Red, warm, and worth the wait

UK strawberries have a short, brilliant season—roughly late May to early September, with the sweetest weeks landing in June and July. Supermarket strawberries are available year-round, but they're bred for shelf life and shipped from Spain or North Africa. A sun-warmed strawberry picked at a local farm tastes like a completely different fruit: fragrant, sweet, slightly tart, and gone in a week. Here's how to find the best ones and make the most of them.

How to choose at the stall

• Colour all the way through. A white or green tip means it was picked too early—strawberries don't ripen further off the plant.
• Fragrance first. If you can smell them before you see them, that's a good sign. No scent usually means no flavour.
• Firm but not hard. A gentle give when pressed lightly. Mushy patches mean they're past their best.
• Caps fresh and green. Wilted, brown caps suggest the berries have been sitting for days.
• Size doesn't equal flavour. Smaller berries are often sweeter and more intense than oversized ones.

UK varieties worth knowing

You won't always see variety names at market stalls, but if you do:

• Elsanta — the UK commercial workhorse. Reliable flavour, good shelf life, widely grown.
• Sonata — deeper colour and flavour than Elsanta. Excellent for eating fresh.
• Malling Centenary — large, sweet, bred at East Malling Research in Kent. Outstanding fresh.
• Florence — a later-season variety (July onwards) with a rich, complex flavour.
• Cambridge Favourite — an older variety, smaller fruit, intense flavour. Often found at PYO farms and allotments.
• Mara des Bois — a French alpine cross grown by some UK farms. Small, intensely aromatic, almost perfumed.

Ask your grower what they're selling—many will happily let you taste before you buy.

Storage: they don't wait

Strawberries are delicate. Treat them gently and eat them quickly:

• Same day or next day: Spread in a single layer on a plate or tray lined with kitchen paper. Don't wash until you're ready to eat—moisture accelerates mould.
• Two to three days: Refrigerate uncovered or loosely covered. Remove any damaged or mouldy berries immediately; they'll spoil their neighbours.
• Longer: Hull and freeze on a flat tray, then transfer to a bag. Frozen strawberries lose their texture but keep their flavour—perfect for smoothies, baking, and sauces.

Simple preparations

The best strawberries need almost nothing. A few ideas:

• Just eat them. Warm from the sun or cool from the fridge, a ripe strawberry doesn't need embellishment.
• Macerate. Hull and halve, toss with a teaspoon of sugar and a squeeze of lemon. Leave 20 minutes. The berries release a gorgeous syrup. Serve with cream, yoghurt, or over ice cream.
• Crush onto toast. Ripe berries on good bread with a smear of ricotta or mascarpone.
• Quick compote. Simmer hulled berries with a splash of water and a little sugar for five minutes. Spoon over porridge, pancakes, or pavlova.
• Freeze for later. Blend frozen strawberries into smoothies, fold into muffin batter, or simmer into a winter sauce for pancakes.

Making the season last

When strawberries are at their cheapest and most abundant (usually late June), buy extra and preserve:

• Freezer bags. Hull, tray-freeze, bag. Use within six months for best flavour.
• Quick jam. Equal parts strawberries and sugar, a squeeze of lemon, simmered until thick. No pectin needed for a soft-set fridge jam that keeps for three to four weeks.
• Strawberry vinegar. Steep bruised or overripe berries in white wine vinegar for a week. Strain. Brilliant in salad dressings.
• Dried strawberry crisps. Slice thin and dehydrate at 60°C for six to eight hours. A chewy, sweet snack.

See our preserving guide for more techniques.

Grower's notes (for home growers)

Strawberries are one of the most rewarding crops for beginners:

• Plant bare-root runners in autumn or early spring. They'll fruit the following summer.
• Spacing: 30–40 cm apart in rows, or in containers, hanging baskets, or grow bags.
• Straw mulch under ripening fruit keeps berries clean and reduces slug damage.
• Net against birds once fruit starts to colour—they'll strip a bed in hours.
• Runners (long stems with baby plants) appear in summer. Peg them into pots of compost to propagate new plants for free, or trim them to focus the parent plant's energy on fruiting.
• Replace plants every three to four years when yields decline.

What to ask a farmer

• "When were these picked?" (same-day is common at PYO and good markets)
• "Which variety is this, and what's it best for?"
• "When's the peak of your season this year?"
• "Do you have any seconds or jam-quality berries at a lower price?"

Ready for more?

Plan a pick-your-own outing to harvest your own, check what else is in season with our month-by-month guide, or learn storage techniques to keep your haul fresh longer. Strawberry season is short—make every punnet count.