Strawberry Disappointment

Chomeur

When I was a child, it used to be possible to pull the core of a strawberry out by the stalk. Now this is impossible. If you pull on the stalk, the stalk breaks off, leaving a small bit of stalk and the core. The core is edible, if a bit hard and tasteless, but the stalk is definitely not edible and you have to spit it out. Also, a lot of strawberries seem to be lacking in taste nowadays.

The last time I remember eating good quality de-corable strawberries was in Australia in 1990. Maybe in Australia you can still get good strawberries, I don't know.

So what's happened? We used to go to "pick you own" farms for strawberries when I was a child whereas now I only buy strawberries at supermarkets. Maybe that has something to do with my perceptions. But in my mind strawberries have gone from being one of the very best fruits to being a bit average, really. Where can I buy decent strawberries?

penny_bryn

I've given up buying strawberries, which is a shame as they are my daughters favourite. They are just tasteless and 'on the turn' when I buy them. There are usually ones at the bottom of the punnet that are pure mush (these are tesco ones). The pick your own by us closed last year due to lack of interest!! unbelieveable! Solution is to grow your own I reckon.

squack

yes the strawberry variety supermarkets sell all year round do seem to be like this.. fresh out of the packet only the bottom part of the fruit seems to be anywhere near ripe, the top part where the calyx is, is white and hard. i think they must be grown hydroponically under lights or something, and are designed to travel well and have a long shelf life rather than taste good.

now the english ones are well in season surely there must be some proper, aromatic red-all-the way through strawberries around..maybe market stalls do them .. or grow your own i suppose !

heggied

They're very easy to grow ...

laurenjade1402

but locally grown ones from your local greengrocer or alternatively pick your own, the taste is absolutely gorgeous. Did a blind taste test in our house between the pick your own and the supermarkets and there is absolutely no comparison, we all picked the pick your own out no problem.

clutterydrawer

ahhhhhh thankyou! i thought it was just me going mad, thinking that the de-stalkableness had changed.

I gt them from the co op and they are delicious, but you definitely can't pull the stalk off in one piece. I tend to hold the stalk, nibble the strawb off and give the remains to my rabbit.

Chomeur

I'll try my local greengrocers. Living in central London, going to a pick-your-own isn't really viable and nor is growing my own (I suppose I could get an allotment but I think the waiting lists are huge)

pretzelnut

I used to love strawberries but over the past few years i have stopped buying them as there tasteless. On the rare occasion i do buy some usually from tesco the top of the punnet is rock hard and the bottom is mush, occasionally 1 will be mouldy.

We were in spain a few weeks ago and OMG you could smell the fresh strawberries a mile off, we were eating 4 punnets a day we just couldnt get enough of them. They were delicious and so juicy.

I'd also love to pick my own but there is nowhere near us that does it, i tried growing my own but the kids would pinch them or the birds would get them so i gave up in the end.

Enterprise_1701C

We grow our own and have no such problem - mind you I don't think any them have seen the inside of the house yet this year! They are too nice and don't make it very far at all.

A._Badger

Chomeur wrote: »

I'll try my local greengrocers. Living in central London, going to a pick-your-own isn't really viable and nor is growing my own (I suppose I could get an allotment but I think the waiting lists are huge)

Heavens, you don't need to do that!

Just buy yourself a growing bag, half a dozen strawberry plants and a packet of Phostrogen fertiliser. Try it and see. Strawberries are the easiest things to grow, take next to no space and there is simply no comparison between the ones you can produce and the rubbish sold in supermarkets.

lawrenson

Hi,

Waitrose are very good for fresh fruit and veg - much better than any other supermarket I've tried.

Their strawbs are yumm at the moment.

Cheers,
Karen