5 hours ago
5
Kathryn Armstrong
BBC News
The UK's strawberry season is off to a "stonking start", according to one grower, with warm days and cooler nights meaning they are sweeter than usual.
Marion Regan, managing director of Kent-based Hugh Lowe Farms, told the BBC that a "glorious spring" this year had contributed to a "really good crop" of the fruit.
That is good news for strawberry lovers, including those attending Wimbledon this year - one of Hugh Lowe Farms' clients.
This spring is currently ranking as the driest in over a century, according to the Met Office, with the Environment Agency recently warning there is a "medium" risk of a summer drought.
Ms Regan, who has been growing strawberries for more than 50 years, said she was noticing that this year's were a "good size" so far but that the "most marked thing" was their sweetness.
A combination of warm days and cool nights are known to make strawberries sweeter. The lower night temperatures allow them to rest and put the energy they have gained during the day into producing more natural sugars.
However, Ms Regan said it remained to be seen what the rest of their growing season - which lasts until November - would bring.
Asked about the warnings over potential drought conditions, she said that she, like all good soft fruit growers, have irrigation systems in place to mitigate the effects of extreme weather and to ensure their crops get a steady supply with water.
Nevertheless, some help from mother nature would not go amiss.
"All farmers could do with the rain, it would be nice," she added.
Pauline Goodall, a strawberry farmer from Limington in Somerset, told the BBC earlier this month that a warmer than average start to May was having a noticeable effect on the timing of this year's harvest.
"They're just ripening at a phenomenal rate," she said of her strawberries.
The Summer Berry Company, based in Colworth near Chichester, recently said that the warmer weather had helped increase its production to 200 tonnes – 50 tonnes more than by the same time last year - and that the plants were producing "lush-sweet tasting fruit".
This all bodes well for consumers keen to get their berry fix over summer, but how should we be making the most of these sweet flavours?
While some people may prefer to keep it classic with cream, there are other options available for those who are looking to be more adventurous.
According to the BBC Food, a little black pepper or balsamic vinegar helps to give them more flavour, while pairing them with some form of chilli can help balance the flavours out.
This year marks a very different start to the strawberry-growing season than in 2024, when the fruit was delayed in ripening following one of the wettest winters on record. Scientists have said climate change was a major factor in this weather.
It is also well-established that human-caused climate change is making spells of hot weather more likely, and that hot days have become more common in the UK.
Over the decade 2014-2023, days exceeded 28C more than twice as often as the 1961-1990 average, according to the Met Office.
