Households are being warned of a so-called ‘giant’ bumper crop of strawberries in the UK this summer as growers say shoppers may struggle to fit the fruit in their mouths
Brits have been issued a bizarre warning over strawberries following an unexpectedly sunny spring. Whether you love to dip them into sugar, drown them in double cream, or blend them into a smoothie – strawbs are one of the nation’s favourite fruits – and a clear sign that summer is just around the corner,
Supermarkets including Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Asda and M&S, have already started filling their shelves with the popular food this month – but shoppers may have noticed a slight change. This year, the fruit seems to have had a huge growth spurt.
Speaking to The Guardian, UK producers have revealed ‘perfect’ weather conditions have resulted in a crop of ‘giant’ strawberries that are ‘too big to fit in your mouth. Operations director at the Summer Berry Company Bartosz Pinkosz says the fruit is between 10-20 per cent bigger than usual, admitting that he’s ‘never seen anything like it’ in his 20-year career.
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“We had the darkest January and February since the 70s but then the brightest March and April since 1910,” Bartosz said. “From March onwards it was really kind of perfect for tunnel strawberries. The berries are between 10 per cent and 20 per cent larger.”
Along with record-breaking levels of sunlight, the UK has also witnessed several mini heatwaves – with temperatures exceeding 25C. However, in classic British fashion, downpours of rain are expected to quash the heat in the coming days.
According to Birmingham Live, some of the strawberries from this year’s crop weigh a whopping 50g. The announcement will be well-received by tennis fans heading to Wimbledon this year, where a staggering 1.92 million strawberries are served every year.
British Berry Growers’ chair Nick Marston said the giant strawberries have ‘really great flavour and sugar content’ – but confirms that not all punnets will include huge berries that are 20 per cent bigger than average. “The slower the development of the fruits, the more time to expand the cells and create the bigger berry,” he added.
“What we are now seeing is something I have never seen in 19 years, which is consistently larger berries.” Nick confessed he’d never witnessed a harvest ‘produce such large berries consistently’ – with some strawberries growing to the size of plums and kiwis.
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While everybody knows how delicious strawberries are, there health benefits are often overlooked. The fruit, which originated in Europe in the 18th century, are a great source of vitamin C and manganese – and are reach in antioxidants which could help control your blood sugar levels.
“Fibre comprises around 26 per cent of the carb content of strawberries,” explains Healthline. “One 100g serving of strawberries provides two grams of fibre — both soluble and insoluble. Dietary fibres are important to feed the friendly bacteria in your gut and improve digestive health. They are also useful for weight loss and can help prevent many diseases.”
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