They’re plump, juicy and packed with vitamin C … and they’re also among Beaufort County’s most anticipated harvests each year.

Locally grown strawberries have customers arriving in droves to produce markets and pick-your-own farms throughout the area. And right now is the height of the season, according to local farmers.

Black Brothers Farm in Washington is one of the hot strawberry spots in the county, and they’ve been at it for quite a while, according to farm employee Beth Pinkham.

“We have right at two acres of strawberries,” Pinkham said. “We’ve been doing it about 15 years, maybe a little bit longer.”

Berries may be purchased already packaged fresh from the fields or customers may get them as fresh as they come by picking their own, an option that saves customers 75 cents per pound. Pinkham added that Black Brothers hasn’t raised the price of berries in the last four years. Another advantage of picking one’s own strawberries is Black Brothers’ invitation to sample the wares.

“We tell everybody to eat what they want while they’re out there,” Pinkham said with a smile.

Black Brothers is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays.

Over on the south side of the Pamlico River, Shawn Harding and his family oversee three acres of strawberries, each acre bursting with 14,000 plants. Harding’s Southside Farm got into the strawberry business with its first crop in 1999.

“We’re having one of the best strawberry crops we’ve had and it’s going to be going strong right on into late May,” Harding noted.

Along with farm headquarters in Chocowinity, Southside sells fresh berries and other produce during Washington’s Saturday Market. They also have a berry booth at Pamlico Plaza in Washington during the week, and Southside Farms strawberries may be purchased at the Pitt County Farmers Market and Yoder’s in Craven County.

Southside Farms is open Mondays through Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“We close on Sundays to let the berries rest,” Harding said.

Recipes fresh from the fields …

STRAWBERRY JAM

Marian Keech, Annie Pigott, Vicki Sparrow and Deb Johnson
The Wilkinson Center, Belhaven

4 cups strawberries, crushed; 3 tablespoons lemon juice; 4 cups sugar; 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Rinse, drain, crush and measure strawberries. Put berries into a kettle. Cook over low heat until berries begin to boil. Add sugar, lemon juice and salt. Stir until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium high. Stir often to prevent sticking. Boil rapidly until jam will round up slightly on spoon and there is little “free syrup.” Careful–pot will boil over quickly. (We found this out the hard way.) Quickly skim off foam and discard. Pour hot jam into hot sterilized jars. Seal.

 

STRAWBERRY & FETA SALAD

Kathey Rumley
First Presbyterian Church, Washington

Summer salad (may vary according to whatever is fresh); 1 container strawberries, sliced; 4 ounces feta cheese; 2 cups pecans; 1/2 cup sugar; 1 cup water.

Soak pecans in sugar water for 10 minutes and drain. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Watch carefully or they will burn. Allow to cool. Mix with the salad greens, strawberries and feta. Drizzle with dressing.

Dressing: 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar; 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard; 3 tablespoons honey; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 7/8 cup salad oil.

Blend ingredients and store in refrigerator. The extra dressing will keep in fridge for one week.

 

STRAWBERRY CAKE

Mary Louise Hopkins
Old Ford Volunteer Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary

1 box Duncan Hines yellow cake mix; 1 large box strawberry Jello; 2 tablespoons plain flour; 4 eggs; 1/2 cup water; 10 ounces fresh strawberries; 3/4 cup Wesson oil.

Mix cake mix, Jello and flour. Add eggs and water; beat two minutes. Add chopped strawberries and oil. Beat one minute. Pour into three (8-inch) cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool thoroughly before frosting.

Frosting for Strawberry Cake: 1 stick butter; 1 box confectioners’ sugar; 8 to 10 ounces chopped strawberries; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

Mix together and beat until smooth. Spread on cooled cake. If too thick, add milk. If too thin, add sugar.

 

STRAWBERRY PUDDING

Karen Gardner
Bath Christian Church

1 quart sliced strawberries; 1/2 cup sugar; 1 small package strawberry Jello; 3 packages vanilla instant pudding; 3 cups cold milk (to be used for pudding instead of amount on box); 1 cup sour cream; 1 large Cool Whip; 1 box vanilla wafers.

Heat strawberries, sugar and Jello just enough to dissolve Jello, stirring constantly. Cool. Mix pudding and milk by directions on box. Add sour cream. Fold in 3/4 ounce of Cool Whip. In 13 x 9 dish, layer wafers, pudding mixture and strawberries. Repeat until all are used. Top with remaining Cool Whip. Garnish with sliced strawberries. Refrigerate.

 

SPINACH SALAD WITH STRAWBERRIES

Janet Braddy Guyer
Tri-Community Ruritan Club, Winsteadville

Salad: 1 package fresh spinach; 2 cans mandarin oranges; 1 red onion, chopped; sliced fresh strawberries; sliced toasted almonds; feta cheese.

Mix all ingredients well. Serve with poppy seed dressing.

Dressing: 1 cup sugar; 1 teaspoon mustard; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon paprika; 1/4 cup cider vinegar; 1/4 cup red wine vinegar; 1 1/2 cups oil; 1 tablespoon poppy seeds.

Blend well.

 

STRAWBERRY PIE

Mary Squibbs
Hodges Chapel Pentecostal Holiness Church, Chocowinity

2 cups sugar; 2 cups water; 6 tablespoons cornstarch; 3 cups unsweetened strawberries; red food coloring; 8 tablespoons strawberry Jello; 1 baked pie shell; whipped cream.

Cook sugar, water and cornstarch until thick and transparent. Add a few drops of red food coloring and eight tablespoons strawberry Jello. Cool. Pour over fresh strawberries in baked pie shell. Cover with whipped topping.

 

STRAWBERRY SALAD

Bobbie Hollis
First Free Will Baptist Church, Washington

1 large box strawberry Jello; 1 quart strawberries; 1 large can crushed pineapple, drained; 1 pint sour cream; 1 cup nuts; 2 medium bananas, diced; 1 cup boiling water.

Dissolve Jello in boiling water; add strawberries, pineapple, nuts and bananas. Pour half of the mixture into a mold and refrigerate until firm. Spread on sour cream and pour other half of Jello mixture over sour cream and refrigerate until firm.

 

STRAWBERRY BUTTER

Brenda Godfrey
Christ Vision Church, Blounts Creek

1/2 cup butter; 2 cups icing sugar (confectioners’ sugar); 1 cup crushed strawberries.

Whip butter and sugar on high speed until fluffy. Slowly add fruit and continue beating on high until smooth and creamy. Wonderful on pancakes, waffles, toast, biscuits and muffins!