Connie's Corner

Strawberry, or not?

I have been blessed or cursed to be able to see two sides to every argument, but most times one side will outweigh the other. A day or two ago Mia - craving colour posted an item about strawberries on steriods in her blog. I couldn't get those huge strawberries I have been eating for the past two months out of my thoughts so I did some investigating.

Of course, it is all due to breeding and chemicals, words that make the hair stand up on my arms. These berries are purposely bred for size, color, yield, and insect resistance. Large berries are easier to pick. Insect or other disease resistant chemicals allow the same crop to be planted in the same field over and over again without worry of any loss of yield. The red color is usually deceiving as all berries will eventually turn red even if picked green. The difference is inside which may be white and even hollow. Early picking and larger mass leads to less sugar content and less taste, sometimes even sour due to the acidity.

A powerful fumigant called methyl bromide is what allows the same fields to be planted over and over without any threat of fungi or loss of yield. This fumigant can only be used with a government critical use exemption which apparently is not hard to come by. It has this restriction because it eats away at the ozone layer. When I was growing up, strawberry plants lay on the dirt, but in order to conserve this fumigant after injection into the soil, the dirt is covered with a plastic sheet. I always wondered about that. The first time I saw it was when we moved to Florida in 1978. I just attributed it to a southern thing. And of course when they did not taste like Delaware strawberries, I just blamed Florida's sandy soil.

So the "new" strawberry is a hybrid, good for farmers and pickers, but probably not very good for consumers except in price which is debatable. The best thing we eaters can do is look for the smallest heart-shaped berries with no telltale green or white tips at the bottom and with seeds that are golden, not red. Since they are sold in closed containers whether they are white or hollow inside or not sweet cannot be discerned prior to purchase. Another choice is farmers' markets or local "you pick" farms where you can usually find smaller and sweeter berries. Or do without, probably not a choice.

Thanks for lighting a fire under me, Mia ...

until next time...c