# Tasty strawberries - where to buy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 4, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasty-strawberries-where-to-buy/614689 "2012-03-04T00:33:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasty-strawberries-where-to-buy/614689/1 "2012-03-04T00:33:40Z")
Yet another try at the supermarket, yet another batch of cardboard-tasting strawberries. I tried organic - same thing. Tried “natural food” stores - same thing. I am willing to pay quadruple the price for honest-to-god good-tasting strawberries. Where can I get some? ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasty-strawberries-where-to-buy/614689/2 "2012-03-04T01:23:51Z")
I think the correct question is “when can I get good strawberries?”. The answer is May to July. Strawberries aren’t in season, so they are all terrible right now. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasty-strawberries-where-to-buy/614689/3 "2012-03-04T02:30:51Z")
This isn’t the time to find good ones, but to pick out a good one, sniff the box. It should have a distinct strawberry aroma. If the aroma is weak, the strawberries will be less sweet. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasty-strawberries-where-to-buy/614689/4 "2012-03-04T02:31:56Z")
I’ll expand on **WarmNPrickly** ’s post to say that good strawberries are in season and local. They don’t ship well when ripe, and they don’t ripen with any flavor during shipping. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasty-strawberries-where-to-buy/614689/5 "2012-03-04T02:37:20Z")
Commercial strawberries are bred to be disease-resistant, have large yields, be firm enough to travel well, and look good on the shelf. Flavor is a lower priority. Search out a farmer’s market selling local berries when they’re in season. Virtually every site I checked listed Earliglow strawberries as one of the best flavored varieties. Other varieties noted for good-flavor are Allstar, Alpine, Annapolis, Avalon, Clancy, Darselect, Kent, Mesabi, Raritan, Sable, Saint-Pierre, and Sparkle. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasty-strawberries-where-to-buy/614689/6 "2012-03-04T02:48:13Z")
I will say though, around valentines day around here, the stores do suddenly seem to get some strawberries that are pretty good. Many shops and grocery stores will sell them next to chocolate fountains and such. I haven’t quite figured where those come from. I suspect they are hot house strawberries. ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasty-strawberries-where-to-buy/614689/7 "2012-03-04T05:36:55Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > I’ll expand on **WarmNPrickly** ’s post to say that good strawberries are in season and local. They don’t ship well when ripe, and they don’t ripen with any flavor during shipping. Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasty-strawberries-where-to-buy/614689/8 "2012-03-04T11:27:49Z")
If you want good berries in the off-season, buy a lot of them from a local grower (or grow your own) during the season and freeze them. Frozen berries keep really well and hold their flavor for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasty-strawberries-where-to-buy/614689/9 "2012-03-04T17:33:42Z")
Winter strawberries are the pits, for sure. We are eagerly awaiting the Hood River berries to be in season here in OR. Melty, sugary strawberry goodness. ---
**Author:** ![pipper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c2a13f/32.png) [@pipper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pipper)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasty-strawberries-where-to-buy/614689/10 "2012-03-04T18:01:24Z")
While not quite as good as the locally grown, farmers market strawberries we’ll be getting in Chicago in 3 months, we just got some organic strawberries from Costco that were soft, sweet, and very good. ---
**Author:** ![4d3fect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/4d3fect/32/9728_2.png) [@4d3fect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4d3fect)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasty-strawberries-where-to-buy/614689/11 "2012-03-05T04:15:36Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Yet another try at the supermarket, yet another batch of cardboard-tasting strawberries. I tried organic - same thing. Tried “natural food” stores - same thing. > > I am willing to pay quadruple the price for honest-to-god good-tasting strawberries. Where can I get some? Direct from the source, not from a store, in season only, around here (Cali Central Coast) that’s roughly baseball season, March through October. Didn’t say where you were. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasty-strawberries-where-to-buy/614689/12 "2012-03-05T04:28:27Z")
> [@4d3fect](#): > > Direct from the source, not from a store, in season only, around here (Cali Central Coast) that’s roughly baseball season, March through October. > > Didn’t say where you were. Maryland ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasty-strawberries-where-to-buy/614689/13 "2012-03-05T06:21:51Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Maryland Late May - June ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasty-strawberries-where-to-buy/614689/14 "2012-03-05T10:01:03Z")
Sorry, for the hijack, but I’ve a related questionn that, I think doesn’t deserve a specific thread. I assume that strawberries have been introduced in the Americas by Europeans. So, my question is : do you have wild straberries too (very small, and very flavoured) there? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasty-strawberries-where-to-buy/614689/15 "2012-03-05T10:28:27Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Sorry, for the hijack, but I’ve a related questionn that, I think doesn’t deserve a specific thread. > > I assume that strawberries have been introduced in the Americas by Europeans. So, my question is : do you have wild straberries too (very small, and very flavoured) there? Not exactly - the “European” [garden strawberry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_strawberry) is actually a hybrid of two [New](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragaria_virginiana) [World](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragaria_chiloensis) varieties, but _produced_ [in France](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_breeding_of_strawberries). So yes, they do have wild strawberries (apparently [everywhere](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragaria) outside Africa & Australia does) ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasty-strawberries-where-to-buy/614689/16 "2012-03-05T10:34:49Z")
The best strawberries I ever tasted were bought from a rural shack next to a strawberry field in California in July. They’d been picked about an hour earlier. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasty-strawberries-where-to-buy/614689/17 "2012-03-05T11:01:01Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Not exactly - the “European” [garden strawberry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_strawberry) is actually a hybrid of two [New](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragaria_virginiana) [World](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragaria_chiloensis) varieties, but _produced_ [in France](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_breeding_of_strawberries). So yes, they do have wild strawberries (apparently [everywhere](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragaria) outside Africa & Australia does) Interesting. I had no clue that wild strawberries used to be cultivated, let alone that what we call now strawberry is of American origin. But then (and regarding the OP) where are those “Virginian strawberries” which I guess were probably delicious? Are they still found in the wild? Are they cultivated? Are they as large as common garden strawberries or as small as wild european ones? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasty-strawberries-where-to-buy/614689/18 "2012-03-05T11:38:34Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Interesting. I had no clue that wild strawberries used to be cultivated, let alone that what we call now strawberry is of American origin. > > But then (and regarding the OP) where are those “Virginian strawberries” which I guess were probably delicious? Are they still found in the wild? Are they cultivated? Are they as large as common garden strawberries or as small as wild european ones? I’ve eaten wild strawberries (they grow in upstate NY where I grew up). They’re much smaller than commercial strawberries - about the size of a peanut - but the taste is amazing. One thing about wild strawberry bushes is they don’t produce berries every year. So one year you’ll find a bunch of berries in a patch but they’ll be none there when you come back the next couple of years. I can imagine something like that would frustrate commercial growers. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasty-strawberries-where-to-buy/614689/19 "2012-03-05T16:38:39Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Sorry, for the hijack, but I’ve a related questionn that, I think doesn’t deserve a specific thread. > > I assume that strawberries have been introduced in the Americas by Europeans. So, my question is : do you have wild straberries too (very small, and very flavoured) there? I used to pick them when I was a kid - there was an undeveloped area not far from our house. Yum. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasty-strawberries-where-to-buy/614689/20 "2012-03-05T18:03:54Z")
We used to have wild strawberries growing in our yard. Each berry was maybe the size of an adult’s pinkie fingernail and had an intense flavor and sweetness. If you were lucky you could find maybe three ripe ones at a time, as the birds loved them, too. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tasty-strawberries-where-to-buy/614689.md?page=2)