Fruit Intelligence: Strawberry

By Michael Laiskonis, Culinary Director, Les vergers Boiron

As the winter season lifts, a long- awaited harbinger of Spring and Summer red fruits is the arrival of sweet, aromatic strawberries.

Though you can find mentions of wild strawberries in literature dating back to ancient Rome, and cultivation began as early as the 1300s in France, the modern strawberry – Fragaria ananassa – owes its character to centuries of experimental hybrids produced among varieties discovered throughout Europe and the Americas.

While in broad culinary terms we classify the strawberry as, of course, an edible fruit, in strict botanical terms, it is not a true ‘berry.’ Rather, the sweet, red edible flesh is merely a vehicle for the many small achenes – the small seedlike components that appear on the exterior are the actual ‘fruits’ of the strawberry.

Countless individual cultivars of strawberries are commercially produced throughout the world, but a key component of the blend perfected by Les vergers Boiron is the Senga variety, developed not only for flavor and color, but also for its ability to thrive in the red-fruit belt of Eastern Europe,

most notably in eastern Poland. The moderate climate and sandy soils of the Lublin region in particular provide small family farms with the ideal environment to grow the fruit. Built into Boiron’s partnerships are strict controls over agricultural practices and quality parameters.

The strawberry harvest takes place over a period of three weeks, choosing only the ripest fruits over multiple passes. The initial local sorting and processing are important for preserving the crop’s organoleptic properties; strawberries are flash-frozen before the final blending and assembly of origins at Boiron’s facility near Valence, France. The gentle handling of the fragile strawberry puree in these final stages maintains the qualities of the peak-season color and flavor while limiting the emergence of ‘cooked’ notes.

Strawberries are certainly a seasonal staple in the pastry lab, and they play well with a wide range of complimentary fruits; favorites of mine include white peach, apricot, guava, coconut and citrus. The puree’s natural sugar- acid balance and fruity, green notes also invite pairings as diverse as basil, mint, tarragon, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, rose, fennel and almond.

Strawberry adapts itself in virtually all applications on the dessert menu and in the pastry   case. Among the strawberry creations in my own archives, I often go back to a classic cream-filled choux accented with strawberry, raspberry and rhubarb.

For more recipe inspiration and technical information on Les vergers Boiron’s Strawberry purée, visit: https://www.les-vergers-boiron.com and follow along as we explore all our flavors, origins, and applications at @les_vergers_boiron_ Americas

Strawberry White Chocolate Crunchy Choux

by Michael Laiskonis,
Culinary Director, Les vergers Boiron

Classic choux pastry receives a light, latespring treatment with a crunchy coating, white chocolate cream, strawberry sorbet and a bright raspberry-rhubarb compote.

Yield: approximately 24 pieces, or 8-12 servings as a plated dessert

Choux Sable

• 50 g unsalted butter
• 35 g granulated sugar
• 30 g light brown sugar
• 60 g all-purpose flour
• 1 g salt

 Total weight: 176 g 

1. Place all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on low speed just until combined, adding a small amount of water if necessary.
2. Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment or acetate cut to approximately 6 inches x 8 inches (15 cm x 20 cm). Freeze.

Pate A Choux

•  62.5 g whole milk
• 62.5 g water
• 5 g granulated sugar
• 1 g salt
• 50 g unsalted butter
• 37.5 g all-purpose flour
• 37.5 g bread flour
• 100 g whole eggs

 Total weight: approximately 350 g 

1. Place the milk, water, sugar, salt and butter in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Remove from heat and stir in the flour until incorporated; return to the heat and cook for 1-2 minutes until a smooth mass has formed.
3. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
4. Beat the mixture until slightly cooled; incorporate the eggs in small amounts.
5. Transfer the paste to a pastry bag and deposit into 1.18-inch (30mm) silicon“pomponette” forms.
6. Freeze
7. Unmold and top each frozen choux with a 1.6-inch (4 cm) disc of the choux sablé.
8. Gently warm the surface with a heat gun, allowing the sablé to drape the choux evenly.
9. Temper to room temperature.
10. Place in a 340˚F (170˚C) oven and bake for 5 minutes.
11. Reduce the heat to 320˚F (160˚C) and continue to bake for an additional 5 minutes.
12. Reduce heat to 300˚F (150˚C) and finish baking until golden and dry, approximately 10 minutes.

Whipped White Chocolate Cream 

• 684 g heavy cream (36% fat), divided
• 25 g glucose syrup
• 25 g invert sugar
• 180 g white chocolate

 Total weight: 905 g 

1. Heat 225 g of the heavy cream with the glucose and invert sugar in a saucepan and bring to a light simmer.
2. Incorporate the hot cream into the white chocolate and emulsify with an immersion blender.
3. Add the remaining 459 g of heavy cream to the base and continue to homogenize with an immersion blender until smooth.
4. Cover, chill and allow to rest for at least 12 hours.
5. For assembly, whip to a barely stiff consistency and transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a plain pastry tip.

Strawberry Sorbet 

• 80 g granulated sugar, divided
• 3 g sorbet stabilizer
• 150 g water
• 40 g glucose powder
• 15 g invert sugar
• 500 g Les Vergers Boiron Strawberry purée 100%

 Total weight: 788 g 

1. Combine 30 g of the granulated sugar with the stabilizer. Reserve.
2. In a saucepan, heat the water to 50°C (120°F). Whisk in the stabilizer mixture, the remaining 50 g of sugar, glucose powder and invert sugar. Bring just to a boil and remove from heat.
3. Chill and allow the syrup to mature for at least 4 hours.
4. Combine the purée and syrup and process in batch freezer; extract the mix at -5˚C (23˚F). Alternatively, transfer to PacoJet canisters and freeze; process as needed.
5. Continue to harden the sorbet at -18˚C (0˚F) as necessary.

Rhubarb-Raspberry Compote 

• 200 g granulated sugar
• Water as needed
• 500 g Les Vergers Boiron Rhubarb purée
• 50 g Les Vergers Boiron Raspberry purée 100%

 Total weight: 750 g

1. In a medium shallow sauté pan or saucepan, place the granulated sugar and water to moisten.
2. Over medium heat, cook the sugar to 50˚C (122˚F).
3.  Add the rhubarb purée to the pan.
4.  Allow the rhubarb to dissolve any hardened bits of sugar and reduce slightly.
5.  Add the raspberry purée and continue to  reduce until thickened.
6.  Remove from heat, cool and chill. 

Assembly

• Confectioner’s sugar
• Rhubarb chips
• Mint leaves 

1. Split the choux puffs and fill with the Whipped White Chocolate Cream, then dust with confectioner’s sugar. Place the puffs onto a pool of the rhubarb compote, and top with strawberry sorbet, rhubarb chip and a mint leaf.

Photos by Audrey Ma

(This article appeared in the Spring 2025 issue of Pastry Arts Magazine)