I never met a strawberry that I didn’t like. Those fuzzy little fruits are delightful all by themselves. Picking them can be a chore, but you can avoid this by heading to the grocery store or your local farmer’s market.
You can get strawberries year round from several places that import them. Their season is April to July. So, they are ready to pick now. Strawberry picking is a favorite pastime that has been observed in my family since I was a young girl. Back then, I used to go with my grandmother each year and get buckets full of the succulent sweets. Now, my sisters and I still keep the tradition going.
When choosing a strawberry, be sure to check for an even color. Ripe strawberries are shiny and bright red. If the tips are white, they are not quite ripe enough to pick. If they are green, don’t bother picking them from the vine. You won’t have the opportunity to use the same criteria for strawberries at the farmer’s market because they will already be packaged into pints or quarts. Hopefully the picker has done their homework and picked some good ones.
I pick at least fifteen pounds of strawberries each time I go. I want to make sure that there are enough to last, well, a long time. Of course I can’t keep fifteen pounds of strawberries on the counter or in the refrigerator for very long. We eat plenty covered with sugar and in strawberry lemonade, but more will be left.
