Spring Strawberries
Spring strawberries
Local strawberries appear late February in the Luberon with different varieties continuing through the summer
The strawberries of Carpentras are the first of the season, signalling the start of spring in Provence. . One of the great things about living in the south of France is that strawberry season begins early and ends late, often not until October. Strawberries have been grown here, mostly around Carpentras, for about a hundred years and Carpentras played a role in the evolution of the strawberry from a wild to a cultivated plant. Their earlier ripening is exceptional due to its sunny, dry and temperate climate and clay soil. The Carpentras strawberry is a protected name. It ensures the strawberry you are buying comes from the area around Carpentras. It could be round (like the Pajaro or Clery varieties) or more elongated in shape (Gariguette or Ciflorette).
Where to buy the strawberries of Carpentras? The best place is any of the hundreds of markets in Provence, from the smallest village to the largest town.
If you can’t find the Carpentras ones, local strawberries wherever you are in Provence will be delicious too. The varieties on sale depend on the time of year.
Today several varieties are grown and more than a dozen varieties are sold on the markets. so depending on the variety, the strawberry season can last from early spring into late autumn.
Prized French variety the Gariguette is usually the first to hit the shelves, and it is favoured for its sweet flavour and aroma. It is by far the most-sold, most-popular strawberry in France, The delicate flesh means that they only keep for a day or two but it also suitable for cooking..
The Ciflorette is usually the second variety to come to market, around mid-March, through to mid-July. This variety is the most aromatic, often slightly longer in shape, with a red-orange colour.
The Charlotte variety is usually the largest, and often the sweetest. Its season lasts from mid-April to November, With a woody, sweet flavour, it is also most likely to have the deep red and “heart shape” that many see as the typical strawberry.
The Mara du Bois variety is usually the latest to arrive. It is available from early June to November, It has a strong red colour, and the floral quality of the wild fraises des bois yet the flesh is firm making it also good for cooking.
Visitors are often drawn to the deep red imported strawberries rather than the paler early-season French varieties (the slim gariguette and the plumper ciflorette both ripen to an orangey color) yet what the Carpentras strawberries lack in redness they make up for in sweetness.
According to the experts, strawberries should ideally be eaten as soon as possible after purchase as the fruit loses its flavour in the refrigerator. We have several bushes in the courtyard and potager and I love picking and eating them straight from the bush.
Once I have found my close-to-ideal strawberries, I rarely do much to them. possibly serving them with a vanilla custard poured over the berries and just browned on top, so that the berries are barely warmed.
If you must freeze them it is best to do so with the charlotte variety, as their flesh will withstand the process better than the other kinds.
In the spring, several villages have strawberry festivals, Carpentras, Pernes, Velleron which can include strawberry tastings, cookery demonstrations and even a parade by the Carpentras Strawberry brotherhood.