Strawberry White Pineberry - Fragaria ananassa

The 'White Pineberry' strawberry is an original variety with slightly pinkish white strawberries, highly fragrant, with a sweet strawberry taste and hints of pineapple. It is a non-remontant Chilean variety that has the advantage of being resistant to diseases. Planting is preferably done in autumn for a more abundant harvest the following spring.

Strawberries can be consumed in multiple ways: they can be eaten fresh, with sugar, cream, or sliced thinly and dried before being incorporated into muesli or yogurt. If you have a plentiful harvest, you can also make jams, coulis, pies, ice creams, or sorbets. Strawberries can also be frozen.

There are 3 categories of varieties:

- Woodland or perpetual varieties, producing small fruits from June to October

- Non-remontant varieties with large fruits, blooming once a year in spring, producing very large fruits around June

- Remontant varieties with large fruits, blooming twice a year or continuously, producing large fruits from June to October

Indeed, the wild strawberry or woodland strawberry, present in Roman times and the medieval period, was crossed in the 18th century with a species brought back from Chile, resulting in different varieties with large fruits through successive selections.

The strawberry plant is a hardy perennial belonging to the Rosaceae family. This variety has a sturdy habit, with evergreen, ovate, and dentate trifoliate leaves. It produces small white flowers with a golden heart that transform into large red fruits. Botanically speaking, strawberries are considered pseudocarps, with the achenes (seeds) protruding from the skin.

For harvesting, pick the fruits as they ripen, every 2 or 3 days, ideally in the morning. Strawberries are fragile, so pick them with their peduncle by pinching the stem 1 to 2cm above it. The texture of the fruit is a good indicator of ripeness. It should be firm and yielding to the touch. Strawberries are rich in vitamins and minerals. They can cause urticating effects in some people as they stimulate the release of histamine in the body.