So today marks the start of strawberry season. Not imported, but the luscious local berries. Worth every penny. I only buy the export fruit to remind myself of this moment, so I’m sitting down to eat the whole quart!
They’re so good, it’d be a shame to cook with them.
Wow, I thought we had another month to go!
Mine are blossoming here in southwestern Ontario
& my marion and thimble berries are blossoming. So, 4-6 weeks until fruit?
I think so. 
another few weeks here in new england. it’s such a short season — fathers day through 4th of july — less. if it’s a rainy june.
German season is in full swing. Best strawberries I’ve ever had.
Strawberries have come early this year, apparently due to the warm weather - although I presume these are still those grown under cover. And they’re big too.
Same here in Norcal The local Lao Farms are up and running for 2 weeks or so now.
I don’t remember where you are, but between Stockton and Lodi, they’ve been open for a little over a month now, and we pick up half a flat just about every other week. Made my annual batch of jam with the first strawberries of the season, and took three baskets to MIL for Mother’s Day recently. We just finished off last night the last of what we had, so we’re due for some more. And cherries are starting to come in, too!
I also wait until May for local strawberries, so it’s time. Strawberries and tomatoes are the fruits I really look forward to each season.
West of Santa Rosa, quite a bit cooler than where you are.
And the way the last 10 weekends have gone in New England…my fingers are crossed.
I can’t always tell when the good stuff is out there.
I was looking up that source and found this instead.This one , about the place in Sonoma was behind a pay wall.
Strawberry success: How Iu Mien families grew a network of strawberry farming in Sacramento
Nope. Sakuma Bros. just opened and have a limited supply until they get in full swing.
I got a pack of strawberries from the bargain shelf ($2.00 for a 1 pound box), and popped them into the freezer. I took three out and put them in a bowl to thaw. They ended up nearly liquid, and I ate them with a spoon. They’ll be fine in yogurt, too. But is there a way to thaw them without liquification? Commercial frozen strawberries don’t do that.
Commercial frozen strawberries are frozen very fast (liquid nitrogen or similar) so the cell structure stays in place. If you just put it in the freezer the freezing is way too slow and so the cells will disintegrate and you will get not good strawberries when thawed. You have to eat them fresh without freezing
That makes sense.
FWIW, I do the same thing with blueberries and blackberries, and they thaw just fine.
This looks like the same story as the Press Democrat one behind the paywall
Both are a bit sturdier (especially blueberries with a thicker skin) but I find blackberries also often too soft after thawing, even commercial ones. In general, even for meat or fish I prefer not to freeze myself (but rely on commercial freezing) as it always leads to a certain degree of softness and lower quality
