Strawberries in Syrup: Fragola Fabbri Review
No tomb raiding necessary.
I wrote an earlier review of Fabbri’s Candied Ginger in Syrup, and one of my readers gave me this jar of Fabbri Fragola, or “strawberries in syrup” as a gift. Oh, frabjous day!
I had no idea what to expect for the actual “strawberries.” It turns out they are a bit like dehydrated berries — they’re concentrated and firm, with an almost gummy-like texture. It reminds me of soft fruit leather, but it’s also unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. The exterior of the berries are textured and finely seeded, but the insides are like a tangy fruit chew. The extra moisture is removed, but the strawberry essence is condensed and enhanced. Strawberry mummies.
Admittedly, these fruit mummies are not much to look at. They’re dark and tar-like, with little resemblance to fresh, red strawberries. The berries range in size, but all of them are smaller than my finger tip. The Fabbri website says they are “wild strawberries,” so that might be why they are all so tiny.
Hey, the best things come in petite packages!
The juice has a deep flavor that is much nicer than strawberry jam or most strawberry flavoring I have experienced. It tastes rich without being merely sugary, and there’s a complex — almost herbal — aftertaste. It’s tart, but not overpowering. The syrup has a plethora of seeds and tiny strawberry fragments, which makes it more enjoyably natural. At room temperature, the juice is thin and runny, but it thickens to a corn syrup consistency after refrigeration.
As you can see from my photo, the berries really do look like gummy candy when you bite into them. The insides are smooth and uniform. I would think someone was pulling my leg — and putting fake strawberry candy blobs in these jars — except the exteriors of the berries are so distinctly natural and unmanufactured. You can’t fake these strawberry seeds, man!
One of the distinct features of this product is that you are buying strawberry syrup as much as you are buying strawberries. The jar contains a significant amount of syrup in proportion to the fruit pieces. This appears to be intentional — the syrup is meant to be consumed with equal relish as the fruits. More about how to use the syrup later.
Storage and Shelf-life
Unlike the Fabbri Candied Ginger, the label doesn’t forbid refrigeration after opening. It just says store in a cool, dry place. That left me uncertain how to store this. I live in Florida and my house is a balmy 80-85 degrees (don’t be jealous). I left the jar sitting on my table for a week after opening, and it didn’t seem to have spoiled, although it had a slight fermented smell that might have been the early stages. I ended up refrigerating it after a week, and that was fine. The syrup gets thicker after refrigeration, and the berries firm up a bit more, but that’s all that happens.
I had emailed Fabbri customer service when I bought my jar of Candied Ginger in Syrup, to find out if they really did not want me to refrigerate the jar at all, ever. I never received a response. So it looks like we consumers are on our own to figure this out! Fabbri consumers unite!
Supposedly, there are 30 servings per jar, consisting of 1 tablespoon each. Eleven grams of sugar per serving is…expected. I’ve eaten half this jar in the last week, so that means at least 15 servings in 7 days. Yup. Not sorry.
The lid suggests eating the strawberries in a cake. I would, but I don’t have cake. Stop taunting me, you wicked lid!
Here’s a close-up of the fancy, thick ink printed on the jar. The jars are made of ravishing opaque white glass. They’re pretty enough to save and repurpose for other things. In fact, I crave these jars almost as much as I crave fruity mummies in syrup. I use mine to store bulk spices in my spice cabinet.
I used my strawberry syrup to make beverages. I’m a teetotaler, so I opted for sparkling mineral water. The drink has a pleasant, natural taste — more complex than a typical strawberry soda. After refrigeration, the syrup takes on a viscous consistency, so it dissolves slowly in liquid, and needs to be stirred. As you can see, it appears brown-ish in color, rather than red like strawberries. I’m not mad.
I think this would be a great fruit syrup for ice cream or cheesecake, too. Or pancakes. Or waffles. Or….
Fabbri offers a variety of “tempting recipes” for these strawberries on their website. A few examples:
- Ricotta Mousse with Fragola Fabbri
- Chocolate and Fragola Fabbri Brownie
- Lemon Curd Pavlova with Fragola Fabbri
Yep. Tempted.
Ingredients in Fabbri Fragola
Here’s a complete list of the ingredients in the strawberries in heavy syrup:
Strawberries, glucose syrup, sugar, strawberry juice, water, citric acid, fruit juice for color, vegetable juice for color, natural flavors.
I appreciate that there are no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. Overall, this is a fairly clean and natural product. Or as close as we’re likely to get.
Price and Servings
Fabbri Fragola is available from Amazon for $24.99. It’s a 1.32 pound jar with 30 servings, so each serving costs 83 cents. This is made in Italy. You can also find this online at Wal-Mart and Sur La Table. They do sell smaller jars (8 ounces) of the fruit in syrup, but the small jars will be clear glass with a shrink-wrapped label, which is no where near as cool as the larger printed white glass jars. Beware the jar disappointment!
Author’s note: I have no affiliation with Fabbri and I wasn’t compensated in any way for this review. Don’t raid tombs, children.
