The Magic of Strawberries

Chef Ken Frank – He loves the Napa Valley and lives to eat.

Just-picked, red, ripe, sweet strawberries fresh from a roadside stand are surely one of the biggest bargains in the kitchen. Modern agriculture has done for strawberries what it has done for tomatoes; you can find red ones in a supermarket all year round. The thing is, they have no flavor and are a complete waste of time. In late spring, when the showers are over and the sun has had a chance to pump its energy into the plants, our local strawberries turn magical – deep red to the core and so sweet they refuse sugar. I can easily eat a basket on the drive back from the stand, throwing the hulls out the window.

Strawberries are pretty easy to grow in the backyard here too. Flavorful varieties such as Chandler that are now rarely grown commercially are worth the effort,  and a bed once established will propagate forever if you manage the runners.

Even more rewarding are the alpine strawberries or “Fraises des Bois.” They are finicky, so fragile that picked ripe they’re only good for a few hours and fantastically expensive if you can find them in a market. However, their intense almost candied perfume and taste is a treat like no other. Simply sprinkled on freshly spun vanilla ice cream is the most you need to do to them.

If you‘re getting bored gorging yourself on strawberries, there are a number of interesting things to do with them to break the monotony. Strawberries in Red Wine is a French Classic and so appropriate here in Napa Valley. You should consider making your own jam. By all means get a few flats and make enough to get you through next winter. A few hours of labor will bring a smile to your face well into the New Year. If you’re in a hurry, one of my favorite tricks is quick and easy; I call it sautéed strawberries. It’s essentially instant jam, it’s great with crêpes and whipped cream, or spooned over ice cream for a hot strawberry sundae.

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