‘Perfect’ strawberries on the way to the market

StrawberriesStrawberries.Photo: pixabay.com

The weather conditions in recent days have accelerated the seasonal strawberry crop. Notice has been given of berries with a lot of taste and excellent quality over large parts of the country.

 

Norwegian strawberries are at their best when they are grown
at approximately 20 degrees, with a little sun, and warm nights. Good weather conditions in many places have created a situation where the whole country will imminently get tons of perfect Norwegian strawberries.

‘It’s been a perfect strawberry season so far’ said Gerd Byermoen, Communications Manager at the Information Office for Fruit and Vegetables, to NTB news agency.
The ‘perfect’ strawberry
Byermoen believes there will be an availability of perfect berries during the week. Although southern and eastern Norway have had good berries for a couple of weeks now, the berries are presntly ready for harvest in Hedmark and Oppland. This will increase the amount of strawberries to a degree that the whole country will have access to the prefect Norwegian strawberry.
Different cultivation areas follow each other with the harvest cycle, which contributes to regular deliveries. Byermoen also said that the perfect strawberry weather conditions mean that last year’s gray fungus attack will not be repeated this year.
10 baskets each
In 2016, 4,600 tonnes of Norwegian strawberries were sold. When the Office for Fruit and Vegetables adds import, and direct sales and deducts the industry’s share, they believe that we average 10 baskets each.

‘Strawberries are a wonderful raw material, and the vast majority can thrive with strawberries’, said Byermoen, who specifically recommends strawberries in the barbeque salad.

Strawberries contain more vitamin C than oranges, lots of fiber and few calories.
Importance of good taste
Wild strawberries have been a food source in Europe since Roman times, and in the early 1800s, commercial cultivation began. Korona is the most famous Norwegian variety, but we are constantly experimenting with new varieties.

‘It’s important for Norwegian customers that the berries taste good, while for southern Europeans, the berries are often more for garnish, which imposes different demands on the type of berries,’ said Byersmoen.
In reality, the strawberry is not a berry at all, but a blooming flower containing tiny strawberry seeds that are botanically categorised as nuts.
Soon the raspberries will also arrive
Raspberries come gradually after July. The Agricultural Directorate wrote that full-speed production is expected in two to three weeks, but in Reddal in Aust-Agder, the harvest of raspberries has already begun.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today