Florida-grown strawberries are about to hit their peak ripening season, when the fruit is at its firmest, reddest, sweetest and juiciest.
The weather has cooperated across most of the state, and farmers are reporting ample supplies of healthy fruit. The season runs from November to April, peaking in February and March.
But while the berries may all look the same to the untrained eye, there’s actually an assortment of colors, sizes and tastes on produce shelves, many developed at the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. According to Vance Whitaker, a horticulture professor at UF/IFAS, 88% of Florida strawberry acreage grows fruits developed by UF; the rest is marketed by Driscoll’s and made up of their proprietary varieties.
Here are four types of strawberries developed by UF that you will find in Florida grocery stores — and the subtle distinctions that may help you identify your favorite scrumptious variety.
Sweet Sensation
Sensations are big, firm and uniformly shaped. They have a fragrant aroma and high sugar content. They ripen late in the season, closer to March and April.
Florida Medallion
Whitaker says the Medallion, released in 2020, has a better taste than the Sensation. He describes Medallion as smaller with a more intense flavor, medium-red color and consistent shape. They can be picked beginning around Thanksgiving and continue ripening through March.
Florida Brilliance
This popular variety, accounting for about 60% of the state’s strawberry acreage, has a glossy sheen and deeper red color than both the Sweet Sensation or Medallion. They are found on produce shelves early in the season, by Thanksgiving, and continue to flourish through March. They have a lengthy shelf life and are attractive to farmers for their moderate to high resistance to many diseases.
Florida Pearl
This is a white strawberry with a pineapple aroma and a pink blush hue when ripe. Also known as a pineberry, it’s a hybrid of a Japanese white strawberry and Florida red strawberry. It has red seeds and is white inside. Consumers are still getting used to a strawberry that’s not red; Whitaker describes it as a “niche” product. Still, he said Florida farmers are working to create a year-round supply.
Strawberry facts you may not know
- If a strawberry is bland, it may have been picked too early or too late or suffered from too much rain, especially if it was close to ripening.
- Strawberries often top the list of fruits and vegetables with the most pesticide residue, often called “The Dirty Dozen.” However, Whitaker believes these fears are overblown: “I eat them right out of the field every day without washing them.”
- Rinse the grit off the fruit right before eating it; don’t wash the berries when you get home and then place them in the refrigerator, as Whitaker said the water degrades the moisture on the fruit’s skin.
- When strawberry season is done, Florida farmers transition to planting and tending cantaloupe, eggplant, squash and zucchini crops.
