free trailside snack: strawberries, u-pick, Mt St Helens Blast Zone

[Chip Down]

If you told me you saw strawberries growing in the Mt St Helens blast zone last week, I would have said you're crazy or dishonest. So I understand your skepticism. But I swear I saw them yesterday, and they were fantastic. Sweet, juicy, tender. Not like those styrofoam strawberries that come from California or Mexico. Only downside is they were small, so hard to spot. And soft, so soft they were hard to pick. Oh, and I saw ferns too. Ferns in a desolate volcanic wasteland! The world's going crazy!

[walrus]

Only able to find one ripe one on Tuesday, but it was such a delight.

[Bosterson]

Oooh nice. I found some out there a couple weeks ago, but not clusters as big as those. Wild alpine strawberries are so tiny and delicious!

Not like those styrofoam strawberries that come from California or Mexico.

You realize they have to pick them unripe to ship them up here, right? That's why the centers are white - they were picked too soon and "ripened" in the box. Same reason the tomatoes you get in a store are mealy and taste like nothing.

[adamschneider]

You realize they have to pick them unripe to ship them up here, right? That's why the centers are white - they were picked too soon and "ripened" in the box. Same reason the tomatoes you get in a store are mealy and taste like nothing.

It's not just that they're unripe; they actually have to breed varieties that are tough enough to be shipped all over the world. I once read an interview with a Driscoll's exec who admitted that there are much better raspberry varieties out there, but they just don't travel well.

[Bosterson]

It's not just that they're unripe; they actually have to breed varieties that are tough enough to be shipped all over the world.

I wasn't even trying to get into cultivars, but yeah - imagine a plastic box of Hoods shipped somewhere. (They'd be goo.)

Next thing, you're going to tell me there's a better apple than the red delicious, or a better banana than the Cavendish...