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Strawberry Picking

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Let's go strawberry picking!

It's strawberry season! Why not pick your own strawberries? Come on, you've seen the signs along the roadways. "Pick your own" How can you resist those red, plump, juicy strawberries. They are calling your name!

Picking your own strawberries is the best way to make sure you are getting the freshest strawberries of the season. The kids love exploring the strawberry field and trying to find the biggest strawberry ever. You get a better price per pound or quart when you do the work. You can freeze them, can them, or just eat them! Are you ready? Let's go!

On May 15, 2009 my family went strawberry picking. These are our pictures of all the fun!

Note: All my strawberry photos are copyrighted

Finding the Best Strawberries

Look for signs along the road directing you to "Pick Your Own" strawberry fields. Check the newspaper many strawberry field owners will advertise when their crop is ready for the picking. Your local agricultural extension agent may be able to help you find the strawberries too.

The best way we have found is by word of mouth. We visited a strawberry field about 10 minutes away from our house that someone had told us about. They don't advertise and therefore the strawberry patch was not over picked. It was great. The strawberries were so abundant that three of us picked 10 quarts in about 30 minutes!

Find a "pick your own" farm in your area at PickYourOwn.org. Here you will find all kinds of farms to pick your own fruits and vegetables.

How to Pick the Finest Strawberries

When you arrive at your local farm or field, you will be assigned a strawberry row to pick. Make sure you stay in your row, other customers are picking their own rows. The best way to pick is usually squatting or on your knees, standing may make your back pretty sore.

Take the strawberry in your hand, place the stem between your thumb and fore finger and pluck it with a slight twisitng motion just above the cap. You've just picked your first strawberry! Keep going!

You can probably hold three to four good size strawberries in you hand. When your are ready to place them in the container, set them down lightly. Strawberries bruise very easily. Also, don't pile too many strawberries on top of each other, this will cause them to bruise.

What are you waiting for? You still have a a whole row to pick! Make sure you get them all. Only take the red ones, the green strawberries have not fully ripened yet and will not ripen later. Once you have picked what you need, the owner will weigh them and charge you per pound or per quart of strawberries.

Take them home, clean them, and Enjoy!

Sometimes You Get Extra Help!

The owner's cat loved hanging out with us while we picked strawberries.

So Many Strawberries So Little Time

Wondering if we should go pick more...

Cleaning and Freezing Strawberries

Place your freshly picked strawberries in a colander and run them under cool water to rinse them. Cut off the caps and half them or quarter them if they are large. We rinse them a second time and then place them into quart size freezer bags. Put them in the freezer for fresh tasting strawberries all year around!

My mom sometimes adds sugar to the strawberries in the freezer bag,It seems to make more strawberry syrup when they are thawed. I have done it both ways and either way they still taste great anytime you want fresh strawberries.

Strawberry Jelly, Jam, or Preserves

First of all, what's the difference?

Jelly is made from the sweetened juice of strawberries. The strawberries will be liquified before pouring them into the jelly jars and setting to a firm gel consistency. Little to no fruit pieces will be visible,

Jam is crushed or chopped strawberries with a small amount of juice. Preserves are the whole fruit or chunks placed in jelly jars.

The most extensive and helpful guide I have found online for canning jams and jellies can be found at the National Center for Home Preservation web site.

Complete Guide to Home Canning Guide 7
Preparing and Canning Jams and Jellies

Reprinted with permission from the University of Georgia.
Andress, E, Kuhn, G. (1998). Critical Review of Home Preservation Literature and Current Research. Athens, GA: University of Georgia, Cooperative Extension Service.

Canning Jars for Strawberries

Quick and Easy Strawberry Shortcake

One of our favorite desserts....This is how we do it!

You will need: fresh strawberries, vanilla ice cream, pound cake or shortcake dessert cups, and whip cream.

Place the cake in the bottom of a cereal size bowl.

Next comes the ice cream, place as much as you want on top of the cake.

Spoon several fresh strawberries over the ice cream.
(I like to skim off some of the strawberry juice and spoon that over top also)

Last but not least, add the whip cream.

Eat every last drop! Yummy!

More Strawberry Desserts

How To Make Chocolate-Covered Strawberries: by Howcast | video info

669 ratings | 410,257 views

Handle any emergency with Howcast's First Aid app - http://howc.st/jkDRTe Expand the description and view the text of the steps for this how-to video. Check out Howcast for other do-it-yourself videos from Whatami2do182 and more videos in the General Desserts category. You can contribute too! Create your own DIY guide at http://www.howcast.com/videos/new or produce your own Howcast spots with the Howcast Filmmakers Program at http://www.howcast.com/filmmakers/apply. What's a more sensual dessert than chocolate-covered strawberries? To complete this How-To you will need: 12 large strawberries, ripe but firm, with green stems and leaves attached 12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips or morsels or a 10-ounce bar of dark chocolate A cookie sheet Wax paper A microwave-safe dish A wooden spoon Toothpicks Coconut flakes (optional) Crushed pistachios (optional) Sprinkles (optional) Melted white chocolate (optional) A fork (optional) Step 1: Prepare the strawberries Gently rinse the strawberries, leaving on the green caps. Do this a few hours before you plan to dip the berries, so they're completely dry. Step 2: Cover a cookie sheet Cover a cookie sheet with wax paper. Step 3: Melt the chocolate Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe dish using the "defrost" setting. Microwave it in 10-second increments, stirring with a wooden spoon in between. Take care not to burn it. Tip: If the melted chocolate is too thick, add vegetable oil a few drops at a time until you have the right consistency for dipping. Step 4: Start dipping Spear the cap of each strawberry with a toothpick, and use it to dip the bottom two-thirds of the berry into the melted chocolate. Lift it out of the chocolate, rotate it clockwise, and wait until the strawberry is no longer dripping before laying it gently on the wax paper. Tip: For fancier strawberries, dip the ends into coconut flakes, crushed pistachios, or sprinkles before putting them on the cookie sheet. Or let them harden for 10 minutes before drizzling some melted white chocolate over them with a fork. Step 5: Chill Chill the strawberries in the refrigerator for at least an hour and up to eight hours before serving. They will last about two hours at room temperature before they start to melt. Thanks for watching How To Make Chocolate-Covered Strawberries! If you enjoyed this video subscribe to the Howcast YouTube channel! http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=howcast

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Simply Strawberry Colander Set

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