Strawberries Sold By Shops

[Mrs Magpie]

Yes, that's fine. They've been in cold storage, when you plants and water them they'll really go.

 

[dessiato]

Just found Evie in Waitrose which are shit because they don't taste of strawberry at all.

A quick google shows they are meant to be better than Elsanta due to their large average fruit size with excellent fruit shape, high yield and exceptionally high percentage Class I, and ease of management and picking along with consistent cropping profile which reduces costs.

And nothing said about their flavour...

 

[mrs quoad]

Yes, that's fine. They've been in cold storage, when you plants and water them they'll really go.

Good thing I didn't send that photo and / or an attendant sniffy email, then

 

[foamy]

This is why I originally took that photo

I got some magnolia trees delivered in jiffy envelopes that were roughly A4 width but 1.5 metres long (iykwim) one was snapped below all the buds as it had been delivered on the postmans bike on a windy day then shoved through the letter box. We sent them a disappointed email and they sent me another (the original was fine as it turned out but not to even reinforce the envelop seemed a bit poor)

Wrt strawberries: do they grow better if planted in a tier formation? I only have one plant in a single pot but have a two tier hanging basket I could repot into.....

 

[mr steev]

Wrt strawberries: do they grow better if planted in a tier formation? I only have one plant in a single pot but have a two tier hanging basket I could repot into.....

It doesn't matter how they're planted. Tiers are handy when they send out runners and I suppose they give you slightly more plants per square metre

 

[bi0boy]

A warning to potential strawberry felonists - most packs have alarm tags in this year.

 

[foamy]

The waitrose strawberries which are recommended by Heston that they had on offer last week were elsanta and I thought they were really good. Did we get freak punnets or is this years crop better?

 

[mrs quoad]

The waitrose strawberries which are recommended by Heston that they had on offer last week were elsanta and I thought they were really good. Did we get freak punnets or is this years crop better?

Afaik, the main characteristics of el Santa are good commercial growers, good travellers, hard to bruise, respectable shelf life.

I've come across some ok el santas; but IME 95% of Driscoll jubilee are better. Like, you need a catastrophe of driscolls to be outstripped by an el Santa.

 

[Edie]

Afaik, the main characteristics of el Santa are good commercial growers, good travellers, hard to bruise, respectable shelf life.

I've come across some ok el santas; but IME 95% of Driscoll jubilee are better. Like, you need a catastrophe of driscolls to be outstripped by an el Santa.

I fuckin love your passion, knowledge and ernest comparison of the minutaie quoad

 

[mrs quoad]

Picked up some Driscoll's™ Amesti® from Waitrose this avo (picking up something in town, came back the long route for decent bread flour).

Which have to be the most trademarked strawberry variety I've seen. (On packaging, at least.)

Erm, very nice, tbh, but not a great deal of noticeable difference from Driscoll Jubilee. Very yielding n juicy (though entirely unbruised), buckets of sweetness and a healthy whack of acidity. Would definitely buy again.

Also got some Eve's Sweet Delight. Not sure if these're any different to the Eve's Delight Tesco were knocking out as their Finest a week or five ago, but - yeah - very nice. Bit more drab / watery than the Driscolls, but (IIRC) half the price. And a very nice strawberry (though a couple in the box were... erm... suffering.)

Also got some El Santa In the same bloody packaging as the Eve's (and it's branded packaging, too). Bit pissed off, tbh. Haven't touched them yet, may farm them out to Artichoke or get round to attacking them later. I hate it when supermarkets mix up strawberry varieties in the same packaging, on the same shelf. IME, Waitrose and M&S are the main culprits

 

[Mrs Magpie]

You will have your socks blown off by Mara des Bois, I promise.

 

[bi0boy]

Also got some El Santa In the same bloody packaging as the Eve's (and it's branded packaging, too). Bit pissed off, tbh. Haven't touched them yet, may farm them out to Artichoke or get round to attacking them later. I hate it when supermarkets mix up strawberry varieties in the same packaging, on the same shelf. IME, Waitrose and M&S are the main culprits

I love that cos you can have a good rummage. The other day I had a choice of Elasnta from Fife, Elsanta from Tayside, Sonata from Nottinghamshire and Sonata from Kent.

btw Elsanta > Eve's Delight.

 

[bi0boy]

btw Elsanta > Eve's Delight.

I take that back. Had a box of Eve's Delight today courtesy of Tesco from Starkey's Fruit of Nottinghamshire that were very flavoursome, although half the box weren't ripe when picked, and those that were ripe were on the point of turning. They were certainly far better than the tasteless box of Elsanta I had alongside from a certain Mr John Mitchell of Fife.

 

[crustychick]

I just had some lush strawberries.... and I checked the packet so I could report back but they don't seem to tell you the variety here in Germany. But I bought them from Aldi and they were grown, it seems, in Beelitz, which is not too far from Berlin and which also produces loads of asparagus...

we also have these giant strawberry stalls all over the place

I haven't actually bought any strawbs from there yet but I will and I'll see if my German is up to quizzing the salesperson on variety

 

[mrs quoad]

I just had some lush strawberries.... and I checked the packet so I could report back but they don't seem to tell you the variety here in Germany. But I bought them from Aldi and they were grown, it seems, in Beelitz, which is not too far from Berlin and which also produces loads of asparagus...

...

I haven't actually bought any strawbs from there yet but I will and I'll see if my German is up to quizzing the salesperson on variety

Regrettably, round these parts, virtually everything that hits the supermarket at 'standard strawberry' price in undifferentiated packaging is chosen primarily for its colour, shelf-life, and resistance to bruising. El Santa, Sonata, can't even bring myself to remember the rest.

And everything I've seen on Cambridge market - regrettably - tends towards being the piss-poor offcuts the supermarket doesn't want.

I had proper full-on angst when Artichoke came home yesterday with a big bag of vaguely orange / beige / puce cherries, half of which were rotting, pleased as punch, because she genuinely is chuffed that they were well cheap off the market. But they tasted of watered-down, bitter horse piss. And I've got to look like I'm eating a few, because otherwise it's a damning indictment of her taste in / assessment of fruit (which, tbf, would be realistic; I'd generally prefer not to eat shag-awful cherries), and eating a few is better than her plaintive looks of mournful, lingering, fruit-based resentment.

 

[Pingu]

OK Strawb experts of good old urban.

I really like strawberries but am currently restricted to buying from large supermarkets until the PYO stuff comes good. In the main these are watery and of not much taste.

What should I be looking for on the packets or any advice on how to ensure I get a goodun?

NB I am no where near the hellhole that is London so dont suggest "try Mr Wibbles Strawberry and Banana Emporium on Old Bollock Street". I have a choice of Morissons, Asda, Aldi, Tesco or Sainsburys.

 

[Greebo]

OK Strawb experts of good old urban.

I really like strawberries but am currently restricted to buying from large supermarkets until the PYO stuff comes good. In the main these are watery and of not much taste.

What should I be looking for on the packets or any advice on how to ensure I get a goodun?<snip>

As a rule of thumb, look for the packets reduced for quick sale - any which have reached the sell by /best before date are more likely to be ripe than the ones with a few days to go.

 

[Athos]

I don't see the point of buying supermarket strawberries. Without exception, they don't taste like strawberries should - they're not bred to. I'd rather buy another fruit (one I can't grow myself), and only eat home grown ones. They're just about the easiest thing to grow, and represent some of the greatest value added by doing so, both in terms of price and taste.

 

[Pingu]

growing our own is not an option. they would last about 30 seconds before they were either dug up by the dogs, trampled by the dogs or eaten by local wildlife.

 

[Athos]

Yeah, I realise that not everyone is in a position to; I was reality talking about my own perspective. But if I couldn't grow my own, I still wouldn't buy supermarket ones; I'd rather buy another fruit.

 

[Greebo]

<snip>But if I couldn't grow my own, I still wouldn't buy supermarket ones; I'd rather buy another fruit.

Other supermarket soft fruit can be just as under ripe or under flavoured. If I can't even smell it, I won't buy it.

 

[Athos]

Other supermarket soft fruit can be just as under ripe or under flavoured. If I can't even smell it, I won't buy it.

I'd go for a mango or something I can't grow, and wait until my own fruit is ripe. This year I'm expecting strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blackcurrants, blueberries, gooseberry, plums, greengage, apples, pears, fig, rhubarb, quince, melon and peach!

 

[mrs quoad]

OK Strawb experts of good old urban.

I really like strawberries but am currently restricted to buying from large supermarkets until the PYO stuff comes good. In the main these are watery and of not much taste.

Hate to say it, but TTD / finest really do tend to be a better breed.

Owt with Driscoll in the name tend to be good. And other species here documented!

 

[Greebo]

I'd go for a mango or something I can't grow, and wait until my own fruit is ripe. This year I'm expecting strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blackcurrants, blueberries, gooseberry, plums, greengage, apples, pears, fig, rhubarb, quince, melon and peach!

Can I watch when you come to Brixton and ask a Jamaican his/her opinion of supermarket mangoes?

 

[The39thStep]

I'd go for a mango or something I can't grow, and wait until my own fruit is ripe. This year I'm expecting strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blackcurrants, blueberries, gooseberry, plums, greengage, apples, pears, fig, rhubarb, quince, melon and peach!

we are all expecting strawberries but with the rain and lack of sun its slow progress.

 

[bi0boy]

I normally buy 400g of strawberries every day. I've tried growing them but never been able to crop anywhere near that so it doesn't seem worth the effort.

 

[Athos]

Can I watch when you come to Brixton and ask a Jamaican his/her opinion of supermarket mangoes?

I have a pretty poor opinion of them, too. But I don't think the difference is as pronounced as it is with strawberries. And it's supermarket or nothing with mangoes; I can't grow my own.

 

[Greebo]

I have a pretty poor opinion of them, too. But I don't think the difference is as pronounced as it is with strawberries. And it's supermarket or nothing with mangoes; I can't grow my own.

The ones sold in the market, or by people who know what a ripe mango should taste like, tend to be better.

 

[Athos]

I normally buy 400g of strawberries every day. I've tried growing them but never been able to crop anywhere near that so it doesn't seem worth the effort.

That's a serious habit!

 

[bi0boy]

That's a serious habit!

The season only lasts for so long so one has to make the best of it.