Strawberries!

It's strawberry season!

And there are so many varieties to choose from... and the prices are great too. But some are more flavorful than others - and some are outright bland.

The Wednesday Santa Monica Farmer's Market had these varieties:

Camarosa - $2/basket $5/3-pack
Those are the best priced ones, and the ones i see most at the farmer's markets around town. They are large and plump, but sometimes they are flavorless. One vendor from Oxnard said his are best because of the milder weather...

But some are much more expensive. Why? I decided to find out for myself.

I started talking to Thomas at this one stand that was selling Ranunculus (one of my faves) and strawberries. He had two varieties both at the same price:

Seascape & Gaviota - $4/basket $11/3-pack
I tried one of each - they were both good - but i think i liked the Gaviota better... they were all mixed in together, but some baskets had more Gaviotas than Seascapes... He could tell the difference since he knows what to look for... I'm still a novice so i deferred to the expert - I asked him to put together a nice basket for me... He grabbed a basket - but then proceeded to hand-pick some strawberries from other baskets to the point that the basket overflowed!

Yay! I like Thomas... I'll get my strawberries from him again next time I go to SM.

Another variety that I saw at only one stand was the Chandler - ($4/basket $11/3-pack). Apparently, they aren't very hardy or long lasting. They must be consumed within 2 days. I'll try them next time just for the sake of experimenting.

However - at the Hollywood farmer's market on Ivar (sundays) there's this one vendor that sells a hybrid that they haven't named yet - it goes by the number 269. They told me it's a cross between a Seascape and Chandler. A few years ago, I'd bought a basket of these strawberries on Larchmont - and they were the best I'd ever had. I will try them again this Sunday... again - for the sake of experimenting.

but i'm really just waiting for Boysenberries to come back - they are my absolute favorite berries in the world (such a short season).