If you wanted to strawberry flavor without using extract, you could mix in 1 cup of good quality strawberry preserves. Just be aware that the preserves are sweet, so you may want to hold off adding the sugar in the beginning. If using a smaller steamer pot, keep a pot of water warming on the back burner. I make it a habit to carefully pour in 1 cup of water after 45 minutes if my tamales need more cooking time. You never want to run out of water!