Cooler Swedish climate makes sweeter strawberries
The planted acreage did not see any increase this season, however, the increase in everbearing strawberry plants that will be able to produce more strawberries in the later months of August, September and October are expected to produce a larger yield to last year.
Along with an increase in the later varieties, strawberry grower Eriksgården are testing a new variety called Malling Centenary which they are hoping will increase production during the early part of the season.
The long, bright summer days and cooler days and nights in Sweden, with temperatures ranging between 20-25 C, are what give their strawberries a nice aroma and balance between acidity and sweetness. Sugar burns faster when strawberries are grown in warmer climates, making the berries less sweet.
The season is pretty short and is pretty much exclusive to the domestic market.
"Strawberries are easily the most eaten fruit during the summer season. Swedes eat about 4-5 litres (2kg) of Swedish berries a year, most of which are during the summer months. It is a really hot product and I would think that if we were to name a National fruit, the strawberry would be it." shared Anita Jansson from Hebe Frukt & Grönt AB.
The top week for all Swedish growers is week 25, during the midsummer celebration. It is traditional to eat strawberries with cream or ice cream for desert after a feast of other traditional foods like new potatoes and pickled herring. Anita said that it is always a big task for strawberry growers to make sure that they can supply enough strawberries for every household in Sweden.
The first Swedish strawberries for Hebe are grown in tunnels by their select growers which include their largest growers Eriksgården and Lönnslätts Berries.
Growers Eriksgården and Lönnslätts work together with Hebes providing customers extra information about some of the varieties they offer on the side of their packaging, Sonata, Honeoye, Rumba, Salsa, Malwina, Charlotte and Favori. For those wanting to know even more, Hebe has featured the background story of these growers on the Hebes website. New varieties are developed yearly and this year they will be testing Malling Centenary, Amandine, Furore and Murano and once these see success will be adding to the list of varieties featured on the Hebe website.
"Consumer knowledge about the products we are growing in Sweden continues to grow. They had never heard about the Sonata variety a few years ago and now almost everyone has heard of it. The Charlotte variety, which has more of a wild strawberry flavour, is also gaining quite a lot of popularity. It is very sweet and harkens back to the first strawberries."
Although flavour is important, other varieties such as the Rumba, are chosen because they have a long shelf life and are consumer friendly with their larger size and round shape. The strawberry is especially becoming more popular for retailers.
"Taste is still the most important for consumers, but because most other strawberries do not have product information on the side of the box, it is difficult for them to know which strawberries they should choose. Because of that, many people buy based on price when product information is lacking. Some of the larger supermarkets have chosen to work exclusively with Hebe's growers now that consumers have more insight into the different varieties and what they offer." concludes Anita.
For more information:
Anita Jansson
Hebe Frukt & Grönt AB
Tel: +46 31 780 27 00
Fax: +46 31 19 33 28
Email: anita.jansson@hebe.se
www.hebe.se