Written by Christie Crawford
Clarksville, TN – May beckons many things; May Day, Mother’s Day, graduations, and Memorial Day. But for foodies it is National Strawberry Month, a time to relish the little, sweet, red round berries. You can choose to eat them fresh, blend them in smoothies, make them into a jam or smother them with chocolate or whipped cream.
The strawberry technically isn’t even a fruit; it’s a variety of rose, and each berry contains almost 200 seeds. If you’re watching your sugar limits, a strawberry is high on your list to eat and a good source of vitamins K and C (even more than an orange). An American on average consumes eight pounds per year of the popular fruit. And red isn’t the only color. Hues can range from pink and gold to yellow and white. Occasionally you can even find in ice cream parlors the pineberry, a hybrid white strawberry from Chile with a hint of pineapple taste.
The French were the first to recognize the decadence of the bite-size fruit. in the 1300’s wild strawberries were domesticated into the French garden. Then the American colonists from Virginia discovered the fruit and exported it back to England, although it did not become popular until the late 1700’s. A French spy discovered a Chilean variety and, after many unsuccessful tries crossing with French varieties, created a hybrid with a Virginia plant yielding a berry with great taste, larger size, and more hardiness to grow. All modern strawberry varieties have descended from this particular hybrid.
Since then, many botanists have worked to improve the plant, including the “Hovey” in 1834 by Cambridge, MA nurseryman Charles Hovey. But then in 1909 E. C. Howard of Massachusetts created the “Howard 17,” which was resistant to leaf spots and other diseases and became the strawberry of choice.
The strawberry is so popular that a town in Belgium, Wépion, has a museum dedicated to the fruit. There are even rare varieties such as the Bijin-Hime, (“Beautiful Princess” in Japanese), a variety that can sell for up to $350.00 per berry, making it one of the world’s most expensive fruits.
You will find many states hosting strawberry festivals including one nearby, the 83rd annual “Boots and Berries” Portland Strawberry Festival on May 10th-11th.
Portland is known for its historic strawberry industry, including processing and canning plants, and a freezing facility that supplied strawberries to national companies such as Breyer’s Ice Cream. Business was so brisk in its heyday that at the peak of the season, close to 30 railroad cars per day were loaded with berries.
Although California produces 90% of the crop in the United States, we are fortunate in Middle Tennessee to have farms harvest strawberries, and many of these are available as U-pick farms. Here’s a few that you might want to consider visiting. Check their websites, Facebook pages, or phone them to check for availability and hours:
McCraw’s Strawberry Ranch 2385 Rossview Road, Clarksville – 931.647.0187
H & S Farms 500 Seven Mile Ferry Road, Clarksville – 931.387.4000
Head’s Farm 3422 Kinneys Road, Cedar Hill – 615.573.2401
Slate Farms Strawberries 1601 Tn-76 Clarksville – 931.241.3966
