Right after I make the comment that berries were one of the things I was glad to get back to while in the States, I find these at the feira.Some of the biggest strawberries I have ever seen. I took a picture of one next to an orange so that you can get the idea. I know it is green and looks like a lime, but trust me, it is an orange.
Relative to other produce, they were a bit pricey at R$4.00 for a package, but I couldn’t pass them up.The real test was the look on the inside. We can find big berries like this at grocery stores in the states, but normally they are red on the outside and white on the inside. Not to mention practically flavorless.
These strawberries passed the test though. They were red and sweet all the way through.
I’m not sure how they did it, but I have to admit I have my concerns. I don’t know how in the world you’d grow strawberries this big without injecting them with some sort of mega fruit steroid. However, maybe there is a variety here that grows that large.
Unfortunately, these didn’t come from the certified organic booth which only increases my doubts about their natural-ness. They definitely were tasty though.
2 comments:
Lori,
I have argued with my American brother for 15 years about the taste and look of Brazilian strawberries, you right on, they are red in the middle and sweeter...I am sure it has to do with the land mineral contents...
I have been to both strawberries producing area in the states and they are very different from Brazil, first of all, they are mostly irrigated artificially, the soil is very sandy, and in Brazil the soil where strawberries are produced are usually dark rich soil and little irrigating goes on once it rains more often.
That makes most of the difference...
But just so you know, large strawberries like the ones you showed are not a typical thing in Brazil, up until the 90's they were unheard of and during president Collor's administration the imports were largely opened and you could find EVERYTHING for overseas, which was new for Brazilians, so in Sao Paulo were I am from, you could find these very expensive GIGANTIC strawberries imported from California, and it became a trendy, hip thing, to top your cakes with the GIGANTIC California strawberries and everybody would be talking about your birthday party with those GIGANTIC strawberries, so eventually, smart Brazilian farmers found a way to produce them locally, just like you confirmed they are still considered a luxury item...the big ones I mean...
In and around Sao Paulo you can buy large crates of regular sized strawberries for pennies...
Kind regards
Ray
Actually, these are the best berries I've been able to find in Brazil so far. The ones in the US grocery stores aren't very good, but the ones grown in my dad's garden and the ones I get at u-pick patches are wonderful!
Unfortunately, the ones I've seen in Brazil in the grocery stores are barely even red. Maybe it is different in Sao Paulo.
Thanks for all the helpful info!
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