Strawberry Maxim - Fragaria ananassa

The 'Maxim' strawberry is an early non-remontant variety. It is characterized by the size of its fruits, which have firm and juicy flesh. It is a productive variety, perfect for making jams. Strawberries can be grown in pots or in open ground. Preferably planted in autumn for harvest from mid-May.

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

There are 3 categories of varieties:

- Wild strawberries or perpetual strawberries, producing small fruits from June to October

- Non-remontant varieties with large fruits, flowering only 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 during Roman times and the medieval period, was crossed in the 18th century with a species brought back from Chile, allowing for the development of different varieties with large fruits through successive selections.

The strawberry is a hardy perennial belonging to the Rosaceae family. This variety has a stout habit, with persistent trifoliate, ovate, and dentate leaves. It produces small white flowers with a golden center that will transform into large red fruits. Botanically speaking, strawberries are considered 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 fragile, so pick them with their stems by pinching the stem 1 to 2 cm (0 to 1in) above it. The texture of the fruit is a good indicator of ripeness. It should be firm and soft to the touch. Strawberries are rich in vitamins and minerals. They can cause urticating reactions in some people as they stimulate the release of histamine in the body.