Local strawberries in season. Luscious. Yeah, those pretty, slightly hard ones from California are nice, and so are the ones from Mexico, though heaven knows what’s been sprayed on them, but NOTHING beats local berries. Waiting all year for those few precious weeks of local production only intensifies the pleasure. Strawberry shortcake, with barely-sweetened whipped cream, strawberry-rhubarb pie with a buttery crisp crust or maybe homemade strawberry jam with yogurt, strawberry ice cream, a berry crushed into a glass of champagne in the evening, or, even better, a fresh strawberry daiquiri while you watch the sun go down.
You can pick your own, which makes them cheaper so you can use wads with impunity — plus, you can make strawberry/walnut jam or stash some in the freezer for winter. Maryland U-pick strawberry farms abound – three near here are Lockbriar Farm in Worton, Redman Farms just outside Chestertown, and Godfrey’s in Sudlersville. (For other Eastern Shore U-pick options, check out: https://pickyourown.org/MDeast.htm).
You can also grow your own. Strawberries, which grow from crowns and produce fruit one year after planting, need well-drained soil (they hate wet feet), rich loam with plenty of organic matter, sun (of course), and some space. Each year the main plants send out runners that become ‘daughter’ plants. Another option is a container, though you have to keep them plants sufficiently watered since containers usually dry out faster than the soil.
There are three kinds of strawberry plants: June Bearing, everbearing, and day-neutral. June-bearing plants produce a single lush crop for 2-3 weeks in early to late spring, depending on variety, and send out plenty of runners for next year’s hardy young plants. Everbearing varieties produce fruit intermittently during the growing season though they don’t produce many runners. Likewise day-neutral varieties, which flower regardless of night length, unlike those that are phototropic i.e. spurred by light.
Strawberry/avocado salad is a simple, but delicious way to enjoy fresh strawberries. Use fresh mesclun and arugula. Add some chopped scallions, a sliced avocado, sliced strawberries and dress with a red wine vinaigrette (*Brianna’s is superb with this). A few toasted walnuts are good too. For dessert make strawberry-mascarpone tart. Cut up and macerate (marinate for those of us who didn’t watch Julia religiously) strawberries in a little brown sugar and Cointreau or orange juice. Meanwhile, bake a pie shell until golden brown. Into the bottom of the cooled shell, spread a cup of mascarpone cheese mixed with a ¼ cup of confectioner’s sugar and a ½ tsp of vanilla. Top with strawberries with their juices. Serve immediately.
Len H says
They are so good. I planted 50 plants 2 years ago and we are getting our second season of lush red berries. They are of a veriety that produces very large berries, larger then a silver dollar.
Come next fall we plan to make us some strawberry preserves as we did last year. Better then buying store brand.