Repetition of strawberries in dessert animes and its probable causes:
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Dessert animes have this obsessive love for strawberries it seems, and since I allow myself to write absolute crack, here I am with my research as to why there is this overuse of strawberries and cream and vanilla in animes and why it is absolutely justified. I understand that was a hell of an opening sentence and I request the people reading this to excuse me. Thank you very much.
Strawberries, or Fragaria are a species of about 20 different plants, which consists of various hybrids and other cousins of strawberry. They are all members of the prestigious Rosaceae family which one can tell by the way they bloom which consists of 5 petals and a centre filled with a ton of stamens that eventually form their fruits. A fruity fact for y’all is that the fruit of strawberry is not the red or pink or whatever coloured fleshy juicy part, it’s rather the tiny tasteless seeds that accessorise it. In fact, strawberries are considered to be accessory aggregate fruits which means the strawberry (flesh) pretty much does nothing useful just like the ones reading ts.
(This can also be understood as a metaphor to capitalism where the people actually doing the work required to sustain the society are not recognised and instead the society is swept away by the allure of the juicy, colourful corporations that derive its colours by sucking the blood, sweat and tears of the common people which are then fed to them. How dystopian.)
With respect to desserts made from strawberries, shortcakes seem to be the most popular ones out there. A not so brief history of strawberry desserts dates back to ancient Rome, then to the medieval ages where people would pair it with cream and sometime later would be consumed like a soup paired with sour cream, herbs and some edible flowers to act as an aphrodisiac for newlyweds. The “short” in shortcake actually comes from the 16th-century English word for “crisp,” particularly crispy pastries made so by using shortening agents like butter and they eventually travelled to the U.S.
According to, Niponica, Fujii Rin ‘Emon, a Japanese baker and confectioner, travelled to the U.S. in 1910 to study Western desserts, pretty much how our lovely Ichigo Amano in ‘ Yumeiro Pattisiere’ went to study in St. Marie Academy. The strawberry shortcake impressed Rin ‘Emon, and he brought the recipe back to Japan. Soon he made the dessert a signature product of his bakery and confectionery company, Fujiya Co., Ltd. This allure, combined with improvements to refrigerated bakery cases and at-home refrigerators, helped Fujiya’s strawberry cakes rise in popularity.
The Japanese strawberry cake eschews its European ancestor’s hardened crumbly past in exchange for the lighter, more delicate genoise sponge cake with light cream and strawberries. The cake combines American and French dessert traditions into one wholly Japanese. The strawberry cake is so ubiquitous that when people say “cake” in Japan, they mean strawberry cake. This popularity has even translated into a cake emoji, writes Smithsonian Magazine. (🍰)
Hence, it is not really surprising when most cutesy animes have at least one shot with a strawberry cake usually paired with steaming cups of tea in fancy ornate crockery.
The probable reasons behind the popularity of not just strawberries but also the symbolism behind it are as follows.
🍬 Firstly, they have a nostalgic cultural connection because of its reputation of being a comfort dessert and one usually used in birthday celebrations and connotation with happy memories. Strawberry shortcakes go almost hand in hand with Christmas and birthdays.
🍬 Secondly, since animes and other visual arts rely on symbols that signify emotions and feelings, strawberries act as easy shorthand for sweetness, romance and even setting the tone for spring and summer with light breeze and a free headspace. Their radiant red hue and luscious sweetness uplift the joy of the season ahead. Strawberry cakes in romance animes, strawberry motifs in magical girl animes, strawberries as indicators of childlike pleasures and innocence, the visual contrast of red strawberries against white cream all create a lovely medley.
🍬 Most importantly, the historical significance and the story how strawberry evolved from being a medicinal plant to an ornamental one to a sweet treat plays an important role. While in the West strawberries are correlated with a tart flavour commonly used in jams, Japanese strawberries are sweet and rich with flavour.
Thus, in Japan, strawberries are more than just a fruit, rather it serves as an arrival of spring and warmth and to be less poetic enjoyed for their flavour and distinct nostalgic taste (whatever that means…I could not find the exact adjective to describe it).
After a final proof read type thingy of the above written bs, I realise I am writing too much for the fact that I never tasted a strawberry in my life (𓏗𓏗) except for ice creams and lip balms. Furthermore, this piece sounds more like it started as a way by which I could explain the reason WHY there is this repetition but seems like a rant about the history of strawberries and shortcakes and almost everything except what the title demands for.
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