Strawberry Season is Upon Us
The strawberry is the most popular small fruit grown in the home garden – red, ripe and luscious.
It is relatively easy to grow, produces large quantities of good-quality fruit without requiring extra equipment, and it can be grown in home gardens all over Indiana. A planting originating from 25 plants can yield 25 to 50 quarts of berries ripening from mid-May to late June, depending upon the area of the state in which they are grown. Many of us enjoy eating berries frequently during the height of the season. You can buy them at the grocer's or at a roadside stand, but many people enjoy picking their own strawberries at places like Bell’s Strawberry Farm in Hagerstown, IN. There, you can enjoy the fresh vine-ripe quality and the opportunity to select your own fruit. Strawberry season lasts 3 to 4 weeks, so you can plan several trips to enjoy fresh fruit. According to owner Ed Bell, “The strawberries are looking great this year, much better than last year.” In 2012, the Bell’s lost 97% of their strawberry crop because of a hard freeze.
This year,
strawberries should be ready to harvest around Memorial Day. When selecting strawberries, make sure they are
free from bruises, cuts, and mold. Strawberries should be evenly shaped and not
too seedy or white at the tips. Strawberries are highly perishable. They will only hold a couple of days. .
Berries will last the longest when stored in a stainless steel bowl. For best
results do not wash or remove caps until you are ready to use them. To clean them, gently
rinse strawberries under running water with the green cap still on. Once they
have been washed, remove the green cap and store them between 34 and 38 degrees
Fahrenheit for best results. If possible, store them in the plastic container
from the store. Under ideal conditions, strawberries can be kept in the
refrigerator for up to two to five days.
There are many ways to use strawberries such as: strawberry shortcake, fresh strawberry pie,
strawberry sundaes, and strawberries and cream are hard to beat. Strawberries combine well with dry cereal and milk for breakfast or with custards, puddings, tapioca, and other desserts made from milk. They add color and flavor to compotes and salads. Popular combinations are strawberries with bananas, pineapple, or cooked rhubarb. Strawberries also make a handsome garnish for salads, desserts, and fruit punches. To use them as a garnish, clean the berries but don't remove the caps and stems.reasonable cost, freeze them to eat later. For freshly made strawberry jam at any time of the year, freeze berries and then make the jam at your convenience. To freeze strawberries, follow these simple rules: don't freeze more than 2 pounds of food per cubic foot of freezer capacity per day. Strawberries may be packed with syrup or dry sugar. To make a syrup pack, mix and dissolve 3 cups of sugar in 4 cups of water. Add 1 cup of this syrup per quart of prepared fruit. To make a dry pack, mix 2/3 cup dry sugar per quart of prepared fruit. To package, fill pint or quart freezer bags to a level of 3 to 4 inches from top, squeeze out air, leave 1 inch of head space, seal, label, and freeze. Before freezing, bags may be inserted into reusable rigid freezer containers for added protection against punctures and leakage. No matter which type of pack you choose to use, follow these general directions for preparing and packaging strawberries for freezing:
o Use only firm, fully ripe berries.
o To avoid bruising and soaking the berries, wash only a few at a time in cold water.
o Drain on absorbent paper or in a colander or sieve.
o Remove the hulls with the tip of a floating blade peeler.
o Chill the fruit in ice water to lower its temperature for fast freezing.
Written by: Bethany Ratts, Purdue Extension - Henry County
Source: Ed Bell, Bell's Strawberry Farm, Hagerstown, IN
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