English Strawberries

Suggest you smell the punnet and test for fragrance. In my experience, the fragrant ones are the tastiest. (Covered punnets obviously, but the plastic film usually has tiny holes which lets the fragrance diffuse out. You don't need to get too close, and they should be washed before eating.)

Don't eat them straight out of the fridge either. That kills flavour.

I've been buying the "Wonky" ones at £1 a punnet in Aldi - Scottish and Sonata variety. Really tasty - grandson and I sat last night taking the husks out with a straw (one of his You-tube tips to Granny!!).

I guarantee that you'll find none better than Malling Centenary, developed in England and grown in Kent, they're available in two flushes, early Summer and again in Autumn.

I bought the wonky ones from Aldi as well. I haven’t had strawberries where the husks pulled out for years. Eaten immediately with full fat Greek yoghurt and a sprinkle of sweetener. They were ?

M&S are pushing the sake of Red Diamond strawberries only available in their stores.
Grower is David Leeds.
They were so hard even after leaving on the kitchen counter for 3 days. I was so disappointed in the taste (sharp not sweet as advertised) and the huge hard hull that I took the remainder back to the store. It was like eating an unpeeled cucumber.
M&S offered a £10 gift card but I declined. It's not about money, it's about letting them know when things are wrong.

sake sale

grannyticktock
I totally agree with your comment re Malling Centenary. The very cream of the crop. ???

The proper English Strawberry, the one we all remember cannot be found for commercial sale, unless perhaps PYO or a very small nursery etc.

The reason being that they are such delicate treasures that they do not travel or keep. The ones developed for commercial sale look wonderful but have hearts of stone and skin as tough as old boots.

The answer is to grow your own. They do very well in pots so no excuse unless you have zero access to outdoors. Then perhaps you can beg some from friends, or family.

The queen of all strawberries is imo Sovereign, but everyone’s taste is different.

In my experience strawberries need a lot of sun in the last few weeks to develop perfume and taste. Which we don't often get here. We grew them in SW France.
One exception - if you're lucky enough to find some wild strawberries in the woods they're usually tasty.

For anyone thinking of growing their own, I recommend the variety Cambridge Vigour. They're a smaller, paler variety than those found in supermarkets but beat them hands down on flavour. We bought half a dozen plants 18 years ago and now have a raised bed 15ft x 5ft full of healthy productive plants. They take a bit of work with propagating runners and keeping the bed weed free, but for those with the space and energy it's worth it

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