It’s Berry Time Strawberries are in season. Go for it.

Strawberries are a colorful sign of spring. At their seasonal peak, from late March through June, they are totally red (no light color at the top), juicy and perfectly sweetened. They typically have the best flavor when they are small to medium size; large strawberries tend to be slightly watery.

Choose plump, brightly colored berries that still have their green hulls attached and are uniform in size. Avoid soft, shriveled or moldy berries, easily detectable through the basket.

Refrigerate strawberries in a plastic container in a single layer on a paper towel up to three days. Do not wash them until ready to use or they’ll turn soggy. Leave the hulls on while washing to reduce water absorption and let them air-dry on the counter in a single layer on paper towels.

It’s easy to cut a strawberry so that it fans out attractively on the plate as a garnish. Here’s how: With a paring knife, make three to six equally spaced lengthwise cuts starting from just below the hull (so the hull end is intact) through the tip. Gently press on the strawberry so the slices fan out, making a decorative garnish.

Mandel is a cookbook author.

Strawberry Shortcake With Warm Cinnamon Streusel Biscuits

Active Work Time: 40 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 hour

Toss the strawberries with sugar a few hours before serving.

BISCUITS

2 cups flour, plus more for kneading

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons grated orange zest

5 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into pieces

3/4 cup buttermilk, shaken well

Nonstick cooking spray, for greasing

* Combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and zest in food processor. Scatter butter over flour. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk. Pulse just until mixture clumps together; do not over-process.

* Transfer dough to floured board, gather dough together with your hands and knead it, folding and pressing it back on itself until it holds together and is smooth, about 15 seconds. Pat or roll dough until uniformly 3/4 inch thick. Use 2 1/4-inch cutter to make 8 rounds. Transfer to greased baking sheet in single layer with 1-inch spacing. (Can be made ahead and refrigerated up to 8 hours.)

STREUSEL

1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature and cut into pieces

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Salt

* Wipe out work bowl of food processor with paper towels. Combine flour, sugar, butter, cinnamon and salt to taste in bowl. Pulse until crumbled. Set aside.

ASSEMBLY

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 pints strawberries (reserve 8 strawberries with hulls to make strawberry fan garnishes), hulled, sliced lengthwise and tossed with 3 to 6 tablespoons sugar 1 to 2 hours before serving, room temperature

1/2 cup chilled whipping cream mixed with 2 tablespoons sugar, whipped until just soft

* Whisk egg with salt to form glaze. Brush glaze on top of biscuits. Top each with 1 tablespoon Streusel, spreading evenly.

* Bake at 400 degrees until lightly browned, about 15 to 18 minutes. (Can be baked several hours ahead and kept at room temperature. Reheat, uncovered, in 300-degree oven 10 minutes or in microwave oven at 50% power 15 to 20 seconds.)

* To serve, carefully split warm biscuits. Place bottom half in center of each of 8 dessert plates. Spoon some strawberries on and around biscuit, dividing evenly. Top with Streusel half. Put 2 strawberry slices on top of each. Garnish each plate with fanned strawberry. Top with dollop of soft whipped cream. Serve immediately.

8 servings. Each serving: 397 calories; 1,067 mg sodium; 65 mg cholesterol; 15 grams fat; 60 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 0.74 gram fiber.

Red Fruit Soup With Strawberries

Active Work and Total Preparation Time: 10 minutes plus 1 hour chilling

2 (10-ounce) packages frozen deluxe strawberries in syrup, thawed

4 to 6 teaspoons Grand Marnier

16 strawberries, hulls left intact, strawberries cut fan-shape

24 raspberries

4 scoops raspberry sorbet, for serving

Mint leaves, for garnish

* Puree thawed strawberries in food processor until smooth. Press through fine sieve to remove seeds and pulp. You will have about 2 scant cups. (Can be refrigerated up to 2 days, covered airtight or frozen; thaw before using).

* To serve, stir Grand Marnier to taste into chilled soup. Divide soup among 4 chilled shallow soup plates. Garnish each attractively around edge with 4 fanned strawberries and 6 raspberries. Place small scoop of sorbet in center of each. Garnish plate with mint leaves. Serve immediately.

4 servings. Each serving: 191 calories; 5 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 1 gram fat; 43 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 1.96 grams fiber.