It seems that somewhere along the line, someone forgot about flavor. I am told that there is only a certain amount of flavor that a berry can have and a huge berry must have the flavor diluted to be distributed throughout the berry. That sounds like an excuse to me, because the ripe berry, the truly fully vine ripened berry is soft, red and juicy all the way through, and not crisp and white on the inside like the, (excuse the expression) ‘supermarket’ berry. Again, this is all about growing, packaging, shipping and presentation. The lush, fully vine ripened berries wouldn’t last long enough to get out of town. So we have a compromise. The berries are the best that can be shipped 3000 miles and still arrive in presentable condition.
I appreciate the availability of strawberries all year long, really, I do. But there is absolutely nothing that compares with the fragrance and taste of a fresh, fully ripened strawberry just off the vine. It won’t be a huge berry. It will likely be ¾ of an inch wide and an inch long and sometimes larger, but it will be dark red with a bright shiny skin and it will be red – all the way through, It will be bursting, nay, EXPLODING with such a sweet aroma and juicy flavor that it will transport a normal, healthy person to ecstasy.
This conquest will not be without opposition. The robins, the rabbits, the slugs, and a host of other critters will be after my prize, too. (I am exceptionally generous, and will allow the overripe and damaged berries to remain for the taker.) I had a dog who was a true strawberry connoisseur. He would delicately pluck a ripe strawberry off the vine with his teeth. (So much for this ‘man’s best friend’ business!)
