Strawberries and Cream

The simplest and most perfect British summer dessert: ripe strawberries, lightly sugared and served with cold, lightly whipped double cream: the taste of Wimbledon, the English summer, and 150 years of unchanging ritual

Origin: Kent & Surrey, England

From the journey of Strawberry.

When the first Wimbledon Championships were played in July 1877, strawberries and cream were served to the spectators. They have been served at every Wimbledon since; 34,000 kilograms of strawberries and 10,000 litres of cream consumed over the two-week tournament each year, one of the most enduring food-and-sport rituals in the world. The origins of the pairing are older than Wimbledon: Thomas Wolsey, Cardinal and Lord Chancellor to Henry VIII, is said to have first served strawberries with cream at Hampton Court in the early 16th century. But it was the Victorian era and the expansion of commercial strawberry growing in Kent: the Garden of England; that made this pairing universally available and nationally beloved. The British strawberry season runs from late May through August, and the appearance of strawberries in Kentish and Surrey fields still marks the beginning of summer in a way that no other food quite does.

Ingredients

Fruit

600 g ripe British strawberries (Elsanta, Malling Centenary, or best seasonal variety)

Sugar

2 tsp caster sugar (optional, only if strawberries need it)
1 tsp icing sugar (for the cream)

Cream

300 ml double cream (heavy cream)

Flavouring

0.5 tsp pure vanilla extract (optional)

Method

Hull the strawberries and halve them if large. Place in a wide serving bowl. If the strawberries need sweetening, dust with caster sugar, toss gently and allow to sit for 10 minutes; they will release their own juice.
Pour the cream into a cold bowl. Add the icing sugar and vanilla (if using). Whisk to soft peaks; the cream should fall in loose, billowing folds from the whisk, not stand in stiff peaks.
Serve the strawberries in individual bowls or the wide serving bowl, with the softly whipped cream either alongside in a separate bowl (traditional Wimbledon style) or spooned directly over.
Serve immediately. This dish will not wait.

Notes

There is almost nothing to this dish, which means that the quality of every ingredient must be perfect. Flavourless strawberries are ruinous here; there is nowhere to hide. Buy British strawberries in season, or the best local variety you can find. Do not use strawberries that have been stored at very cold temperatures (below 4°C); the cold destroys the aromatic compounds. Strawberries are ideally served at room temperature or just slightly cooler. The cream must be double cream (at least 48% fat); single cream or whipping cream will not give the same result.

The Gastrographer

Name: Strawberries and Cream
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: England
Ingredients: 600 g ripe British strawberries (Elsanta, Malling Centenary, or best seasonal variety); 2 tsp caster sugar (optional, only if strawberries need it); 300 ml double cream (heavy cream); 1 tsp icing sugar (for the cream); 0.5 tsp pure vanilla extract (optional)

Mapping Culinary History

To explore — select an ingredient below.

To explore — select an ingredient below · click any location dot on the map for recipes and stories · browse the information panel on the right · trace the full journey on the timeline.

Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control