Have you noticed that the berries that come from California keep getting bigger and bigger and BIGGER? Does it seem to you that the bigger they get, the more tasteless they become?
I heard a story a couple of weeks ago on National Public Radio about how California strawberries are grown. They nearly all come from one intensively farmed area and guess what! Just about all the plants are clones!
Mickey's Produce on Jefferson Circle in Oak Ridge has been carrying Tennessee strawberries this spring. I thought all the Tennessee berries were gone, but Mickey's had more yesterday.
There's nothing like the taste of a real strawberry grown in good old Tennessee dirt!
Oh, I know, they're not nearly as BIG as those tasteless and cloned monstrosities from California. Who cares? Not me! It's all about taste in my book.
Driving away from Mickey's yesterday, this little rhyme flitted through my head:
Those Golden State berries
Don't taste like they should
They're spongy and bland
And not any good
They're more manufactured
Than they are grown
I heard on the news
They all come from clones
Give me strawberries
That taste like the earth
Small, red and juicy
From Tennessee dirt!
Later this week, I'll write about Mommy Jean's company strawberry dessert. It's delicious and makes a beautiful presentation as well.
Hope ya'll have a good weekend.
Martha Maria
copyright Martha Maria, June 2, 2012