Strawberries: That’s My Jam!

Strawberry season is around the corner. Coming just after Mother’s Day and the last risk of frost, I’m ready for their arrival along with the true warm days of spring. Fresh New Jersey-grown strawberries are just as wonderful as Jersey tomatoes. The grocery store options simply cannot compare with our locally grown strawberries (and later, our tomatoes) in season.

Local Farms to Buy From or U-Pick

There are many opportunities to purchase strawberries in our area directly from local farms.

By the way, picking your own strawberries is a great family outing with children. The fruit is low to the ground, so easy to pick without any pesky thorns.

East Windsor

• Lee Turkey Farm

Hopewell

• Kerr’s Kornstand
• Chickadee Creek Farm
• and the new Foraging Forest

Lawrence Township

• Terhune Orchards
• Village Farms

Pennington

• Little Acres Farm Stand

Plainsboro

• Stults Farm

West Windsor

• Tindal Farms

Local Farmers Markets

While on the topic of shopping local farms, most municipalities in Mercer County have a seasonal Farmers Market where you can purchase produce directly from our area farmers. The markets allow you access to smaller farms and also local artisan vendors.

Ewing/Trenton

• Trenton Farmers Market
• Capital City Farmers Market
• Greenwood Ave. Farmers Market

Pennington/Hopewell

• Pennington Farmers Market

Princeton

• Princeton Farmers’ Market

Robbinsville

• Robbinsville Farmers’ Market

West Windsor

• West Windsor Community Farmers’ Market

Strawberries on Strawberries Recipe

Here is my unusual - but simple - family recipe. It is a fresh strawberry sauce over freshly picked berries. You’ll need:

2 pints freshly picked & washed strawberries, divided
¼ - ½ cup of white sugar, or to taste
¼ teaspoon of lemon juice

Trim leaves & stems off of the berries, slicing them in half as you go. Place half of them in a serving bowl. Place the other half in a blender or food processor with the sugar and lemon juice. Very briefly blend together. You can blend smoothly or leave small pieces. This is the sauce. Pour it over the sliced berries and serve.

If you like strawberry shortcake you’re halfway there. Break up biscuits, scones or angel food cake into individual bowls. Add sliced strawberries to each bowl, then pour over some of the fresh sauce. Add a dollop of whipped cream. Enjoy!

Freezing

Unfortunately, fresh strawberries spoil quickly. After you’ve finished eating your fresh and washed strawberries out of hand and enjoyed fresh strawberry recipes, you can freeze the rest.

Freezing is easily done by washing the berries, trimming off the stems and leaves, and slicing them in half; if desired. Spread them over a cookie sheet and place that in the freezer. When frozen, remove the berries from the sheet and put them into freezer bags. They’ll not stick together, so in the future, you can easily take out as much or as little as you’d like for a recipe.

Book Recommendations

A strawberry-themed cookbook:

• Strawberry Love: 45 sweet and savory recipes for shortcakes, hand pies, salads, salsas, and more by Cynthia Stevens Graubart

A cookbook all about berries:

• Simple Fruit: seasonal recipes for baking, poaching, sautéing, and roasting by Laurie Pfalzer and Charity Burggraaf

Teach your children how to grow and prepare berries, recipes included:

• The Berry Book by Gail Gibbons

Speaking of growing berries, (and other fruit), here are some titles from the catalog to help you get started:

• Grow Your Own Mini Fruit Garden: planting and tending small fruit trees and berries in gardens and containers by Christy Wilhelmi
• The Fruit Gardener's Bible: a complete guide to growing fruits and nuts in the home garden by Lewis Hill and Leonard P. Perry
• Growing Berries and Currants: a directory of varieties and how to cultivate them successfully by Richard Bird and Kate Whiteman
• Edible landscaping by Rosalind Creasy
• What's Wrong with My Fruit Garden?: 100% organic solutions for berries, trees, nuts, vines, and tropicals by David C. Deardorff, David and Kathryn B. Wadsworth
• Good Berry, Bad Berry: who's edible, who's toxic, and how to tell the difference (finding and identifying the most common wild berries of North America) by Helen Yoest

- by Kim Luke, Hightstown Branch