Exclusive:
Luxury department store Harrods has gone viral for their £180 strawberries that are shipped all the way from Kyoto in Japan – with each strawberry working out at an eyewatering £7.50
Taste testing strawberries from Aldi and Harrods
Strawberries have long been known as the food of love, but in iconic London department store Harrods that love does not come cheap.
Truly scrumptious they may be, but at £180 – or £7.50 per fruit – the price of the super-posh strawberry tray is so eye-wateringly high that it’s been trending online.
The staggeringly expensive strawberries have been imported from Kyoto in Japan, having been harvested on Shibuya Farm. The Japanese Kyo no Shizuku Ichigo strawberries are carefully selected on size, sweetness, and shape, ensuring that each one is visually perfect and they are beautifully packaged in a presentation box.
According to Shibuya Farm, the fruit is harvested after midnight and before sunrise, so that every strawberry is fully ripened. Then they go through a process in the fridge room, before being packaged and transported directly to Harrods in London.
They are also said to have numerous health benefits, from improving bone health to boosting short term memory. And, grown in limited quantities, they are a rare delicacy for those willing to splash the cash. But are they really worth £180?
We tested them alongside a punnet of Aldi’s much more affordable £2.25 Nature’s Pick version, which work out at 32p per strawberry – or 80 times less than the Harrods version. The high-end strawberries are sourced from specialist growers, imported directly to Harrods and displayed in their famous food hall alongside exotic melons and other fruit.
The perfectly ripe strawberries were very sweet, tasting ike a traditional British version in peak season. While they were soft and juicy, to me, they were no better than a British strawberry from a local farm. They were large and rosy red, but while the Aldi strawberries, imported from Spain, didn’t look as appealing, their price tag was definitely sweeter!
With the Aldi strawberries, the quality can vary. Some punnets might contain smaller or slightly misshapen berries, and the taste may not always be as consistent. I did notice that the £2.25 fruit were noticeably different in flavour. The strawberries tasted underripe and less fresh than their Japanese counterparts.
But while the Aldi strawberries did not live up to the £180 Harrods alternative, I would rather sacrifice taste rather than pay that sum for 24 strawberries.
Taste Verdict: Harrods 5/5 Aldi 2/5
Price Verdict: Aldi 4/5 Harrods 1/5
