Strawberry snacks make for a sweeter winter

Pop quiz for strawberry lovers: Are they considered winter or spring fruits in Korea?

The production of the juicy, sweet produce reaches its height in springtime, but strawberries grown around this time of year are actually far sweeter.

According to the state-run Rural Development Administration, it takes longer for strawberries to bear fruit during winter, mainly because the weather slows down their production, which is what increases their sweetness.

For this reason, restaurants, cafes and even pubs tend to promote strawberry-inspired dishes or beverages around this time of year.

Here is a list of seasonal menu options accented with strawberries - from pizzas to rice wine and beer.

Pizza with a twist

Korean pizza joints offer many more variations compared to those elsewhere in the world. Ingredients such as corn, sweet potatoes, shrimp, calamari and even ricotta cheese are placed on top of many best-selling pizzas here.

Some eateries even offer pizzas drizzled with chocolate syrup.

But strawberry pizza sounds particularly strange because the fruit is supposed to be eaten raw and fresh.

However, the fruity dish is catching on among young women who prefer to eat fresh pizza over their greasier counterparts that come with heavy toppings such as bacon and pepperoni.

Of all the restaurants that promote strawberry pizzas, Italian eatery I Have a Dream in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, makes its dough by mixing strawberry juice with water.

Strawberry puree replaces tomato sauce and the pizza is completed with mozzarella, sliced strawberries and a dusting of sugar powder.

According toLee Seung-jin, the owner of the restaurant, the sour taste of the fruit decreases when it is heated in an oven.

"We launched the strawberry pizza as a dessert, but now eight out of 10 people order it as a main dish", Lee said.

The pizza also brought much-needed publicity and fame to the third-floor basement restaurant, which finds it difficult to lure customers in because of its location.

Mano di Chef, another Italian restaurant in Gangnam, began promoting its Very Very Strawberry Pizza on its seasonal menu.

Cream cheese is plastered on thin dough while fresh sliced strawberries and rocket salad top the creation.

Rice cakes stuffed with fruit

Chapsaltteok is a type of a rice cake with boiled adzuki beans inside, but a variation on the dish is enjoyed these days.

Instead of its usual stuffing, some chapsaltteok are now filled with fruit such as kiwis, grapefruit and grapes.

But the best-selling chapsaltteok comes with strawberries on the inside, according to owners of rice cake restaurants.

The idea originated from Japan.

Kim Min-su, the owner of Mochi Story in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul, first tried this dessert five years ago during his trip to the island nation.

Kim said he finished bathing at a public bathhouse there and saw a street stall selling fruit rice cakes.

He later realized that the rice cake sellers had been operating their business for three generations. Kim asked them to teach him how to make the dessert and opened his own business in southern Seoul three years ago.

"We sell strawberry rice cakes during the summer, but rice cakes made with winter strawberries taste much better", said Kim.



Bingsu with berries

Bingsu - shaved ice flakes with assorted toppings such as boiled adzuki beans, fruit and jellies - is a typical summer dessert.

But bingsu with stacks of strawberries still attracts the palates of those with a sweet tooth during winter.

The shaved ice for strawberry bingsu is usually made with milk, which is much softer than shaved ice created purely with water.

Piles of strawberries are placed on top of a stack of finely shaved milk ice. The recipe is simple, but the combination of sweet and sour strawberries and the rich taste of milk is second to none.

Of the many cafes that serve the seasonal bingsu, the franchise Seolbing began promoting its strawberry version from November, far earlier than its rivals.

Despite the dropping mercury, many people are opting for the strawberry bingsu. It is the restaurant's best-selling dessert.

Cafe Peony, located near Hongik University, western Seoul, is another cafe that is famous for strawberry bingsu.

When a single portion of the dessert is ordered, one bowl of shaved ice made with condensed milk, and the other with sliced strawberries, are served separately so that people are able to mix the two depending on their preference.

Strawberry parfaits are another much-loved dessert these days.

Cafe de Paris, located in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul, offers a series of parfait, but its most popular is made with strawberries.

The cafe is well known for generous servings of the fruit. The strawberry parfait is only available through March.



Strawberry-flavored alcohol

Japanese-style pub Sugatamori near Hongik University sells strawberry draft beer.

By adding juice from the fruit to the frozen foam on top of Kirin Ichiban Frozen Nama, it changes into a light pink color with a touch of strawberry flavor and scent.

The combination of strawberries and makgeolli, or rice wine, is also pretty tasty.

Rice wine is blended with the produce to look like strawberry-flavored milk. The beverage is perfect for people who stay away from alcohol because of its smell, as the aroma is overshadowed by the scent of strawberries.

But beware: the alcohol content of the strawberry makgeolli is still the same as the original rice wine.

The pub Sioko, located near Nowon Station, northern Seoul, is famous for its strawberry slushy rice wine. The pub blends ice, rice wine and strawberries together for the concoction.



All-you-can-eat treats

The country's five-star hotels launch strawberry dessert buffets around this time of year.

The buffets are quite pricey for a single person - between 35,000 won ($32) and 60,000 won - but the tables are always fully occupied, especially during weekends.

All kinds of imaginable strawberry desserts are available from macarons to chocolate-covered strawberries, along with unlimited coffee and tea.

The Grand Intercontinental Seoul Parnas, Sheraton Seoul D Cube City Hotel and Seoul Westin Chosun Hotel all provide strawberry-themed dessert buffets.

BY HONG SANG-JI [so@joongang.co.kr]