Strawberries are synonymous with the British summer. The arrival of these fragrant, juicy red fruits (usually towards the end of the month) is a sure sign that the new season has begun and now runs well into the autumn.
Sadly, good strawberries were one of the early victims of food globalization. It’s not unusual to find ‘early season’ British strawberries on the shelves from February onwards and industrially produced, water-hungry imports are now available all year round.
The quality of these crops varies considerably and it’s fair to say that significant technological improvements have been made in recent years, leading to some high-quality fruits being available out of season. But you’ll certainly do well to find an outdoor-grown British strawberry on the shelves before mid-June and, in my view, it’s well worth waiting for these slow-grown, locally produced varieties to arrive before diving in.
A good strawberry should be bright red, slightly soft to the touch and with a floral, obviously ripe aroma. Anything else is likely to disappoint (and it’s worth remembering that some berries, particularly the ubiquitous Elsanta, colour well before they are ripe).
The origin of the strawberry’s name isn’t clear. It may be from the fact that straw was (and still is) used to keep the berries fresh and free from rot when they were grown outside. But it’s also possible that its root is in the word ‘strewn’, because native wild strawberries appear ‘scattered’ on the ground.
If you’re very lucky, you’ll occasionally find the wild berries growing from mid-June through to the autumn in areas of thin woodland or semi-wild grassland where plenty of light can reach the ground. They are rarely abundant and the berries are small, so you’ll need to look very carefully. The wild fruits are more delicate than their cultivated (distant) cousins, so always handle them with care.
As we all know, the strawberry’s traditional bedfellows are cream and sugar, but do experiment with savoury pairings, too. They work surprisingly well with both black pepper and balsamic (or cider) vinegar.
Try: Iced strawberry parfait (p. 146)