Originally, tasting strawberries with cream was a custom born to symbolize the union between rich and poor. Since the first edition of the Wimbledon tournament, this tradition has accompanied the fans who visit the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club to the point of becoming almost a ‘need’ for consumption today. It is expected that this year 2 million strawberries, about 35 tons, will be consumed during the tournament.
The symbolism of strawberries with cream has its origin centuries ago. Born in Ipswich in 1471, Thomas Wolsey, a theologian from Oxford University, Archbishop of York, diplomat, and eventually a cardinal of the Catholic Church, achieved near-absolute power after the accession to the throne of Henry VIII, who made him Lord Chancellor ( personal adviser). Wolsey was known as ‘The Other King’.
Thomas Wolsey knew how to combine the power that emanated from the Church with that which was decided in Court. He eliminated all his political rivals, to influence the great decisions of his King. His greatest achievement was to support Henry VIII in the signing of the Treaty of London, by which England gave its support to Charles V in the war against the French.
In love with Gothic architecture, Wolsey supervised much of the construction that went up at Court. One of them was very special in that it was a personal gift to Henry VIII. Aware of the King’s passion for the game of tennis (Henry VIII is documented to have had eight rackets), Wolsey built Hampton Court Palace, which contained a wonderful Royal Tennis court that can still be seen to this day.
Expert historians have documented that Thomas Wolsey was passionate about strawberries. Cream was a fundamental food in the peasants’ diet, and by adding strawberries to it, the union between rich and poor was symbolized. In 1509, when Henry VIII came to play one of his traditional Real Tennis matches, Wolsey offered strawberries and cream to those in attendance.
Why strawberries? Imported from America, strawberries, in addition to being tasty, were considered the symbol of Venus. In ancient Rome, this fruit was linked to the festivities of Adonis. The legend indicates that the origin of the strawberry occurs in the death of Adonis, when Venus cries tears that when touching the ground become strawberries. Her heart shape made her a symbol of purity, passion and healing, reflected in both literature and painting.
William Shakespeare, another lover of the game with a racket, decides that Othello gives Desdemona a handkerchief decorated with strawberries as a symbol of eternal love. Strawberries also appear in El Bosco’s The Garden of Earthly Delights, in still lifes by Osias Beert, who considered strawberries and cherries fruits of paradise. Another legend indicates that if a strawberry is cut in half, and a part is given to a person of the opposite sex, love is born between the two.
The passion for strawberries was such that Teresa Cabarrús, a prominent figure in the Court of Emperor Napoleon under the pseudonym Madamme Tallien, took care of herself by squeezing 10 kilos of strawberries into her bathtub water. Perhaps as a nod to her fate, Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife, had a strawberry-shaped birthmark on her neck, for which some accused her of being a witch. Anne Boleyn was executed by order of Henry VIII, while the monarch went to play a tennis match so as not to attend the execution.
For years, it was believed that King George V was the one who introduced strawberries and cream to Wimbledon, when he attended the All England Club in 1934 accompanied by Queen Mary, and that these could only be tasted on the outer courts. But the truth, according to a study carried out by those responsible for the rich library attached to the Wimbledon Museum, is that strawberries and cream already appeared in the first edition of the tournament. In 1877, at all garden games, sports competitions and outdoor social parties, strawberries and cream were eaten to celebrate the arrival of spring, with the fruit that sprouted at that time of year.
Over the years, the Elsanta variety strawberries, harvested in Mereworth, Kent, became definitely associated with Wimbledon history. Strawberries are picked daily at 4 in the
tomorrow, to then pass a quality control at 9, and finally be taken to the All England Club.
An anecdote is enough to reaffirm the importance that strawberries and cream acquire among the leaders of the club. In 1989, the year in which the persistent rains almost completely ruined the game during the first five days of the week, it was announced on Friday afternoon that an important official statement would be made at five in the afternoon. The journalists thought that it would be announced to enable the first Sunday, traditionally a holiday due to an agreement with the neighbors, to advance the competition tables. At five in the afternoon, the statement went in another direction. The All England Club apologized to the spectators because, due to the rains, the quality of the strawberries was not being adequate.
Marion Regan, an Oxford graduate in botany whose family was already selling strawberries near Covent Garden in 1890, is responsible for Hughe Lowe Farms, the company that grows the strawberries for the tournament. About 2 million strawberries, some 35 tons of this fruit that is part of the history of the tournament, are expected to be consumed this year.
But Wimbledon, attentive to social food trends, introduced an important novelty last year. In addition to the traditional strawberries with cream, he offered a combination for vegans, replacing the cream with coconut milk for those who wanted it.
Only one fruit competes with strawberries and immortalizes the end of the tournament: the pineapple that crowns the Wimbledon men’s champion trophy, the match with which the competition closes.
