The term 'strawberry' is variously described as reflecting the straying habit of the plant or as coming from the practice of laying straw underneath the fruit to keep it off the damp ground. The present garden and commercially grown strawberry was unknown in Britain until the nineteenth century. Prior to that, gardeners, monks and other strawberry lovers worked hard on the small wild strawberry to fatten it up a bit. Even as a small fruit it was much loved and enjoyed by itself, with wine or with cream. Even today we argue about whether it is better to leave the fruit in its pristine condition or whether to serve it with sugar, cream or wine - or even in wine. Cooking strawberries is not a crime; they were often cooked in the past and are delicious. This tart recaptures the old traditions of steeping fruit in verjuice ? sour juice for pickling and cooking made from squeezed grapes or apples. It was used until the end of the nineteenth century and was then replaced by lemon juice. To be true to the old taste, one should really use a very sharp cider, but here I have mixed lemon juice and cider vinegar in very small quantities.