Cooking with Kids: Get the best out of your summer strawberries

Pic: iStock

Strawberries are delicious over the summer months. They grow really well in our Irish climate, we get just enough sun to make them red, plump and juicy. 

Young children generally like them, you can simply serve them with a dollop of natural yogurt or just as they are. 

However, it is quite easy to make a simple dessert that looks impressive because strawberries are such a splendid ingredient.

Washing the strawberries is a good task for very young children. You can encourage them to be gentle, so as not to bruise the berries. 

Washing them in a colander may be the easiest option. Even doing a simple task like this a child is gaining fine motor and sensory skills.

To remove the little green stalks from the strawberries, you can use a teaspoon and scoop them out.

 Demonstrate this once or twice and then ask older children to continue with the rest of the strawberries.

Biscuits and strawberries and cream

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

There's a few steps to this dessert - but it's the perfect fruity treat.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 15 mins

Course

 Dessert

Ingredients

• 250ml cream

• 1 tsp of honey

• 6 biscuits

• 16 big plump strawberries

Method

1. Whipping cream can take a little time and patience. Ask a grown-up to help set up the whisk for you and to show you how to safely use it. It is best to put the cream and honey into a big bowl to whisk it as it will splash up. Whisk it until the cream has become stiff. It helps if your bowl and whisk are cold, this will allow the cream to whip quicker.

2. Carefully wash the strawberries and remove the green stalks with a teaspoon. Carefully cut them into chunks.

3. Break the biscuits into pieces.

4. Now line up four small glasses on your counter or tabletop. Spoon some cream into each, sprinkle some biscuit pieces on top then some strawberry chucks. Do this a second time to layer everything up.

Activity: Strawberry science experiment

You can conduct a simple science experiment with strawberries to learn about acid and bases. 

You will need a saucer with a little bread soda on it, and another saucer with a little vinegar. 

Cut a big strawberry in half. 

Dip the cut side of the strawberry into baking soda and watch it fizz, then dip the other half in the vinegar and observe the reaction.