Strawberries are officially in season, but there will always be some around that have not heard that they are meant to be ripe, juicy and sweet, and so continue to be boring, plastic and tasteless.

A good strawberry is studded with tiny seeds that crunch against your teeth, and should have the wonderfully evocative smell that prompted the Romans to call it fraga, for its fragrance.

Find strawberries that are good — at farmer’s markets and strawberry-friendly supermarkets — and just eat them raw, unsweetened, out of your hand.

To store, keep them in the refrigerator in an uncovered bowl lined with a paper towel.

Inferior strawberries, however, need help. Scatter them with a little sugar, berry liqueur or cognac, and a grind of black pepper (unusual, but it seems to disappear, making the strawberries taste more strawberryish) and leave to macerate for a few hours.

Or, gently soften the strawberries with a little sugar and port in a saucepan until they drop their juices. Let them cool, then serve as a fresh strawberry relish with tangy Greek yoghurt.

Or make Eton Mess, a dish traditionally served at the picnic on the playing fields after the annual prizegiving ceremony, which takes place tomorrow.

It apparently began life as a mash of strawberries and thick cream, then somebody smart came along (possibly Michael Smith, the author of Fine English Cookery) and added crisp meringues, turning it into a memorable summer pudding.

Ingredients
(STRAWBERRIES, CREAM AND MERINGUES)
Serves 4 to 6

Prep: 10 min plus chilling

800g fresh ripe strawberries
Kirsch, berry liqueur or Cointreau to taste
1 tbsp icing sugar, sifted
200g fresh cream for whipping
200g thick Greek-style yoghurt
6 plain meringues or meringue shells

METHOD

Wash and dry the strawberries, then hull them. If they are large, cut in half or cut into thick slices. Place all but 200g of strawberries in a bowl and sprinkle with 2tbsp of liqueur. Dust with icing sugar and chill for an hour or two.

Whiz the remaining 200g of berries into a purée, adding a dash of liqueur to taste, and chill.

Whip the cream lightly, fold in the yoghurt, and chill. Roughly crush the meringues into bite-sized pieces.

When you are ready to serve, gently toss the cream, meringue and strawberries and pile the lot into a glass bowl. Drizzle with the strawberry purée. Toss once and then serve.

www.timesonline.co.uk/recipes— for more recipes from T2

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