High on my Retirement Bucket List is to spend a spring following the strawberry harvest from the moment it begins in Florida until the moment it ends in Maine. I just love strawberries!
This week strawberries started showing up at a couple of Floyd's road side stands. They aren't Floyd county strawberries yet but they are close to home. Just south of Floyd the Blue Ridge Mountains drop abruptly into North Carolina. It's a steep escarpment that appears dramatically in sight whether your approach is by air into Roanoke, driving north up Interstate 77, or actually weaving your way up to Floyd from the south on one of the many back roads or Rt 8. This sudden drop in altitude allows Patrick County, our immediate neighbor just a few miles to the south, to be in a much warmer growing zone. Thus, they bring many of their fruits to our markets 2-3 weeks ahead of our own Floyd County fruit.
I start preserving (and eating!) strawberries as soon as they show up. I freeze, dehydrate, jam, and whole preserve in syrup. This post will cover dehydrating and freezing, the two simplest preservation methods for strawberries. Strawberry jam, leather, and whole strawberry preserves will have their own posts.
