The first seasonal strawberries appear as early as April. The deliciously tart fruit we've come to know today originated in grassy woodlands all over Europe. Find out how to transform these red, ripe, sweet and succulent treats of nature into fabulous desserts.

Strawberries taste delicious eaten plain with a glass of champagne. But in a pie, their juiciness creates a distinctly bitter-sweet flavor that sits on the palate and seems to melt into the pie crust.

Strawberries taste especially rich when paired with milky desserts, like panna cotta and mascarpone. Or, simply add slices of strawberries to a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

This candy-like fruit easily creates a sweet distinctive jam without adding any pectin. Below are eight especially delicious strawberry desserts to try at home:

1. Strawberry Jam with Black Pepper and Fresh Mint
2. Strawberry Clafoutis
3. Strawberry and Hazelnut Meringue Cake
4. Strawberry Shortcake
5. Nectarine Strawberry Ice Pops
   
6. Strawberry Panna Cotta
7. Mascarpone Cheesecake with Rhubarb Glaze and Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
8. Italian Strawberry Tart
   

Tuxedo and matching wedding dress strawberries are always an elegant touch at a wedding. They are also pricey. I never really considered what it would take to make them at home until I came across a post on the subject at My Sweet and Saucy.

It turns out that they are fairly easy to make. My Sweet and Saucy has a step-by-step guide with pictures to walk you through the process. If you are hosting a wedding, you may want to check it out. Better yet, get a friend to check it out and make them for you!

She puts them in little bags and gives them away as favors. I've also seen them on a dessert table and served at the reception.

I always associate strawberries and cream with Wimbledon and July 4. Neither of those things are today, but it's National Strawberries and Cream Day anyway.

Not sure exactly what type of recipe to put here, since strawberries and cream is pretty much self-explanatory. But here's a variation on it, using Strawberry Schnapps. Here's another one that uses Grand Marnier. The Mayo Clinic has a recipe that uses fat-free sour cream.

In related news, yesterday was Pick Strawberries Day!

Del Monte's brand new Fruit Chillers line is sure to be a hit with both kids (and adults) this summer, even though it is a little on the cold side right now in most parts of the country. The Chillers are individual sorbet cups, but there are a couple of things that set them apart from the average individually portioned kids dessert. The first, and most important, thing is that they are made with real fruit purees, rather than concentrated juices that have artificial colorings and flavors added to them. In fact, there are no artificial flavors in them at all and they contain 100% of the recommended daily value of vitamin C (150% in the mango flavor) and 3/4 serving of fruit, based on the nutrition pyramid. The other interesting thing about these is that they are not found in the frozen foods section of the grocery store. They are packed sealed and unfrozen, so you can simply pop them in the freezer before you are ready to eat them. The Chillers are fat free and contain about 190 calories per 4.5-ounce serving.

I noticed a comment where someone said they were looking for Bonomo's Turkish Taffy. It is a chewy, long-lasting bar candy bar that popped up around World War II and was popular not only because it tasted good, but because it was inexpensive and most kids could afford it. "Turkish Taffy" was not taffy, nor was it Turkish. The "taffy" was really a type of nougat, a mixture of egg whites and corn syrup that was whipped together and then baked. The baking gave the product a distinctively hard texture, so that it could be broken into shards if kept cold, but melted into a wonderful chew in your mouth. The original flavor was vanilla, but by the 1960s it also came in chocolate, strawberry and banana. In 1980, the company sold to Tootsie Roll Industries and, in 1989, production ceased.

Bonomo's is no more, but Old Time Candy carries a similar product called French Chew. It is long lasting, chewy, melts in your mouth and shatters when cold, just like Bonomo's did. It also comes in the same four flavors as the original product. Since we can't get the original for a side-by-side comparison, it's hard to say if they're really the same, but they are very similar candies, so you won't go wrong with the French Chew if you're looking for a taffy fix.