Photo courtesy: Zone Fresh
Zone Fresh strawberries are sourced from growers in the Glass House Mountains - only half an hour's drive from Brisbane.
The higher altitude provides cooler conditions and softer sunlight, which makes the location ideal for growing delicate fruits such as strawberries.
Zone Fresh strawberries are handpicked only, usually in the early-to-late afternoon, as the cooler evening-conditions keep the flesh firm and avoids bruising.
The next morning Zone Fresh's strawberries are carefully transported to the Brisbane Markets where three buyers taste and inspect each shipment to ensure they are of sufficient quality.
Once they are satisfied that the Strawberries meet the Zone Fresh standard, the berries are then transported to the five Zone Fresh store locations in quantities that they expect to sell during the day so as not to have any unnecessary stock turnover.
The strawberries are then loosely packed by hand into containers that are designed to breathe and avoid bruising. They are then available for purchase in Zone Fresh stores when the doors open at 7am.
Strawberry trivia
- There is a legend that strawberries were named in the 19th century by English children who picked the fruit, strung them on grass straws and sold them as "straws of berries".
- The strawberry belongs to the genus Fragraria in the rose family, along with apples and plums. The name of the scientific classification was derived from the Old Latin word for fragrant. The modern Italian word for strawberry is still "Fragola".
- The strawberry is not classified by botanists as a true berry. True berries, such as blueberries and cranberries have seeds inside. The strawberry, however has its dry, yellow "seeds" on the outside (each of which is actually considered a separate fruit).
- On the average, there are 200 tiny seeds in every strawberry.
Zone fresh strawberries are by far the best!!