This is just one more misconception to the myth that bigger is better, but in reverse, LOL. I have not found that size (or the lack thereof) makes any difference in the taste of a strawberry.

I suggest that he clean the itty ones!

The reason he thinks that way is because it used to be true....and somethings our grandmother's tell us we carry on for long past the age of reason!!
I remember, as a kid picking those tiny little wild berries that were way sweeter then any commercial berries...and I just got through with a big carton of California strawberries that were huge and lovely...but had no flavor...however they were pretty for a plate garnish!!
Linda C

I personally don't find any difference between large and small strawberries. We have a small strawberry patch here that yields a few strawberries each summer. They used to be big and sweet and now they are still sweet but so pitifully small that they're not worth picking.

On the other hand, if you compare the strawberries bought in the store to the pick-it-yourself ones, the freshly picked ones are definitely sweeter than store bought. To me, store bought strawberries just don't really have much flavor.

Al

I find the best ones are red all the way through, the ones that have a white center are tasteless, which is most of those in the store. I pick my own now, for jam, etc.

I agree, the big ones in the store are good for decorating, but not eating.

I think it's true that the smaller VARIETIES used to be (and maybe still are) sweeter, just like every fruit that has been bred for grocery store good looks and uniformity have lost a little flavor in the process.

But out of a patch of the same cultivar? I suspect he's wasting someone's time!

LindaC, I agree that the little wild strawberries were way sweeter. I remember my mother sitting forever taking the caps off the wild ones and making preserves with them, and you can imagine how many it took. So good!

jude

It's the variety of the berry, not the size, that determines the taste. Well, that and other things like soil quality, growing conditions, rainfall amounts, all the things that affect any agricultural product.

The smaller homegrown strawberries have always had more flavor than the big ones from the store, just like nearly all homegrown produce tastes better than the ones which have been shipped from somewhere else.

So, different sized berries, from the same patch and of the same variety? Nope, no difference in flavor based on size. I'm with Eileen, make him clean the little ones!

Annie

There is nothing like the little, itty bitty English woodland unhybridized strawberries! But smaller berries from the same bushes as bigger berries?

I get so annoyed when they try to palm off those flavorless strawberries on us here in California (about an hour from where the strawberries live)!! You should see me sniffing the boxes to see if they're any good! Linda, my apologies on behalf of my state.

Unfortunately, real strawberries perish as soon as they're picked and don't travel at all. So they bred hardy, large strawberries, which aren't always all that tasty. Of the commercial varieties, sometimes the gargantuan ones are the sweetest, but it's early for California strawberries, hence the wooden ones.

Well I picked up a package of large Driscoll's today and it was the first time, in a very long time, that I could eat them without adding sugar... Oh course I had to add a good dollop of whipped cream... lol

As for the tiny wild ones, in my back yard... Um... Can you say seedy cardboard... LOL

Hugs,
Rita

Early Glow is a variety of strawberry that has intense strawberry flavor and comes closest to the wild alpine strawberries. It is a smaller berry and the only berry that a certain company (that I used to work for) has used for their preserves for almost 30 years.

I agree with those that say there is no difference in flavor between large and small berries off the same plant.

Nancy

I'm in the camp of let your husband do the hulling. I remember when my DH came home with 13lbs of tiny cherries. He didn't understand why I started crying until he looked at the clock later that night when we were prepping them for canning. At least we were working together.

Mmmmmm....the strawberry plot at the end of my street is gearing up for the Spring season!

I can't even be bothered with the strawberries they sell in the stores now that I live in the Central Valley where such plots abound. Nothing you can find, even in the best produce store can match the flavor of those I buy, still sun-warm from the local stands opened up in the street-side corner of the acres of plants.

And the jam!! I never cared for strawberry jam until I made some (for my husband) from those berries!

Big or small doesn't seem to matter much as far as I can tell.

I agree, Rachel, nothing is like fresh off the vine, I pick my own here and make jam. I had a friend tell me that after you eat homemade jam, Smuckers just tastes "red". LOL

So, cookie, I think you have a consensus. Make your husband do it!

Annie

There is some science behind the size vs. flavor debate, but I'm not familiar with it. It takes energy to grow big, but it also takes energy to produce flavor compounds. At some point, there is a tradeoff for the plant, so a lot depends on the soil and moisture and climate conditions too, for that spot and for that season that year. But I think what other folks have said it that there is also a lot of variety among cultivars of strawberries. Again, strawberries grown for shipping long distances and for looking good in the store don't necessarily taste the best, but I don't know much about strawberry cultivars and flavor either. I do know that there are two species of wild strawberries, the roundish styrofoam woody kind, which are the wood strawberry (sorry, don't have the scientific name off the top of my head) and the more conical shaped alpine strawberries, which are the super delicious ones. I'm going to try and start some alpine ones from seed this year.

When I was a child we grew strawberries commercially (old delicate varieties that would never stand up to today's shipping). The berries from the last picking were small and exceptionally sweet, the best for jam.

However, that was partly a function of seasonality as the first June pickings ripened in cooler wetter weather while the last picking came in the heat of early July. Longer days, more heat and less water = sweeter smaller berries.

Carol

Strawberries need to be replanted every so many years..not sure what the "rule of thumb" is...but Al, it's about time you composted the ones you have and plant some new varieties.

I prefer the flavor and performance of one of the three varieties I have in my garden. I have to tromp out there to look at the kinds I have.

I have quite a few Shuksun's planted and they are runner sending monsters..and the berries are big and red and beautiful and taste like strawberries but they are not excellant. But are great freezing berries. I use them for strawberry freezer jam and smoothies. My other two are Everbearing and are much more flavorful for eating out of hand or on icecream or in a bowl of cereal with raw milk!!

Here's some person observations from my many years of strawberry growing:

June bearing strawberries will have larger bigger leaved and longer stemmed plants and send out lots and lots of runners. Everbearings will be smaller leaved and more compact in growing nature and because they put more energy into keeping the berries coming will very rarely send out runners.

Yeah, I'm sure one "Okay, you prep them" while picking will probably change his tune. But if he knows me well enough he will call me on my bluff. Yes, I use the kitchen to escape the kids at times! He is also probably thinking of those little wild berries he picks on walks in the bush. I avoid these berries as they are on a dog path so I can't say if they are extra sweet or tasty. Enough said.

cookie thats a new twist on 'watch out where those doggies go.....don't you eat that yellow [strawberries instead of snow]'

Those that said the variety is what determines the sweetness of a strawberry (annie, nancy, & others) are correct. I've grown strawberries since 1990, first pick-your-own, then just for our family, and now we have about 1200 for the family's eating and preserves and we (well, mostly I) pick the rest to sell. Our favorite is Early Glow because you can't find another berry as sweet and we've tried many varieties throughout the years. The first few pickings of Early Glow there are decent sized berries, but for the remainder of their season, they're small. I prefer a small Early Glow berry any day over some of the larger varieties.

The other varieties eventually produce small berries at the end of their season too, but they don't compare to Early Glow.

Our season doesn't start until mid to late May, but you're making my mouth water thinking about those luscious berries dangling from the plants waiting to be snatched up and eaten! Ummm strawberries.

Country Smile, lucky you the Mid to late May...we are usually around Father's Day..so that's mid June!

There is one variety I go pick at the U pick..It might be the Glow you are all talking about..the Leaves have a bit of yellow striping to the them...Those are my favorite and are a bit later..end of June first of July...