Pick Strawberries Fresh From
Strawberry Fields
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.
(R.D.)
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