Strawberry Maestro - Fragaria ananassa

Maestro is a late and perpetual variety of strawberry, offering good yields. It produces large conical red fruits of good taste. The Strawberry can be grown in pots or in open ground. Preferably plant in autumn for a harvest from July to October.

Strawberries can be consumed in multiple ways: they can be eaten raw, with sugar, cream, or sliced thinly and dried before being incorporated into muesli or yogurt. If you have a abundant harvest, consider making jams, coulis, tarts, ice creams, or sorbets. You can also freeze strawberries.

There are three categories of strawberry varieties:

- Woodland or Four Seasons varieties, producing small fruits from June to October

- Non-remontant varieties with large fruits, flowering once a year in spring, producing very large fruits around June

- Remontant varieties with large fruits, flowering twice a year or continuously, producing large fruits from June to October

Indeed, the wild strawberry or woodland strawberry, present in Roman times and the Middle Ages, was crossed in the 18th century with a species brought from Chile, allowing for the obtainment, through successive selections, of different varieties with large fruits.

The Strawberry is a hardy perennial belonging to the Rosaceae family. This variety has a sturdy habit, with persistent trifoliate, ovate, and dentate leaves. It offers small white flowers with a golden heart that will transform into large red fruits. Botanically speaking, we refer to strawberries as pseudocarps, with the achenes (seeds) appearing on the surface of the skin.

For harvesting, pick the fruits as they ripen, every 2 or 3 days ideally in the morning. Strawberries are delicate, pick them with their stems by pinching the stem 1 to 2 cm (0.5 to 1in) above it. The texture of the fruit is a good indicator of its ripeness. It should be firm and soft to the touch. Strawberries are rich in vitamins and minerals. They can cause urticating reactions in some individuals as they stimulate the release of histamine in the body.