As far back as I can remember, every June my family would make our
annual pilgrimage to Jones' Farm to pick bright red juicy strawberries.
If we didn't leave with a heaping boxful then we didn't do our jobs.
But as a kid I would always end up picking more for myself than for the
box, eating every other berry and leaving with the tell-tale signs on
my hands and face. I was just as guilty as the next kid, so actually I
didn't feel that bad. Now as an adult I typically taste only one and
try to keep myself from eating any more. I'm really just saving up for
gorging on them in the privacy of my own home.
You
really have to love strawberries to pick them yourself. After all that
bending and picking, it's easy for a person to get tired. I must love
them so much, because last week on a sunny yet breezy Monday morning,
with the help of my mom, I picked 13 pounds of strawberries. But aren't
strawberries easy to love? I don't think I know anyone who doesn't
adore them. They're so sweet and mushy once you eat them. It's one of
the most favorite flavors in ice cream and candy. Even lotions and some
cosmetics are flavored with strawberries. That just shows you how
extremely popular the flavor actually is.
I've always been
curious about strawberries and why they are named straw-berries to
begin with. It has to do with the way they're planted—in rows with
straw underneath the bushes to slow the fruit rotting. Strawberries are
unique in that the fruits are actually the tiny seeds on the outside.
What we think of as the berry is just an airy pod that holds the tiny
fruits. The strawberries that we enjoy today are mostly hybrids from
wild European types, South American berries, and indigenous American
ones. Some say strawberries have a slight pineapple taste or a red
grape taste, but to me a strawberry is indescribably flavorful in its
own right.
When
picking strawberries, make sure to lift the leaves from the plant and
set your sights on the most beautiful fruit that you can pick.
Strawberries will not ripen after being picked, so choose the reddest
ones. Pinch at the stem, and remove the berry with the leaves intact.
They last longer that way. Store them in a cool, dry place, but eat
them as fast as you can because they won't last longer than a few days.
After that it's time to use them in a tart or jam. You can also freeze
strawberries: simply wash and hull them, freeze on trays, and then add
to a resealable plastic bag.
Jones' Family Farms has been
growing strawberries for more than 40 years. Plantings were initially
brought from California. Here in Connecticut, strawberries are in
season from June into July. Typically the season lasts for about a
month. This year the season arrived a few weeks early. And because of
all the recent rain the strawberries are not as sweet, but are still
highly enjoyable. (Call the hotline to find out which farm is offering
strawberry picking on the day of your visit.) Strawberries are among
the farm's most popular crops, but they also offer blueberries, which
come late in the summer season. In October the farm has Halloween
pumpkins. More recently the farm has added a winery. But their largest
crop has always been Christmas trees.
Jones Family Farms
Valley Farm
555 Walnut Tree Hill Road
Shelton, CT 06484
Pumpkin Seed Hill Farm
120 Beardsley Road
Shelton, CT 06484
203-929-8425
Open daily, Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Joseph Erdos is a New York–based writer and editor, but above all a gastronomer and oenophile. He shares his passion for food on his blog, Gastronomer's Guide , which features unique recipes and restaurant reviews among many other musings on the all-encompassing topic of food.