Strawberries

Certified Organic, Conventional, Wild - White and Red, Long Stems - year-round availability for a fabulous fruit!

Strawberries seem to be strewn among the leaves of the plant - they were first called Strewberries. Thought to be first cultivated in ancient Rome, the berries we know were originally grown in Northern Europe, and are grown around the world today.

The first American strawberries were cultivated about 1835 in Massachusetts, and are considered one of the most important small fruits grown in the Western Hemisphere. Today, every state in the US and every province in Canada grows the beautiful strawberry plant. The berries grow close to the ground on the stem in groups of three, and the greenish white fruit turns to a rich color when they are ripe. Once strawberries have been picked, they cannot ripen, so they must be harvested at full ripeness. The strawberry plant has seeds on the outside skin - about 200 seeds per berry! Birds sow the seeds of wild strawberries - Fraise Des Bois - they apparently stay intact and in reasonably good condition so germination is relatively easy. One serving of 8 medium strawberries has about 50 calories, and contains 160% of daily recommended Vitamin C. MAY IS NATIONAL STRAWBERRY MONTH!

When North America was first settled, the wild strawberries were so plentiful that there was no garden culture of the fruit until about 1770. Native Americans collected and cultivated the North American wild strawberry - Fragaria Virginiana - which is much bigger than its wild European counterpart - mostly grown in Spain today.

The founder of Providence, Rhode Island, Mr. Roger Williams, wrote in 1636 that the strawberry was "the wonder of all the fruits growing naturally in these parts. The Indians bruise them in a morter, and mix them with meale and make strawberry bread". Word has it that Native Americans liked the strawberry simply sweetened "with the dew of milkweed". The colonists invented that old American favorite - STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE. The largest shortcake is baked today at the annual Lebanon, Oregon strawberry festival - where the huge cake towering over 12 feet in the air is cut with a 2-person saw!

Strawberries are the first fruit to ripen in the spring, and the annual per capita consumption of strawberries is about 5 pounds. If all of the strawberries produced in California in one year were laid berry to berry, they would circle the world 15 times.

In 2001, strawberries ranked seventh in crop value among commodities produced in California, and accounted for 83% of the U.S. strawberry supply. Over 25,000 acres are devoted to strawberry production in California. One billion pounds of fruit is harvested annually in California.

Nutritionally, strawberries are a rich source of Vitamins C and folic acid, and contain (about a cup of fresh berries) 240 mg of potassium, which is more than half of a banana!

Strawberries are a romantic fruit, shaped like a heart, and considered a natural symbol of love. The strawberry was sacred to Frigg, the northern goddess of love. So, enjoy the beautiful fruit of spring!