A few summers ago, I visited the incredible farmers' market in Portland, OR and perused the stalls bursting with fresh produce. It was late in the morning and the vendor selling pints of strawberries had almost sold out. I snagged one of the last pints and sat down to enjoy a sweet snack. One bite into The Best Strawberry of My Life, and I knew I'd been fooled by grocery stores for years. Bigger, blander strawberries are the norm these days and what gives?
I think back to just how that fresh strawberry tasted in Portland: just as filled with sweet flavor as the bright red color would suggest. Now, compare that with taking a bite of a giant supermarket variety. How can something that looks so good be so devoid of taste? And why do we keep buying it anyway?
NPR took a close look into the massive strawberry operation in California -- the state grows more than 80 percent of the US supply of strawberries -- and found an abundance of productivity. The strawberry fields produce staggering amounts of the fruit, with the advanced technology to support it. However, crop yields come at the cost of other important aspects of the fruit, like taste. Even the inflated size of strawberries in recent years has ties to the bigger business at hand; bigger strawberries are easier, and thus faster, for workers to pick from the field than smaller strawberries. And, no surprise, chemicals play a huge role in the whole process, even to some degree for organic strawberry growers, who buy their plants from nurseries that use chemical fumigation.
One more reason to get to your farmers' market early this summer and find an old-school stand with small and delicious strawberries.
Read more: The Secret Life Of California's World-Class Strawberries at NPR
Related: Why Organic Doesn't Mean Pesticide Free
(Images: Flickr user jronaldlee licensed for use under Creative Commons)
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I bought all my Florida strawberries this year from a small market called Aldi. They were never more than .99 for the large quart (16 oz) and were full of small, delicious berries. The grocery chain across the street sold berries from the same Florida city for $2.50 and there were about 12 giant, tasteless berries. Size is not a measure of taste for sure. Looking forward to the farmer's market for my local berries....
Sweetiepetitti: Aldi is amazing. It is always WAYY cheaper than any grocery store around it, and it's small size makes it less overwhelming than most huge grocery stores. I'm lamenting the fact that there aren't any near me where I recently moved in Virginia.
Aldi Stores are owned by the same wonderful people who bring you Trader Joe's. I love buying produce at Aldi when I can't get it from the farmer's market. My daughter asked for strawberries last week and I picked up a pint at Walmart. Unfortunately they didn't taste as good as they looked or smelled.
I always attributed the taste difference to conventional (pesticide/ gmo) vs organic Farming practices. This is why I shell out more money at health food stores or farmer's markets! It tastes better!
My sister lives a stones throw from a small strawberry farm that is a u-pick farm which is typically picked over within a week or so of being ready. She gets a call from the lady who owns the place when they are just about ready and we always go pick early. Last year, we picked over 20 pounds and made wonderful jam. I am down to my last pint. Just waiting for the phone call to go pick!
Sounds like my experience with brussel sprouts this weekend. They were the size of my palm (which is rather small, but still way too large for a brussel sprout). As much as I wanted some with my dinner I had to pass. Same went for the watermelon wrapped in celophane - it was practically white. The non-GMO, pesticide free, in-season stuff always tastes (and looks) a million times better.
@ABSINTHEDREAMS - I can't say that you are completely correct but I believe it may be more closely tied to the genetic variety of the plants that are grown for their yields, not so much for taste, instead of the actual cultivation techniques (Organic vs conventional). If it's big pretty and shiny, we'll buy it. You see this in other fruits and vegetables as well.
After all, the "original" strawberry was a hybrid from the American wild strawberry( Flavorful but small) and the European wild strawberry (Large but flavorless).
For some reason, people equate bigger = more flavor, but that's so far from the truth!!! This Mother's Day I continually heard an ad for Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries, and I believe the tagline was something about how huge they are. They are just pumped full of water and tast like...water! Yuck.
The sweetest and best strawberries I ever ate were when we were in Korea. Granted they were fertilized with the honey wagon but they were delicious. We washed them in a cold stream and snarffed them down. I guess they were what you would call 'pure organic' berries. Best I ever ate.
Living in Georgia, our options for local strawberries are plenty. They are heads and shoulders above what you find in the national chains, even Whole Foods. For just a little extra effort, you are rewarded 10-fold! It's like a whole different fruit.
I planted 1000 strawberry plants this year and I can't wait for the first harvest. The only grocery store fruits I eat are bananas and watermelons. The rest are always hard and tasteless.
I've had plenty of big/bland organic California strawberries. The major difference is in the variety. Here in Oregon, you'll see a lot of Hood, Totem, and Quinault varieties in the farmers markets and even mainstream markets when the season is right. The flavor in these varieties is intense.
Does anyone know if these can be container grown? I met a woman at the farmer's market selling container grown strawberries; and they even grow wild in our region! I'd love to show my displeasure with these new overpriced, tasteless strawberries, even some of the farmers are growing the lousy stuff now.
This is the same thing that has happened to tomatoes and apples and every other large agricultural crop. Consumers decided they wanted year-round tomatoes and strawberries, so growers complied. Taste is not really their concern, and judging by how big the tomato and strawberry crops are, it's not your average consumer's main concern, either. Their concern is making a berry or a fruit hardy enough to transport miles by truck. Hood strawberries can barely be transported home, let alone to another state.
@Emmi - you can absolutely do strawberries in a container! They're the only thing I've ever had success with (gardening category), and I grew some in a big pot on the patio, and the others in one of those Topsy Turvy planter things. I'm still a little shamefaced over it, but it was a well-intentioned gift, and hey, it worked!
Definitely hung it in the backyard, though. :)
Brilliant, @Minute42. Thank you for that info. I can't wait to try it this summer!
Strawberries grow great in containers! A friend of mine went to a local berry farm and it looked like this. If you google "strawberry towers" and especially look at images, you'll see all kinds of DIY ideas - stacking pots, self-watering PVC systems, from small balcony-size to large. I'm working on convincing my hubby to help me build one...
@absinthedreams, unfortunately I've seen plenty of big, white-on-the-inside organic strawberries too, especially in the off season. I think this is a case where local/seasonal versus large-scale agriculture grown for shipping makes a much bigger difference than conventional versus organic.
In general, I try to buy all my produce from the farmers' market when possible, but for most things, I'm okay with the grocery store versions in a pinch -- however, strawberries and tomatoes are two things I'm just not willing to compromise on! They are so much better fresh and when they are not bred for surviving a cross-country trip. I think people as a whole are becoming so used to the readily-available berries that they have forgotten what real strawberries taste like!
English strawberries at the height of the season are amazing. I used to live aru d the corner from Portobello Market, the smell during the season was incredible.
On top of all the genetic and chemical-pest-control work to make the mass-produced berries...they are usually picked 5-10 days prior to prime ripeness. The under-ripe fruit is a little more bruise resistant--and us poor consumers buy with our eyes. Ever wonder why berries are not in open containers anymore--not just controling pilfering/sanitation--but also conventiently prevents tasting. It sounds crazy...but that extra week on the vine...makes a huge flavor/texture difference. Growing your own and harvesting as the fruit ripens is ideal. Looking forward to a delicious June/July here in Michigan!
@TenecWhiskey : Much as I love going to Trader Joes, I'm afraid they are owned by a gigantic German supermarket chain (I don't know if Aldi's is, though). Also, I'm always disgusted by how ridiculously quickly a lot of the TJs produce rots; it must mean that they were picked a long time before we get the chance to buy them.
I went to an Aldi in St Louis, MO and had to bag my own items, it was awful. lol Never went back, HEB & Whole Foods for me!