In culinary terms, a strawberry is an edible fruit. From a botanical point of view, it is not a berry but an aggregate accessory fruit, because the fleshy part is derived from the receptacle. Each apparent seed on the outside of the strawberry is actually an achene, a botanical fruit with a seed inside it.
• Leaves
• Flower
• Achenes (botanical fruits)
• Growth (video)

Raw strawberries are 91% water, 8% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and contain negligible fat (table). A reference amount of 100 grams (3.5 oz) supplies 33 kilocalories, is a rich source of vitamin C (65% of the Daily Value, DV), and a good source of manganese (17% DV), with no other micronutrients in significant content (table). Strawberries contain a modest amount of essential unsaturated fatty acids in the achene (seed) oil.
Garden strawberries contain diverse phytochemicals, including the dimeric ellagitannin agrimoniin, which is an isomer of sanguiin H-6. Other polyphenols present include flavonoids, such as anthocyanins, flavanols, flavonols and phenolic acids, such as hydroxybenzoic acid and hydroxycinnamic acid. Although achenes comprise only about 1% of the total fresh weight of a strawberry, they contribute 11% of all polyphenols in the whole fruit; achene phytochemicals include ellagic acid, ellagic acid glycosides, and ellagitannins.

Pelargonidin-3-glucoside is the major anthocyanin pigment in strawberries, giving them their red colour, with cyanidin-3-glucoside in smaller amounts. Strawberries also contain purple minor pigments, such as dimeric anthocyanins.
Sweetness, fragrance and complex flavour are important attributes of strawberries. In plant breeding and farming, emphasis is placed on sugars, acids, and volatile compounds, which improve the taste and fragrance of the ripe fruit. Esters, terpenes, and furans are the chemical compounds having the strongest relationships to strawberry flavour, sweetness and fragrance, with a total of 31 out of some 360 volatile compounds significantly correlated to desirable flavour and fragrance. In breeding strawberries for the commercial market in the United States, the volatile compounds methyl anthranilate and gamma-decalactone, prominent in aromatic wild strawberries, are especially desired for their "sweet and fruity" aroma characteristics. As strawberry flavour and fragrance appeal to consumers, they are used widely in manufacturing, including foods, beverages, perfumes and cosmetics.
Some people experience an anaphylactoid reaction to eating strawberries. The most common form of this reaction is oral allergy syndrome, but symptoms may also mimic hay fever or include dermatitis or hives, and, in severe cases, may cause breathing problems. Proteomic studies indicate that the allergen may be tied to a protein for the red anthocyanin biosynthesis expressed in strawberry ripening, named Fra a1 (Fragaria allergen1). White-fruited strawberry cultivars, lacking Fra a1, may be an option for people allergic to strawberries. They ripen but remain pale, appearing like immature berries. A virtually allergen-free cultivar named 'Sofar' is available.

Strawberries are often grouped according to their flowering habit. Traditionally in the Northern Hemisphere, this has consisted of a division between "June-bearing" strawberries, which bear their fruit in the early summer and "everbearing" strawberries, which often bear several crops of fruit throughout the season. One plant throughout a season may produce 50 to 60 times or roughly once every three days. Strawberries occur in three basic flowering habits: short-day, long-day, and day-neutral. These describe the day-length sensitivity of the plant and the type of photoperiod that induces flower formation. Day-neutral cultivars produce flowers regardless of the photoperiod. Strawberry cultivars vary widely in size, colour, flavour, shape, degree of fertility, season of ripening, liability to disease and constitution of plant.