fruit Strawberries are my all time favorite fruit, not only for their flavor, but, also, because they usher it the best time of the year. I live in the northern part of the United States where winters can be long and dreary. It is the end of April as I write this and we have just cleared away 2 feet of snow, a record for this time of year. It was a heavy wet snow that brought down power lines and broke the branches off the blossoming trees. May can have snow too, but June, ah JUNE! “Then, if ever come perfect days” to quote Shakespeare. And the climaxing event is the first strawberries from my little patch.
Strawberry fields in California
We have store-bought strawberries all year. They are grown in strawberry fields in California and are so big that you can’t hold more than three in your hand. They are hybrids that have been carefully developed for their disease resistance, for their long growing season, their ability to withstand the rigors of shipping, and their ability to make an appealing presentation on the grocer’s shelf.
Strawberry flavor
It seems that somewhere along the line, someone forgot about flavor. I am told that there is only a certain amount of flavor that a berry can have and a huge berry must have the flavor diluted to be distributed throughout the berry. That sounds like an excuse to me, because the ripe berry, the truly fully vine ripened berry is soft, red and juicy all the way through, and not crisp and white on the inside like the, (excuse the expression) ‘supermarket’ berry. Again, this is all about growing, packaging, shipping and presentation. The lush, fully vine ripened berries wouldn’t last long enough to get out of town. So we have a compromise. The berries are the best that can be shipped 3000 miles and still arrive in presentable condition.
I appreciate the availability of strawberries all year long, really, I do. But there is absolutely nothing that compares with the fragrance and taste of a fresh, fully ripened strawberry just off the vine. It won’t be a huge berry. It will likely be ¾ of an inch wide and an inch long and sometimes larger, but it will be dark red with a bright shiny skin and it will be red – all the way through, It will be bursting, nay, EXPLODING with such a sweet aroma and juicy flavor that it will transport a normal, healthy person to ecstasy.
This conquest will not be without opposition. The robins, the rabbits, the slugs, and a host of other critters will be after my prize, too. (I am exceptionally generous, and will allow the overripe and damaged berries to remain for the taker.) I had a dog who was a true strawberry connoisseur. He would delicately pluck a ripe strawberry off the vine with his teeth. (So much for this ‘man’s best friend’ business!)
Strawberry varieties
There are literally hundreds of varieties. I find that there are three general classifications of strawberries, relating to when they are available to be harvested. They are the spring, June, and the ever bearing. Commercial growers select the kind that provides a continuing harvest, all year long. I prefer the June variety.
Harvesting strawberries
Within three weeks or so, the harvest will be over. During this period, I will revel in the daily routine of discovering my new cache of rubies. It is quickly harvested and processed for whatever purpose is intended. A lot will be eaten fresh for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Some will be given to envious friends and neighbors, and, hopefully, when the celebration is over, I will have rows of strawberry jam on my pantry shelves and my taste buds will be satiated with the elegance of fresh strawberries for another year.
