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Strawberries are almost a staple ingredient in British kitchens during the summer, with people literally lining up to pick-their-own, or get their hands on the juiciest punnet from the local supermarket. But when are strawberries in season in the UK? Is there a specific strawberry season? And where do those out-of-season strawberries come from?
Why don’t we take a closer look?
The answers might even surprise you!
When Are Strawberries in Season in the UK?
You can usually buy strawberries from supermarkets all-year-round, but outside of ‘peak’ British strawberry season, these will often be imported strawberries.
The best season for the sweetest, tastiest, most juiciest British-grown strawberries, is the hotter summer months – from late April and early May right through to mid-to-late October.
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What’s the Best Month for Strawberries UK?
Although there is quite a big window of opportunity to tasty strawberries in the UK, the best months are always the warmest, sunniest ones – usually June and July, but often verging into August, too.
Experts believe that there is no one “best” month for strawberries in the UK, especially with newer technologies and growing techniques. You will be able to buy tasty, sweet strawberries from most places between May and October these days, but that hasn’t always been the case.
Right up until the middle of the 1990s, strawberries were only readily available in the UK for a very short window – right in the middle of summer, and only for a couple of the warmest weeks. This gave way to the “best month” for strawberries in the UK.
The UK’s climate has changed a little now. The country gets longer and warmer summers, with the hottest temperature records broken virtually every year. This, combined with better techniques and technologies, has allowed for a longer peak strawberry season, and it means that you get to enjoy them all summer long – and all-year-long too, in some cases.
Can You Get British Strawberries in Winter in the UK?
Just a couple of years ago, the answer to this question would probably have been: no.
These days, however, strawberries can be grown in the UK all-year-long. I have personally grown strawberries in my garden and greenhouse in winter, although they aren’t quite as sweet as their summer cousins.
Image by azerbaijan_stockers on Freepik
Supermarkets and other food producers and manufacturers have been focusing on getting juicy and sweet strawberries to grow in the UK during winter, and it appears that Aldi has cracked it. At the beginning of 2022, they announced a partnership with Bradon Soft Fruit Farm in Somerset, to produce sweet, tasty, plump strawberries even in the heart of the coldest and wettest of British winters.
At the moment, the strawberries you get in UK supermarkets during winter are probably not grown in the UK. If you take a peek at the label, you’ll often find that they have been imported from sunnier climates, such as Egypt, Morocco, Spain and Israel, amongst others.
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