Fact Finder - Food and Drink

Fact
The Mystery of the Strawberry
Category
Food and Drink
Subcategory
Everyday Foods
Country
France
Description
The garden strawberry we eat today is a hybrid of two American species: the Virginia strawberry and the Chilean strawberry. It was first bred in France in the 1700s. Botanically, the strawberry is an 'aggregate accessory fruit.' The red fleshy part is not the fruit; it is actually enlarged receptacle tissue (the part of the stem that holds the flower). The 'seeds' on the outside are the true fruits, called achenes, and each achene contains a single tiny seed. A single strawberry can have up to 200 achenes. They are also unique in that they are the only fruit that carries their seeds on the outside.