Why everyone eats strawberries and cream, explained

There’s nothing truly special about strawberries and cream separately. When you put them together, they’re just fine.

But when you add the context of tennis and Wimbledon? Strawberries and cream, as a combination, quite literally become historic.

Yes, I know. It’s an extremely weird combination to be described as “historic,” but it’s true. People have been eating strawberries and cream at what the iconic tennis tournament for literal centuries at this point. It’s not just a thing — it’s the thing. If you’re lucky enough to go to Wimbledon, you have to try it.

The tradition dates back to the first actual Wimbledon tournament back in 1877, according to The New York Times. We know it’s a thing. But the question is: Why? There are a couple of reasons we can point back to.

The first is simple — strawberries were just in season during June and July. It was a convenient snack that the locals had plenty of.

Second, King George V also reportedly ate strawberries during the matches he’d watched. It caught on with the locals and just became a thing. Here’s more from The New York Times:

“Popular legend has it that King George V introduced strawberries and cream to courtside crowds. But the tradition actually dates from around the time of the first Wimbledon tournament in 1877, according to Audrey Snell, a librarian at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum. Strawberries and tennis, she said, both signaled the arrival of summer.”

Now, here we are more than a century later, still eating the same snack. Talk about a trendsetter.