Seeking Berried Treasure
Local vs. Long Haul
We knew the calendar was closing in on us. As my assistant and I worked through piles of test recipes, trying to get through the project at hand, we were painfully aware that strawberry season wouldn’t last much longer. Fruits were a good bit further down on the development to-do list, but the fleeting availability of this culinary jewel earned it a fast pass to the front of the line. If we waited another month we’d be stuck with the clamshell specimens that look like a strawberry and eat like a potato. Yes, that’s an exaggeration, but it’s not all that far from the truth.
Strawberry ripening is governed by a hormone called auxin. As strawberries ripen, their sugar content increases from 5% to upwards of 9%. At the same time, the acid content decreases, which amplifies sweetness. Finally, when this process is at its peak, the cell walls begin to break down. The result is a strawberry that’s juicy, tender, and fragrant. It’s also pretty fragile. It doesn’t like to wait long, get handled much, or travel far.
Enter the mega market beauty contestants. A 2017 article in The New Yorker profiling Driscoll’s, the global berry behemoth, sums it up this way: “Produce is war, and it is won by having something beautiful-looking to sell at Costco when the competition has only cat-faced uglies.” Customers want pretty strawberries, and they want them any time of year. If you’re buying chocolate-covered clichés for your valentine in February, you’re going to need a variety that’s developed with long-haul travel and a long shelf life in mind. Just understand that the taste and texture probably aren’t going to be anything to swoon over.
Back at our own strawberry diversion, the exact opposite was true. Though the Moon Farms Facebook page had warned that the you-pick season was nearing its end, we arrived to find the fields loaded with perfectly ripe strawberries. They were glossy, juicy, ruby red all the way through, and oh so delicious! The picking was easy and we were soon back in the kitchen, which was now so fragrant you might have thought it was flanked by Yankee Candles on all sides. As we got to work on our test recipes, we hulled, quartered, sliced, and macerated several pounds of strawberries, never coming across a single one with a hollow, white, pithy center. Go figure.
If there ever was a food that begged to be eaten seasonally and locally, it’s the strawberry. If you’ve got the opportunity, why not kick off summer with a family outing to a family-owned strawberry farm? You’ll get fresh air, sunshine, exercise, and a flavor memory that will linger long after the last berry is eaten.
