HowTo: Tips for enjoying strawberry picking!
Strawberry picking is a popular activity from December to May. Although it is a little bit expensive to buy strawberries in the supermarket, you can fully relish them in All-you-can-eat style. In this article, we are going to explain how to pick your own strawberries and relish them in the best way.
Strawberry Facts and Trivia
Grow well under low temperature - Sweet and tasty strawberry.
In Japan, the peak season for strawberry picking and the domestic shipment of strawberry is from December to May. The high season for strawberry was from April to June 30 years ago. Nowadays we can enjoy tasty strawberries all year round thanks to selective breeding and house cultivation, though it is more preferable to eat them in their best season.
The sweetness and sourness of strawberry are greatly affected by temperature - strawberry grow faster in the higher temperature and the rapid growth would increase the sourness. In the low temperature, their growing process is slow, thus they have less sourness and become juicy and tasty when they become ripe. (This depends on the breeds of strawberry)
Strawberries are delicate for hotness but prefer coldness so they can be grown under the snowy weather.
Who are the top strawberry growers?
In Japan, the largest yield of strawberry are produced in the prefectures producing the popular strawberry breeds such as "Tochiotome" and "Amaou" .
Strawberry is rich in Vitamin C and thus it helps to prevent having cold and has effect for making the skin beautiful.
1st Tochigi Prefecture（Known for "Tochiotome" ）
2nd Fukuoka Prefecture（Known for "Amaou"）
3rd Kumamoto Prefecture（Known for "Hinoshizuku"）
4th Nagasaki Prefecture（Known for "Sachinoka"）
5th Shizuoka Prefecture (Known for "Beni Hoppe"）
(According to the statistics of total shipment of vegetables - released by Ministry of Agriculture in 2010)
Then how about the world top growers?
Since strawberries are suitable for the condition
in the temperature zone or subarctic zone,
they are regarded as the expensive fruit in subtropical
regions.
1st U.S.A
2nd Spain
3rd Turkey
4th Egypt
5th Mexico
Japan is in the rank of 7th !
(According to the statistic data of strawberry production - released by FAOSTAT in 2011)
Pay attention for strawberry growing process.
Strawberry is taken care under the right temperature and protected from wind and rain in the greenhouse. There are different methods of strawberry cultivation. Whether it is with your family, with your partner or with your children, why not choosing the most suitable cultivation method when you go for strawberry picking ?
High-Rise Isolated Bed Culture As the name suggests, strawberries are planted in the high position, and it is suitable for strawberry picking while standing, There are also 2-level and 3-level bed types.
Soil culture This is the old-fashioned cultivation style which covers the black plastic sheet on mound. With this method, it is possible to grow juicy and tasty strawberries.
Cultivation on a stone wall This rare cultivation method uses slope in the Kunouzan region of Shizuoka prefecture. Plants of strawberry are coming out from the crack of stones.
Preparation for fully enjoying strawberry picking!
The first day for Consecutive holidays - Saturdays are more preferable than Sundays Weekdays are the best.
In the consecutive holidays (such as national holidays), the farms can be crowded and there might not be many strawberries left in the last days. If you want to fully relish strawberries at strawberry picking site, it is recommended to go there at the first day for consecutive holidays, Saturdays are more preferable than Sundays. And of course weekdays are the best time.
Morning is the best time!
It is believed that all the vegetables and fruits are best to be picked in the morning.. Some farms close the site after all strawberries are picked so it is better to be there in the earlier time. We might be able to enjoy eating fresh and tasty strawberries well chilled during the night.
Make sure to call and check your reservation
Different farms have different ways of growing strawberries and sometimes strawberry picking can be fully reserved by groups of visitor. Price may differ depending on the season so, it is advised to ask the availability, status of strawberry growth, and current price.
Moist towelette
Your hands can end up being wet and sticky because of strawberry juice or condensed milk.. If you are with small children, try to bring an apron for children or a water bottle.
Correct Shoes
In the greenhouse, you often walk around and crouch down, so bring the comfortable shoes or ones that can get dirty without care. For females, it is advised not to wear high heels since they might break vinyl in the greenhouse.
Comfortable clothes
Warm temperature is always being kept in the greenhouse so you can sweat a lot in the sunny days. Try to wear the suitable clothes that can be easily taken off - for females trousers are preferable than skirts, and a shoulder bag is advisable since it does not occupy your hands.
Go to the bathroom before starting
Strawberries contain about 90 % of water. Since eating many of them makes you want to go to the bathroom, try to finish going there before you start strawberry picking.
Tips and rules to find tasty strawberries
As soon as you enter the green house it is natural that you are tempted to eat strawberries but don't rush as you eat! Although All-you-can-eat of strawberries usually lasts for 30 minutes, eating large amount of strawberries makes you full unexpectedly so take your time choosing the best ones. Here is the tips and rules for finding tasty strawberries.
The highlight of strawberry picking is to find the fully ripe ones!
Do you have any experience that you bought strawberries but they turned not to be sweet even though they look all red? Actually unripe berries will not ripen once they are picked. After they are picked, they continue to get red at room temperature but do not continue to get sweeter.-It means more red they are, more sweet the taste is before being picked.
・Fresh and bright color
・Dry yellow seeds outside
・The red and small berries are often sweet
・Berries with great scent
・Berries that are red from top to bottom (even the part close to calyx should not be white)
・The one with crack near the part around calyx
It may not look so attractive but berries with crack contain much sugar inside. (Other reason might apply)
How many berries can we eat?
In general adults can eat from 30 to 40 berries. However, all-you-can eat does not mean the eating competition and that would be impolite for farmers if you waste the berries by throwing them away. Make sure you appreciate and finish eating each pieces of berry.
Relish different types of berries
You can relish all kinds of berries in the farm growing different kinds of breeds. Although everyone tends to pick the big ones, you can take your time and go for small ones because red and small berries are usually more sweet and tasty.
Do we have to wash berries?
Washing makes berries too watery and less tasty. Of course berries are grown in the way that you can eat without washing. so you can eat as they are. Some farms provide you with a cup of water so if you prefer, you can quickly wash and eat them.
Tips for relishing berries
Berries have more sugar on the tip of their body. Especially for the big pieces, take off their calyx first and then eat them - that's the best way to relish them.
With condensed milk
Although it is very tasty to eat berries with condensed milk, try to eat them as they are so that you can taste their natural sweetness. Later when you get more full, you can try eating them with condensed milk..
It is not allowed to bring out strawberries
You can only enjoy all-you-can eat inside the greenhouse. It is not allowed to bring out the berries outside. If you like to bring back strawberries, go to the shop and buy them.
About Us