The Strawberry Alarm Clock is About to Buzz

About author / Rebecca Michaels

Queen of the desserts and pastry chef extraordinaire; graduate French Culinary Institute; Golden Scoop Award winner; Flying Monkey Bakery founder

Now is the one time of year when everyone in America can get decent berries. Yes, I know, we can get fresh berries all year round now from places south of the Equator. And that's not a bad thing. And I don't have a particular problem with importing produce from other countries, so long as the produce is grown in an environmentally respectful manner and the people who work at those farms are treated in a humane and respectful manner. But there really is no strawberry like a fresh-picked one.

Even at non-peak times of the year, domestic strawberries can be frighteningly large, way too red and just a little scary to eat. You have to wonder what exactly some of these super-farms are sticking in the soil. We are suckers for the biggest, brightest, shiniest, most perfect-looking fruit available. But in fact, many times these 'monster berries' lack that clear and dazzling taste that their smaller, more normal sized and shaped cousins have. I've had strawberries that look like they've just been delivered from a photo shoot that have tasted so sour and flat that not even heaping them in vanilla sugar will make eating them enjoyable.

Organic berries are your best bet. They are more costly than 'traditionally grown' berries (what a shame what that phrase really means!), but berries are one fruit you should be careful about if you are at all concerned about pesticides and other nasty stuff getting into your system. They readily absorb these toxicities. In my humble opinion, buying organic berries is a safe healthy choice and it helps to sustain more appropriate growing practices. So, spend the extra 75 cents. It's definitely worth it.

Good berries don't need much dressing up. They should shine on their own. If you are lucky enough to live near a berry farm, spend a Saturday morning doing some picking. Pick more than you'll need for the next few days, because you're going to freeze the rest. To do this correctly, after washing and drying your berries (cut out the stems and leaves if freezing strawberries), lay them on a sheet pan in your freezer. This way you won’t have one big clump of berries. Once they're set, place the individually frozen berries in a freezer bag and toss them in your freezer for use in a lovely pie in the fall.

Serve your berries as unadorned as possible. Toss strawberries in a little Grand Marnier with some grated orange zest or raspberries with Framboise or Chambord. Serve with something light and crunchy, such as a tuile or a pirouette cookie. Make a trifle using layers of fresh pound cake, berries and lightly flavored vanilla whipped cream. Make it easy on yourself and let those berries do most of the work for you.

Serves/Makes: 4

• 2 pints strawberries, washed and cut in quarters
• 2 cups fruity red wine, such as a Beaujolais
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 scraped vanilla bean
• OR
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract