Ever bought a punnet of nice-looking strawberries from the supermarket only to find they were watery and flavourless?
Strawberries are delicate, so in order to stand up to the rigours of our modern food supply chain, they have to be picked slightly underripe. They don’t ripen any further once picked, which means they never get the chance to fully develop their sweetness.
To enjoy a strawberry at its best, the farmers market is your best bet (aside from growing them yourself), as the drastically reduced transport time from farm to market allows the fruit to be picked when fully ripe.
Local strawberry grower David Montgomery, of Monty’s, has been pursuing the perfect tasting strawberry for almost 30 years, and as his customers will attest, he’s nailed it.
He starts with organic rootstock, grows in organic potting mix and waters with pristine local spring water. The fruit is grown in a custom-made netted area on his property, that he is constantly refining and improving to create the ideal growing conditions.
He is also meticulous about what he picks for market. On a recent visit to his farm, he offered us a taste of two identical looking strawberries. One was beautifully sweet, the other nice, but not quite as good. A slight discolouration on the calyx was the cause of problem he explained, and said although many growers would sell this fruit, it would never make it to his stall.
“I want people to come back next week. So if I …upset them in any way – and that can mean just one strawberry in the box that’s not quite right – that can mean the difference between them walking in next time or not walking in at all.”
Find Monty’s strawberries at the New Brighton and Mullumbimby Farmers Markets during the local season from July – December.
