they were mixing the berry with cornmeal to make sweet strawberry bread. The colonists took this idea and thus Strawberry Shortcake was born.
French spies were sent to Chile and upon their return in 1712, they brought back a Chilean strawberry that was much larger than other strawberries Europeans had seen. The strawberries brought from Virginia were crossbred (it is unclear whether this was intentional or not) with the Chilean berries (by the English), which is the closest thing to the strawberries we enjoy today. All modern strawberries are derivatives of this hybrid.
There are a couple of old symbols and legends in place about the strawberry. The Roman goddess Venus was affiliated with strawberries, because she is the embodiment of love and the fruit is red and heart-shaped. Additionally, it was believed to heighten fertility and has been intertwined with the history of the Norse goddess Freyja, and the Virgin Mary.
Legend has it that if you break a strawberry in half and share it with someone, they will