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.
German season is in full swing. Best strawberries I’ve ever had.
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)
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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.
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 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
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