Shopping for Strawberries

One of summer's best gifts is fresh strawberries. These wonderful little treats taste the best and cost the least during the summer months when they are in season. My favorite place to find strawberries is at my local farmer's market, or even the roadside stands that proliferate in our county. The benefits of purchasing any fruit this way are many. To begin with most often it is fresh picked that morning. This means that it has been allowed to ripen on the vine, which increases its nutrient content. Second, it will keep longer once you take it home because it hasn't already been sitting on a refrigerated truck and in storage rooms at the back of grocery stores for several days. Third, it's better for the environment. Local produce means less fossil fuel is burned and less pollution. Fourth, they taste better than any store bought strawberries I've tried. Fifth, You can sometimes get a discount at the end of the day because the vendor needs to unload the rest instead of taking them home. A farmer's market vendor only sells fresh produce and would rather sell it to you for less than no sell it at all. This strategy can backfire on you if they sell out before closing time however. And finally, there are some great organic farms in my area and I rarely, if ever, can find organic strawberries at the regular super markets.

Strawberries have the highest concentration of pesticides of all produce sold in the United Sates, according to A Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce. For this reason you should not buy strawberries that are not organic, especially if you are feeding children. The toxins add up in their smaller bodies more rapidly than in an adult and can cause more severe reactions.

There are a few things you should look for when purchasing strawberries. Ripe strawberries have a deep red color, turning almost burgundy when they are at their ripest. There shouldn't be any white at the tops they should be red all the way to the leaves. Strawberries with white at the tops aren't fully ripe and are less sweet than vine ripened strawberries. Go through the basket and discard very mushy or moldy berries before paying for them. Replace the rotten berries with good ones. I wouldn't trust any vendor who would object to a careful examination of their fruit. Be careful not to damage good fruit or make a mess. Once you have a basket to your liking take them home as soon as possible after purchase to keep them from spoiling.