Where to pick strawberries in area.
Locals might be seeing red at you-pick farms — it’s strawberry season.
Farms offering you-pick strawberries span Central Florida. Before you head over, give them a call or check out their Facebook pages to see if they’re officially open — and if there are strawberries available to pick.
Bekemeyer Family Farm LLC: 1055 E. Story Road, Winter Garden; 407-917-8068; Facebook
J.G. Ranch: 17200 Wiscon Road, Brooksville; 352-799-0556; jgranch.com
Pappy’s Patch: 700 Florida Ave., Oviedo; 407-366-8512; Facebook
A Patch of Blue: 2316 Carrington Drive, Orlando; 321-438-0820; Facebook
Oak Haven Farms & Winery: 32430 Avington Road, Sorrento; 352-735-1996; berriesandtrees.com and Face-
book
Sledd’s U-Pick Strawberries: Burkholm Road and Dixie Way, Mims; 321-268-8978 or 321-403-4388; Facebook
Vo-La Salle Farms: 601 Johnson Lake Road, DeLeon Springs; 386-985-0046 or 1-800-985-0046; volasallefarms.com and Facebook
Keep these strawberry picking tips in mind:
Grab only firm, fully red berries. Take care not to remove the tops of the berries.
Pick every ripe berry on each plant rather than jumping to different plants or rows
The easiest way to tell if a strawberry is ripe is to give it a sniff. Ripe berries will be fragrant.
Strawberries can be kept fresh in the refrigerator for a few days — especially if you minimize how much heat and sun they’re exposed to after picking.
Strawberries can be used for many different dishes, from sauces to salads. My sweet tooth found this recipe from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services particularly appealing, however.
Florida Strawberry Icebox Pie
4 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
3 cups heavy whipping cream
8 to 10 full sheets of graham crackers, roughly crushed
1. In a small sauce pot over mediumlow heat, combine 2 cups sliced strawberries, cornstarch, lemon juice and sugar. Cook, while stirring, until a sauce has formed, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
2. In a large mixing bowl add heavy cream and lemon zest. Whisk to form stiff peaks. Line the inside of a 9x5-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap. Extend the plastic wrap over edges, for easier removal.
3. To assemble, spread an even thin layer of the whipped cream on the bottom. Next add a layer of crushed graham crackers, then a layer of sliced strawberries, then drizzle a layer of the strawberry sauce. Repeat this process until the pan is full. Cover pie using the extended plastic wrap and freeze.
4. Before serving, place the frozen pie in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Use the extended plastic wrap to remove pie from the pan and place on a platter. Slice and serve cold. Garnish with whipped cream, crushed graham crackers and/or strawberry sauce.
Strawberries can be kept fresh in the refrigerator for a few days — especially if you minimize how much heat and sun they’re exposed to after picking.