As summer heats up we begin to remember one of our most favorite summer snacks, the strawberry! There are a couple of theories as to why a strawberry is called a strawberry. Some say it resulted from children in the 19th century selling berries they had placed on straws and calling them "Straws of Berries". Another belief is that the name derives from the fact that the berries are "strewn" among a given plant and over time "strewn" has morphed into "straw". Regardless of the origin of the name, strawberries are a favorite summer treat among many and are used in refreshing drinks, delicious deserts and even savory main courses.

California is a major producer of strawberries, yielding around 75% of the nation's strawberry crop. In fact, if you laid all of the strawberries produced in California in one year end to end, they'd wrap around the world 15 times. Strawberries are also the only fruit with their seeds on the outside. This week at our "Taste of Summer" camp, we used fresh strawberries in a jam that was a huge hit among the kids. We paired ours with homemade scones, but the jam would go perfectly on anything from ordinary toast to the filling of a layer cake...