Strawberry Season

The garden is producing more goodies every day. The new hood variety strawberry plants are producing even though the plants are not very big yet. By next year, the plants will have filled out full rows and have lush foliage that helps hide the berries from the birds who think the fruit is as tasty as I know they are.

The first picking of strawberries always yield the largest berries. These I like to use fresh from the garden. They adorn pancakes for breakfast, sit along side the lunch time sandwich, and smashed berries on top of vanilla ice cream makes the perfect dessert. The berries can fit in easily with any meal.

After the first picking the strawberries are smaller, but each round gets sweeter as the summer sun builds sugar content. Besides eating them fresh, I also slice them thin and use a food dehydrator to preserve them. There is no need to add any sweetener to these berries. The thin, dried berries are sealed in zip lock bags and used for snaking and baking throughout the year.

The last of the berries are by far the sweetest of the season and are perfect for freezing. After picking and washing, I tray them on cookie sheets in a single layer and freeze. Once frozen solid, I scoop them into zip lock freezer bags and keep them frozen. It is always a special treat to have berries in the winter to add a taste of summer to the day. When taken out of the freezer, I like to eat them while they still have a few ice crystals; it reminds me of my childhood as I pop one at a time into my mouth to thaw.