Fragrantly sweet strawberries are the most popular type of berry fruit in the world. Although they have become increasingly available year-round, they are at the peak of their season from April through July when they are the most delicious and most abundant.

Types:

Festival, Florida & Sweet Charlie, & Fortuna

Festival; Selected for early production in winter-spring fruiting regions, enters into production ten days, later than Sweet Charlie but two three weeks earlier than Camarosa. High percentage of marketable, well-shaped, uniform fruit early in the season. Holds fruit size during entire season.

The Strawberry Festival produces bright red, conical fruit that maintains its medium to large size throughout the production cycle. The fruit is especially suitable for presentation in 250 gr. punnets. The fruit has excellent dessert and aromatic quality, superior to Camarosa but not as accentuated as Sweet Charlie. The fruit is similar to Camarosa in firmness and shelf life. The open architecture of the plant and long fruit stems facilitate both pollination and the fruit harvest. The fruit has a consistent red color in its interior, making it an excellent candidate for the freezer market. Total yields are greater than Sweet Charlie. Festival’s superior disease resistance and superior pollination under cool, humid conditions result in a higher percentage of marketable fruit than Camarosa, especially in the early part of the season.

Fortuna; Fortuna strawberries are firm yet juicy, achieving the perfect desired combination. The berries are known for their dark red exteriors and their smooth, glossy appearance. Fortuna strawberries flavor is delicious as they are not too sweet or too sour. They are known for their good balance of acids and sugars. Available from December until March

Sweet Charlie; 'Sweet Charlie' strawberry (Fragaria xananassa) offers strawberry growers in egypt, and  other areas with relatively mild winter climates, a short-day cultivar that is early fruiting and produces fruit that has a distinctively sweet flavor and is resistant to anthracnose (caused by Colletotrichum acutatum). Plants of 'Sweet Charlie' generally start producing ripe fruit about two weeks earlier than 'Camarosa', a University of California release, which is currently the standard, main-season cultivar in west

Selecting:

As strawberries are very perishable, they should only be purchased a few days prior to use. Choose berries that are firm, plump, free of mold, and which have a shiny, deep red color and attached green caps. Since strawberries, once picked, do not ripen further, avoid those that are dull in color or have green or yellow patches since they are likely to be sour and of inferior quality. Full ripe berries will not only have the peak flavor and texture, but will have more nutrients. "Full ripe" in this case means optimally ripe, not overripe. Both under-ripe and overripe strawberries have been shown to have lower vitamin C content and decreased phytonutrient content in comparison to optimally ripe strawberries.

We believe that the surprisingly fragile and perishable nature of strawberries is especially important!

Storage:

If you are storing sizable amounts of fruits and vegetables "including strawberries in your refrigerator, you may want to consider setting your refrigerator to a lower-than-maximum temperature setting in the range of 36-38°F (2-3°C).

The very fragile nature of strawberries means that great care should be taken in their handling and storage. Before storing in the refrigerator, remove any strawberries that are molded or damaged so that they will not contaminate others. Place the unwashed and unhulled berries in a sealed container to prevent unnecessary loss of humidity. Strawberries will maintain excellent nutrient content if properly stored in a refrigerator for two days. Make sure not to leave strawberries at room temperature or exposed to sunlight for too long, as this will cause them to spoil.

To freeze strawberries, first gently wash them and pat them dry. You can either remove the cap and stem or leave them intact, depending upon what you will do with them once they are thawed. Arrange them in a single layer on a flat pan or cookie sheet and place them in the freezer. Once frozen, transfer the berries to a heavy plastic bag and return them to the freezer where they will keep for up to one year. Adding a bit of lemon juice to the berries will help to preserve their color. While strawberries can be frozen whole, cut or crushed, they will retain a higher level of their vitamin C content if left whole.

Packing:

• Punnets: of 2.5Kg CNT (10 Punnets*250gm) or 2.0Kg CNT (8 Punnets*250gm)
• Any packing as per requirement

Availability: