When it comes to the summer, nothing rings in the season quite like strawberries. Here, a vintage regional recipe honors this ruby red fruit in the form of a quick sundae topping called Pacific Red Pineapple Sauce. 

While California is known to produce and grow the largest amount of strawberries nationwide, the Pacific Northwest is also a large producer. Unfortunately, most of the strawberries grown in the PNW aren’t destined for the produce section; instead, they’re sold to manufacturers to add to yogurts and ice cream. In this cookbook, The New York World’s Fair Cookbook: The American Kitchen, the specialty produce is displayed in these regional recipes. Here, this recipe calls for Oregon strawberries. Unlike the California strawberries nowadays, which are bred to endure long shipping hauls, the PNW strawberry is sweeter, with a more tender outer skin and a bright red interior. Even though we may not be able to get our hands on some PNW strawberries, we can definitely recreate this sweet sauce. 

Chunks of strawberries are mashed further down with the sugar and then transferred into the saucepan with the remaining ingredients. The only main modification to the recipe is a reduction in sugar and the addition of lemon juice. 

After everything simmers for thirty minutes, you can either serve it right away or chill it in the refrigerator. The warm version would be great on pancakes or French toast, while the chilled version is a perfect topping for ice cream.  

The addition of lemon and reduction of sugar really brings out the fruity notes from both the strawberries and pineapple juice. It has all of the elements of a classic strawberry sundae topping with an additional tropical hint of flavor. 

Make it for the summer or give it as a gift during the holiday season. It’s a jar of warm weather sunshine that can be captured and enjoyed throughout the whole year!