Lickable.
There must be a glut of strawberries happening in the warmer parts of Australia at the moment, because my Colesworth supermarket has ridiculously cheap punnets on the go. Flavourwise, they’re good, but the shelf-life is terrible – I’m getting a couple of days at the most before they turn nasty. There’s a reason why they’re marked down, after all.
If like me, you’ve been over-enthusiastic with your berry purchases of late, I have a solution. Dig the spare punnet out from the back of the crisper and whip up this easy strawberry topping recipe. The finished product is multi-purpose – it tastes great on yoghurt, over ice-cream, in smoothies or on pancakes. If you’re feeling fancy, leave some vanilla icecream out to soften, then mix through the topping and refreeze it – delicious strawberry swirl ice-cream.
To use a particularly annoying internet cuteism – “You’re welcome”.
Home-made strawberry topping
Per 250g punnet strawberries
1 tsp lemon juice
1-2 tbsp maple syrup (depending on how sweet or tart the berries are)
Hull the berries, remove any really squishy bits. Wash them well and chop roughly (I like a variety of sized – pieces to give me a good final texture). Pop everything in a saucepan and cover. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat slightly and simmer for 6-8 minutes until everything is mushy.
Serve as is, or blend if you’d like a smoother sauce. Tasty hot or cold.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups.
Vegie Smugglers 
Carolyn @ Champagne Cartel said,
August 14, 2013 @ 8:23 pm
Oooh, I love this idea! I don’t use processed sugar and only allow a bit of maple syrup occasionally, but I guarantee my children will love you for this post. 🙂 We always know when to expect the strawberries to get cheap and plentiful in Brisbane because it coincides with the Ekka being on. Strawberries are my favourite fruit so I always look forward to getting one of their famous strawberry sundaes. Yum! Now I can make something even healthier at home.
wendyblume said,
August 15, 2013 @ 12:30 pm
You know, I’ve never heard of EKKA before, but this year, I’ve seen daily mentions of it. I’ll know to look out for it now as a reminder that it’s strawberry time!
Carolyn @ Champagne Cartel said,
August 15, 2013 @ 12:39 pm
Strawberry and flu season – every year!
wendyblume said,
August 16, 2013 @ 10:56 am
very true! everyone has been sick at my place.
Cheesemonkey1 said,
August 15, 2013 @ 10:35 am
i made this last night and although i was going to ask you how long it keeps for, that is no longer an issue. i stood at the sink with a spoon and ‘tidied it up.’ totally delicious.
wendyblume said,
August 15, 2013 @ 12:30 pm
ha ha! yes, I’ve still got about half a cup that I set aside for the kids to have tonight. I would agree, long term storage of this doesn’t seem to be an issue…
Candice said,
August 15, 2013 @ 1:00 pm
Sounds great. Yes my question was how long does it last in the fridge? Planning on making some today!
wendyblume said,
August 15, 2013 @ 7:20 pm
I think it would comfortably last 4-5 days in a regular container.
Jen said,
August 15, 2013 @ 10:12 pm
Could you substitute honey for maple syrup?
wendyblume said,
August 16, 2013 @ 10:55 am
yep. I’d use a little less, depending on how strong a flavour your honey has.
Mrs P said,
August 16, 2013 @ 4:54 pm
Thanks for this post! I mentioned it to the hubster and he told me to ‘pin’ it so we can make some next week 🙂 Looking forward to enjoying it over my yoghurt! Maybe some sneaky ice-cream too if I’m feeling really naughty!
wendyblume said,
August 19, 2013 @ 11:57 am
You only live once! 😉
landrewsau said,
August 29, 2013 @ 2:57 am
I have just discovered your blog this afternoon and already made this recipe and the six veggie pasta sauce – which my two year old son demolished at dinner over pasta! He is just on the tail end of months and months of not eating dinner at all so it was such a relief to feed him something new and healthy that he loved from first bite! Thank you for such a fantastic blog, definitely one of my new favourites! Your posts are so enjoyable to read too 🙂
wendyblume said,
August 29, 2013 @ 8:10 am
I’m really happy that I’m able to help you! X
Rach said,
September 12, 2013 @ 2:27 pm
so yum!
Victoria said,
August 8, 2014 @ 2:54 am
On it now: My friend left me a 1kg tub … and I was running out of uses for them … plus I also running out of entertainment ideas for the kids (in the last week of the holidays!!)
wendyblume said,
August 8, 2014 @ 4:09 pm
That sounds like a lovely friend! Miss you! Xx