Strawberry picking is rite of spring in Tennessee
Some things are worth the wait. I ate my first homegrown strawberry yesterday and it was beyond delicious. It was small, but packed with a barrel full of flavor and juice. A strawberry shouldn’t look good; it should taste memorable.
Sweet Charlies are usually the first ones to ripen in our area. These are followed by several types that do well here, namely Chandler, Earliglow, Cardinal and Red Chief. But most people don’t care about variety when it comes to fresh strawberries.
There’s nothing like those that are plucked straight from the plant and I consider picking one of the best rites of spring. The weather isn’t overly hot and it is nice early in the morning. If you want to pick your own, remember that you should never pull or yank the berry from the plant. Instead, pinch the stem between your thumb and forefinger.
You only want to pick strawberries that are fully ripe because they don’t continue to ripen after harvest. That means the berry should be red all the Frances, freezing strawberries with sugar helps preserve the color and flavor of the fruit. Sprinkle cup of granulated sugar over each quart of washed, capped, sliced berries. Toss to dissolve the sugar and let stand about 15 minutes before packing into freezer containers. way underneath the cap with no white shoulders. When you get them home, refrigerate in a single layer to prevent bruising at the bottom of your container.
Don’t remove the caps or wash the fruit until you are ready to enjoy or you’ll speed up decay. When ready to use, gently place the fruit in a colander or strainer and rinse with cool water. Since the caps prevent moisture from soaking into the fruit, remove them with a sharp paring knife after washing.
A pint will contain between 12 and 14 large berries. That will give you 2 cups sliced or 12⁄3 cups pureed.