as beautiful as it is flavourful. It has long been a key ingredient in classic British summer foods such as Eton Mess, summer pudding - or simple strawberries and cream, long associated with Wimbledon.

Strawberry season
Traditionally, part of the strawberry's appeal is that its arrival marked the beginning of summer. Its short, six-week season, from early June until mid-August, coincided with the brief, long-awaited British summer. These days, however, the British strawberry season (unlike the British summer) extends from mid-April until mid-December, thanks to the increased use of plastic polytunnels, which provide a warmer, more protected environment - and a much longer growing season.

Fans of homegrown strawberries may be happy with the extended growing season, but some countryside residents are not. Many people consider polytunnels to be a visual blot on the landscape and some have set up campaigning groups to push for legislation limiting the number of polytunnels. Meanwhile, British Summer Fruits, which represents and promotes British soft-fruit suppliers, defends the use of poytunnels. The group claims that use they promote homegrown fruit, stimulate local rural economies, and reduce the level of pesticides needed by 30%, compared to field-grown fruit. The debate continues.

Strawberry signs
Because of its heart shape, the strawberry has long been a symbol of purity, passion and healing, in literature and art through the ages. To signify flawlessness and virtue, medieval stonemasons carved strawberry designs in churches. In the same period, strawberry soup was traditionally served to the bride and groom at their wedding feast. It was also thought that strawberry birthmarks were a sign of royalty.

Buying strawberries
Two words sum up the advice here: buy British. There are numerous reasons why British strawberries taste better than imported fruit. First, Britain has a climate that's ideally suited to growing soft fruits. Also, if you buy freshly picked fruit from local farms, you'll be getting produce that's picked when it's approaching the peak of ripeness. Imported fruit is likely to have been picked early and sent long distances, for which both flavour and texture will both suffer - not to mention the negative effects on the environment caused by long-distance shipping. Read the labels on the fruit carefully, though. Local fruit isn't always marked as clearly as it could be; what's worse, fruit grown in the Mediterranean - or even South America - is sometimes sold at lower prices than locally grown fruit. By buying locally, though, you're not only buying high quality, flavourful produce, you're also supporting local farmers.
Indeed, local farmers are the best place of all to buy your strawberries. If you want the best quality available, and don't mind getting your hands a bit dirty, pick-your-own farms are the place to go. Apart from the obvious, another benefit to pick-you-own farms is that you're likely to find a wider range of varieties. Take the children and make a day out of it.

Strawberry varieties
Although you may not guess from looking at what's available on the supermarket shelves, there's a range of varieties available. Just one variety, Elsanta, accounts for 80% of the British fruit sold in UK supermarkets. Although this variety is justifiably popular, environmentalists point out that a 'strawberry monoculture' is not good for biodiversity. Pick-you-own farms are more likely to offer less-familiar varieties such as Florence, Alice, Rosie, Cambridge Late Pine and Rhapsody, each with its own flavours, aromas and growing seasons.  Once you've identified the strawberries you want, look for unblemished fruit with bright green hulls. As with any other delicate berries, wash and handle them gently and as little as possible to avoid bruising. Always wash the fruit before hulling them. For better flavour, let strawberries come to room temperature before eating, or put them out to warm in the sun for a couple of hours to bring out the full taste and aroma.

Healthy berries
Strawberries were seen as a healthy food as long ago as 200BC, when the Romans cultivated them for their medicinal qualities. They believed the strawberry could bring relief from depression, infections and fevers, as well as ailments of the kidneys, liver and blood. Centuries later, Madame Tallien, a prominent figure at the court of Napoleon, was reputed to bathe in the juice of strawberries for its healing properties. It's doubtful, though, that a long soak in a strawberry bath is the best way to enjoy the fruit's nutritional qualities. Stick to eating them: eight strawberries contain as much vitamin C as an orange, a mere 50 calories per serving and a host of antioxidant chemicals that are believed to help protect against heart disease and cancer.

Serving ideas
As well as the traditional accompaniments of sugar and cream, try macerating fresh strawberries with a little sugar in fruit juice, orange liqueur, sweet wine, sparkling wine or balsamic vinegar. Strawberries can be used as fillings for pies, shortcake, sponges and flans. They also make delicious ice creams, sorbets and mousses.

More fruit than you can eat?
Use a glut of strawberries to flavour vinegar or to make liqueur or syrup. Strawberry jam is a great favourite but, as the berries are low in pectin, remember to add some lemon juice or bottled pectin to help the jam set.
Freezing can prove disappointing as the fruit, once thawed, becomes flabby. To get around this problem, freeze whole strawberries in thick raspberry purée or pulp them and freeze to use in other recipes.