The Oregon Strawberry
Most mornings in June, starting at about 5:30, Chris Christensen is out in the strawberry fields of her 250-acre farm in Albany, picking the perfectly ripe fruit. “I’d rather sit and pick than do anything else” says Christensen, a third-generation strawberry grower. “There’s that quiet moment when the crew gets down to do it, and the birds are going, and you’re in your own thoughts. I’m giddy.” As she deftly plucks the berries from the plants, she’ll pop a few into her mouth, savoring the natural sugar and juice that combines in an intense flavor found only in an Oregon strawberry. From farm-stand shoppers to food scientists and high-profile chefs, people with discriminating taste buds agree that this state produces the most intensely sweet, red and juicy strawberries. Even the world’s strawberry cognoscenti, mostly food professionals, know this. Yet, the berries are still relatively obscure, in part because production…