Strawberry Growing Tips

Travel Through Culture With The History Of Strawberry Shortcake Dessert

Strawberries produce so many delicious treats, and strawberry shortcake has got to be at the top of that list.  This timeless classic is such a simple treat, yet it is incredibly enjoyable. This dessert has been around for awhile.  But what is it, and where did it really come from?

These questions can be answered by taking a look at the history of strawberry shortcake dessert, or at least the portion that is known!  Food often takes one on a journey through both culture and history, and the journey that this fun dessert has taken is no different.

In order to fully appreciate the history of strawberry shortcake dessert, first it's important to understand exactly what is meant by the phrase "shortcake." Real shortcake does not refer to the spongy, cup-shaped, yellow cakes that are generally found packaged next to strawberries on supermarket shelves. 

In contrast, real shortcake is a crumbly, bread-like product that is made by adding shortening to a dough before cooking.  Shortcake itself dates back to Shakespearean times.  This is known simply because the vaunted poet mentioned the cake in his plays!  Strawberries were enjoyed by civilizations going back at least to the Romans, and possibly before. But when were the two first combined?

It appears that strawberry shortcake, despite its English roots, is an American creation. Records of this delectable treat date back to the 1850's, and it was made to celebrate the beginning of summer, much like the dessert still is today.  In this way, the history of strawberry shortcake dessert isn't too far removed from it's future! 

At the beginning of spring, people would start talking about strawberry fever, and once the railroads were established, they functioned as a great way to move the berries from one part of the country to another, ensuring that the berry fever encompassed the entire nation.

The history of strawberry shortcake dessert took on another dimension in the 1930's.  Since companies still needed to sell their flour, and their cookbooks, many popular cookbooks of the time (think Betty Crocker)  would encourage women to use shortening and flour in their cooking, and shortcake was a natural target for this combination, thus ensuring the continued popularity of the strawberry shortcake dessert.

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