Strawberries are one of the most elite summer fruits. They can be eaten with anything or can even be enjoyed on their own. They're the epitome of delicious summer puddings, associated with Wimbledon and picnics. What's not to love about these little, round, juicy fruits? It's gives you even more of an incentive to go out and pick your own punnet! If you've never done it before, you might think that it's not exactly rocket science, but you'd be mistaken.
Where it's not particularly hard work, you could be there for hours looking for the ripest, reddest strawberries to pick. But that's not always the case. Loads of different things can affect strawberry crops, include the weather, the temperature and how late in the season you are. So here are a few tips for strawberry picking so that you can get as much out of it as you can.
1. Choose fruits that are bright red
You shouldn't pick strawberries that are green or that are only just turning red. You should also refrain from picking orange-coloured strawberries because, unlike tomatoes, once you've plucked them from the vine, they won't ripen up on their own. Pick strawberries that are bright or even deep red, have a good shine on them and have fresh green leaves protruding from the top of them.
2. Dig a little deeper
You'll find that, most of the time, people have already picked the best fruits, that they can see. If you keep finding plants that have died or that don't appear to have any more fruit left on them, push the leaves and vines to one side and have a good look inside the body of the plant. You'll be sure to find some perfectly-ripe strawberries in places where others can't be bothered to look.
3. Test out their firmness
Before picking the fruit off the plant, give it a little pinch with your fingers and test out how firm it is. If the strawberry is rock hard, then don't pick it because it's not yet ripe. If it has a little sponge-yness to it, then it's ripe for the picking. If it turns to mush in your fingers, then it's over-ripe and has, most likely, started to breakdown and rot. How firm, or not, a strawberry is provides you with another indicator as to whether or not it would be good to eat.
4. Rinse & refrigerate as soon as possible
Once you have picked your strawberries, it's important that you wash them and put them in the fridge as soon as possible. Don't leave them in your car for a few hours while you go and do other things, take them home, especially on a hot day, rinse them off and place them in the fridge for safe-keeping. This keeps them fresh for as long as possible.
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I hope you enjoyed this blog post? Let me know in the comments below whether you've ever been strawberry picking and whether you have any other tips for budding harvesters and I'll see you again very soon with a brand new blog post :)
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