The first of the local strawberries have now arrived in the greengrocers

These sweet, ruby like jewels of fruit should be cherished now when they are at their best. They look beautiful, have an intense aroma, are juicy and taste sublime. You can of course buy strawberries all year round and while they look the part they are about as tasty as eating a soggy napkin. One of my bug bearers is seeing them on menus in winter or the most cardinal sin of them all in my book – garnishing a hot crumble in February with an insipid strawberry. And don’t get me started on dumping them into sparkling wine in the bleak mid winter….

Enjoy local strawberries now and for the next few months and then forget about them until they return – like a visiting friend from abroad. To preserve them I freeze a couple of bags to whip out to brighten up a grey November day and I also make jam. Making jam has mainly fallen out of fashion but for me there is nothing as satisfying. When you’re preparing strawberries, cut out the green stalk, known as hulling. It grates on me when I watch people prepare them and they cut off a third of the fruit along with the green top! Take a kilo of the hulled fruit and cut in half, place in a pan with the juice of a lemon and warm through on a low heat for a couple of minutes. Add the sugar and gently cook until it has dissolved. Crank up the heat and boil for about 5 minutes or until you reach setting point. This is 105oc on a probe or place a saucer in the freezer and when a blob sets on the cold surface you know it’s ready. You can pick up temperature probes for less than a tenner and they’re well worth it for checking meat, poultry and even breads. Spoon the jam into sterilized jars and seal. There’s nothing like cracking it open later in the year when the season has finished and enjoying on a freshly baked scone with a dollop of cream.

Strawberries and cream have a special affinity – there’s something quite magical that happens when the zingy, sweet fruit is hit by the soft, luscious cream. No need for sweetener, simply delicious as a classic duo. The two recipes this week feature this combination. In the first white chocolate and cream are whizzed into a mousse that’s set and then topped with strawberries tossed in a strawberry puree. You can source good Belgian white chocolate on line or in baker’s supplies. They usually come in button form so don’t have to be chopped. Try and avoid the sickly sweet bars that are mainly sugar.

A jam sponge is one of those timeless classics that may be temporarily forgotten but never really goes out of fashion. When I taught I had a student who used to make the lightest sponges imaginable. Unfortunately she never shared her secret and personally I don’t blame her – it was so good! The sponge here has half brown sugar and half castor that’s whipped with eggs until tripled in volume. This takes a while but be patient and use an electric whisk. Fold in melted butter, flour and baking powder before baking in sandwich tins. They’re layered with jam, strawberries and a mascarpone cream mix with a little vanilla and icing sugar. Dust with icing sugar and enjoy a large slice. Share with your friends and toast the local strawberry season.