Hull

To hull means to remove the leafy green cap from a strawberry, along with the pale, firm core just below it. The cap is called the hull. The same word is used for removing the dry outer husk from seeds and grains, as in "hulled barley" or "hulled sunflower seeds".

How to do it

For strawberries:

1. Rinse the berries just before you hull them, with the caps still on. This keeps water out of the fruit.
2. Dry them gently on a towel.
3. Push the tip of a paring knife into the berry at an angle, next to the cap.
4. Turn the berry against the blade to cut out a small cone with the cap and core.

Other ways:

• Push a drinking straw up through the pointed end of the berry. It pushes out the cap and core in one go.
• Use a small strawberry huller or the tip of a small spoon.
• For berries you will slice or purée, just cut off the top with a straight cut. You lose a little more fruit but save time.

Why it works

Most of the hard, white core sits right under the cap. Cutting a cone takes it out with very little loss of the sweet red flesh. Rinsing before hulling matters because an open berry soaks up water, which dilutes its flavor and makes it go soft faster.

Common mistakes

• Washing berries after hulling. They take up water and go mushy.
• Hulling hours ahead. Hulled berries leak juice and spoil faster. Hull them shortly before serving, unless you want them to macerate in sugar.
• Cutting off a thick slice from the top of large, expensive berries, which wastes a lot of fruit.
• Hulling berries for a garnish where the green cap would look nice. Leave some whole.

In recipes

"Hulled and halved strawberries" means caps off, then cut in two. "Hulled grains" have had their tough outer husk removed but still have most of their bran. Removing the center of other fruits is called coring.