Here’s why California has a national strawberry day

The California Strawberry Festival is an annual strawberry festival that takes place in Ventura. The event is held at the Ventura County Fairgrounds on the third weekend of May.

The 64th Garden Grove Strawberry Festival will be May 24-27.

When you think of California agribusiness, grapes, lettuce and almonds might come to mind first, but berries are a huge presence as well. California’s berry industry generates 5% of California’s farm sales (2020) from less than 1% of the state’s farmland. But California farms provide more than 80% of the nation’s strawberries. In 2022, the strawberry market in California was valued at $2.6 billion. It’s about $3.2 billion in the U.S.

California has a temperate climate, therefore allowing a 12-month growing season and producing a higher yield per acre than other states.There are three types of strawberries: day-neutral, everbearing and June-bearing. June-bearing strawberry plants are the most commonly used in commercial production.

In 2017, strawberries represented 47% of the $6.4 billion in U.S. retail fresh berry sales, followed by blueberries at 26%, raspberries at 14% and blackberries at 9%.

True or false?

Botanists call the strawberry a “false fruit,” a pseudocarp. The same goes for blackberries. A strawberry is actually a multiple fruit that consists of many tiny individual fruits embedded in a fleshy receptacle. The brownish or whitish specks, which are commonly considered seeds, are the true fruits, called achenes, and each of them surrounds a tiny seed.

Blueberries are true fruits, where the ovary wall is changed into a fruit wall, which surrounds the seeds.

Nutritional

Only 9% of adults ate the recommended amount of vegetables and 12% of adults ate the recommended amount of fruit, according to a CDC analysis of data from the 2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Strawberries are very high in fiber. According to the Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition, one-half cup of strawberries supplies more fiber than a slice of whole wheat bread and more than 70% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C.

Each berry has over 200 seeds on its surface.

Ancient records reveal that the strawberry was grown in Rome dating back to 200 B.C. They used the berries to treat depression, fever and sore throats.

94% of households in the U.S. eat strawberries.

Tip for keeping berries fresh

Wash your berries, then dry them off and remove any that look like they are getting old.

Wrap berries in a paper towel, place in bowl or the container they came in and store in the refrigerator.

In-season produce for California

Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables can reduce a person’s risk of developing heart disease, cancer, inflammation, and diabetes. Citrus fruits and berries may be especially powerful for preventing disease. The chart below is based on Pickyourown.org’s California harvest calendar on FarmFlavor.com.

* Some areas in season year-round

You can see another chart for when fruits are in season at berries.com here.

Nutrition ranking

Here are Medical News Today’s top 10 most nutritious fruit and vegetable rankings:

Fruit

1. Lemons
2. Strawberries
3. Oranges
4. Limes
5. Grapefruit
6. Blackberries
7. Apples
8. Pomegranate
9. Pineapple
10. Bananas

Vegetables

1. Spinach
2. Kale
3. Broccoli
4. Peas
5. Sweet potatoes
6. Beets
7. Carrots
8. Fermented vegetables
9. Tomatoes
10.  Garlic

Sources: California Department of Food and Agriculture, carnegiemuseums.org, Medical News Today, Shari’s Berries, pickyourown.org, farmflavor.com, Berries.com