Fraises des bois

Does anyone know where I can buy them?

Thanks.

I'm not sure that anyone sells true wild strawberries. I do know some places in Door County where you can look, but there season is past (!).

Nicholl's Farms, which sells at many local farmer's markets, sells many varieties of strawberries, including many that I would imagine approximate (but not duplicate) what you are seeking. As I say, the local strawberry season is well over. But...

...But, Nicholl's does have an everbearing variety of strawberry, one that produces fruit all summer. It's not quite as stellar as some of their varieties, but it's still world's better than what you can get in a supermarket. Strawberries are, like tomatoes and pears, something that really capitalizes on local. If your strawberry is not red all the way through, you know you have a problem.

I know that their season is technically over and they're no longer in the farmers' market, but I know some chefs who have been ordering them from a (restaurant-only) purveyor in Ohio. I was hoping for a greenhouse grower.

Thanks for starting this thread, fleurdesel. I have been wondering the same thing for years, but was pessimistic about finding this treasure in the U.S. I have not found any fraises des bois, but some time ago I ran across a couple of interesting bits on strawberrries in Smithsonian Magazine. Here is a link to an article about a horticulturalist who is passionate about the Fragaria moschata, or musk strawberry, reputedly the most sublime strawberry of all:

http://www.smithsonianmagazine.com/issues/2006/july/strawberry.php

I also enjoyed this one, about a self-styled "Fruit Detective."

http://www.smithsonianmagazine.com/issues/2006/july/karp.php

Finally, if you are willing to have them shipped, you can order Mara des Bois strawberries from Wicked Wilds in California or eat at one of the restaurants that buy from them. According to the Smithsonian article, they ship, but their website doesn't offer an order form, so you'd have to call. One nice thing is that their berries are grown hydroponically. I'm no botanist, but wouldn't that extend the growing season?

Six punnets (about three pounds) for $60 to $75, including overnight delivery, depending on destination. 509 South Cedros Ave., Suite E, Solana Beach, CA 92075; tel. (858) 755-7650; http://www.wickedwilds.com.

See link to an article about them here: http://www.smithsonianmagazine.com/issues/2006/july/karp_wiles.php

P.S. I'd be interested in going in on a shipment if you decide to get some. Just send me a pm.

Thank you for the information, Josephine! I would like to go in on an order with you. I'll send a PM when I feel flush enough...

David Karp is one of my heroes. He writes frequently for the NY Times and Gourmet and has carved out an ideal niche for himself in the world of food writing. I hear he is working on a book about fruit connoisseurship.

fleurdesel wrote:I hear he is working on a book about fruit connoisseurship.

Oh, great, now you are shilling for David Karp.

A joke in reference to the slight, and completely incorrect, drubbing fleurdesel received on the Pannekoeken thead

I'd consider shilling for him if he could get me some mangosteens.

See here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/27/dinin ... xprod=digg

and here:

http://blogs.chicagoreader.com/food/200 ... ird-coast/