Is there anything better than a fresh picked, sweet, juicy, sun-ripened strawberry? Strawberry picking season is here and these glorious gems are only available for a 2 to 3 week period in most areas of the world. You can usually find them growing in May, June, or July depending on what part of the Northern hemisphere you live in. And when they are ripe you better watch out for the stampede headed to the berry patch for strawberry picking! I’m proud to say that I am one of those leading the charge. My family stuffs our faces, loads up the trunk, and hightails it out of there with crimson fingers and berry juice still dripping from our chins. Read on for everything strawberry!

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Why buy strawberries in season?

If there is one piece of produce that entirely embodies how I feel about our food chain it is the strawberry. It is true that you can get strawberries year round from California and Mexico. But in my humble opinion those berries are not even worth a second glance. They are usually oversized, under-ripe, and not very tasty at all. The energy wasted in producing and transporting them around the world is astounding and they lose nutrition in transit. Not to mention the price!

Last year our trip to the berry farm resulted in 24 pounds of organic strawberries for about $60. That comes to $2.50 per pound – a great price that even Walmart can’t beat (they were selling for $2.52 per pound at that time for non-organic). Contrast that with organic strawberries out of season which can often run $8+ per pound! With a little forethought I am able to take this short strawberry picking season and extend it all year round while saving a boatload of money.

Organic vs. Conventional Strawberries

If there is one piece of produce that you should buy organic, it is the strawberry. For the seventh year in a row strawberries top the Environmental Working Group’s dirty dozen list as the number one produce item contaminated with pesticide residue. Yuck!

Fun Strawberry Facts

• You can eat the green stem of the strawberry. It is not sweet, like the berry, but it has a very mild taste.
• The average person eats 8 pounds of strawberries per year. I think I’m closer to 20!
• Each strawberry has about 200 seeds.

It’s strawberry picking season, where can I find a farm near me?

Check out pickyourown.org to find a U-pick berry farm in your area. If berry picking isn’t your thing or you aren’t physically able to participate, most berry farms also sell already picked strawberries for a bit higher price. Also check out roadside stands and farmer’s markets. However, if you go this route, be aware that you may want to get there early as the strawberries will be the first produce to sell out!

Your last resort is the grocery store. Unfortunately, even at the height of local strawberry picking season, most grocery stores still only sell strawberries from California and Mexico. If you have a nearby independent grocery store or co-op you may have better luck.

Strawberry Patch Packing List

You want to be prepared when you go strawberry picking, especially if you have little kids along. Sometimes you get on a roll and it is hard to stop as you find patch after patch of beautiful berries. You don’t want to leave with a sunburn or scratches up and down your legs.

• Sunscreen
• Sun hat or baseball cap
• Sunglasses
• Water bottle
• Long pants  – some patches are weedy
• Rain boots or other footwear that you don’t mind getting muddy
• Garden gloves – if the patch has thistles, but otherwise I prefer to pick with my bare hands and leave with stained fingers and dirt under my nails!
• Collection containers – a bucket will do. I also save plastic clamshells from store-bought fruits and use them over and over. Some berry farms will provide you with containers or boxes.
• Wagon – a must if you have little ones to cart around (some farms will provide these, call ahead to find out)
• Bug spray – usually not needed if you are picking in the midday sun, but if it is evening or a shady area, those skeeters will be out!
• Canvas bag or backpack to carry your gear
• Cash – a lot of farms are small operations and do not accept cards
• Camera or phone to capture the fun

Strawberry Picking Season – Tips For a Great Experience

• Research berry farms in your area before you head out and find one that does not spray their fields with chemicals. Many small farms are not certified organic, but still use organic growing practices.
• If you are picking with kids, explain the procedures to them right away when you get there before they are running off and stomping on all the beautiful berries! Show them how to step over the rows of plants to avoid squishing the berries and how to gently handle the plants without damaging them.
• The best berries like to hide near the base of the plant and are often not visible at first glance. Gently take your hand and graze it across the top of the plants to move the leaves out of the way. You will find all sorts of hidden jewels under the canopy.
• You only want to pick the strawberries that are the brightest or deepest red and firm to the touch. These will be the sweetest, most juicy berries. Leave the light red and white-tipped ones alone. They will need a few more days in the sun to ripen. Also leave the ones that are bruised, mushy, or have a brown/grey hue as this is an indication that they are over-ripe and starting to rot. We call these “skunks” and they taste terrible!
• The berry should pull off easily from the plant with the stem intact. If not, then leave it as it is not quite ripe.
• Don’t forget to sample as you go! Most farmers expect and encourage you to do this. After all, this is the best part of berry picking and keeps everyone motivated.

An hour or two later you arrive home with 24 pounds of strawberries, now what? The fun continues! Read on for storage, preservation, and cooking ideas…

Strawberry Picking Season – Preserve Your Bounty

Your fresh strawberries will only last up to 1 week in the fridge before they start to get a bit mushy and moldy (don’t wash them until you are ready to use or they spoil faster). Once you are done stuffing yourself with fresh strawberries, you are going to want to figure out how to save some for later. I love to preserve my bounty so that I can dream of summer in the dead of winter. This is also a great way to eat local year round. There are two ways that I preserve strawberries: with the freezer and canning.

How to freeze your strawberries:

Step 1: Wash well to remove dirt

Step 2: Remove the stems. The green tops and hard white part just under the top is called the hull. When you remove these parts, it is called hulling. You can use a paring knife to carefully cut the hull out, or use a hulling tool. I stumbled across this hulling tool at a nearby berry farm and it was the best couple of dollars I ever spent! With a quick twist you can remove the hull without wasting any of the sweet red flesh. And the price is right so you can get one for each member of the family. Teamwork will help speed up the whole process.

Step 3: Lay out berries on a kitchen towel and pat dry. This is an important step! If you freeze your strawberries while they are sopping wet, they will be more likely to get freezer burn and clump together.

Step 4: Transfer from the towel to a rimmed baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat (love mine!)

Step 5: Place in the freezer for 2 hours

Step 6: Transfer from the baking sheet to a freezer bag. I am slowly incorporating these silicone bags into my kitchen supply to reduce the amount of plastic we use. The bags are completely freezer safe and do a better job of sealing out air so that the food lasts longer.

That’s it! Give yourself at least one hour to wash, hull, and dry the strawberries, depending on how many you picked. Make it a family event and you will get it done in no time and have lasting memories with your kids.

Canning

Probably the most common way to preserve strawberries is to make strawberry jam. This was the first thing I ever made that required canning. It was actually easier than I thought it would be. You do need to have the proper equipment and I suggest reading up on different canning techniques prior to giving it a go. I have used the strawberry jam recipes and they all turned out great. Strawberry jam is pretty forgiving. You can also stick with the classic Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. I made eight half pints of strawberry jam last year and it lasted our family through the winter. Wow, was it wonderful spread on warm, buttered toast! I also use the jam to make my Grandmother’s fingerprint jam cookies for Christmas. So good!

Strawberry picking season is done, now enjoy!

Now that you have done the hard work, it is time to enjoy the fruits of your labor. I love to eat strawberries plain for a snack or for lunch. I also like to use them in simple ways like sliced on top of oatmeal or with whipped cream for dessert. My daughter presses strawberries through a sieve to make strawberry juice. There are endless options. Here are my favorites:

The Best Strawberry Recipes

• Intense Strawberry Lemonade
• Easy Strawberry Shortcake
• Strawberry Oat Muffins
• Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
• Strawberry Rhubarb Bread
• Strawberry Poppy Seed Salad

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Want to learn more about seasonal eating and meal planning?

Check out this article on How to Eat the Seasons

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