Sweet souvenirs Virginia strawberries are ripe at the cusp of the season ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY NICOLE ZEMA
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Strawberry plants flower in April before ripening into May’s red berries.
un-soaked strawberries are like the childhood friend you see once a year. You always pick up where you left off, making memories to savor until the next visit. That sweet spot between April and June comes and goes, but the nostalgia associated with Virginia strawberries lasts forever. Vitamin-rich and low in calories, strawberries are perfect for snacking or blending into smoothies, and are expected in most summertime sweet treats. The fruit’s distinct flavor profile translates to savory entrees too. Summer is coaxed to the commonwealth with every luscious bite. Farms and roadside stands offering fresh berries punctuate Virginia’s landscape— more numerous than the 54 strawberry leaves encircling the official seal of the City of Virginia Beach.
‘If you pluck it, it goes in the bucket’ Every May, about 80 Virginia farmers open their pick-your-own strawberry fields to families intent on a sweet tradition. “You ever go to Disney World?” asked Tom Baker, a Virginia Beach farmer. “You always come home with hats or sweatshirts.” When families visit Baker at Brookdale Farm’s pick-your-own strawberry farm, they take home 10-plus pounds of souvenirs. “The time to determine if it’s fully ripe is before you pluck it,” Baker said. “If you pluck it, it goes in the bucket.” But picking will be a little different this
Lucy Henley, 9, eats strawberries straight from the field at Flip Flop Farmer in Pungo. vafb.org / SPRING 2020
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