[HN Gopher] The fight to save Chile's white strawberry
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The fight to save Chile's white strawberry
Author : ofou
Score : 71 points
Date : 2024-09-27 15:20 UTC (3 days ago)
(HTM) web link (www.atlasobscura.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.atlasobscura.com)
| alach11 wrote:
| I was surprised to learn that this is different from the similar-
| looking Pineberry [0].
|
| [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pineberry
| ethbr1 wrote:
| The pineberry is probably a reselection of genes from the pre-
| hybridized upstream chiloensis.
|
| Essentially re-evolving similar characteristics in the child
| hybrid.
|
| Although I'm guessing the pineapple flavor is new?
| hn_throwaway_99 wrote:
| > Although I'm guessing the pineapple flavor is new?
|
| No, TFA talks about the pineapple aroma of the Chilean white
| strawberry, as well as a comparison to the pineberry, at
| length.
| pikminguy wrote:
| Maybe I'm the problem but I didn't see anything in this article
| that communicated why the white Strawberry business should be
| saved. I mean I don't want the species to go extinct but I didn't
| get the sense that was a risk. Is it somehow better than the
| hybrid strawberry that came back from Europe?
| ethbr1 wrote:
| Given the widespread planting of garden strawberry hybrids
| commercially, I'd expect they'd eventually push out the native
| cultivar without intentional planting.
|
| As for dangers, looks like: - Lack of rail
| connectivity - Climate change reducing snow -
| Climate change drought
| pikminguy wrote:
| But that's back to a conservation issue which the article
| didn't raise at all. I agree that the species shouldn't go
| extinct but I don't know if I care how much it's being
| farmed.
|
| As for the dangers you raised those are all real problems but
| none of them are specific to this plant.
| ethbr1 wrote:
| Aren't there unique extinction concerns when a commercial
| hybrid is being aggressively farmed nearby a native
| species?
|
| Not my field, but I'd assume the risk of cross-pollination
| and eventual accidental hybridization of the native species
| is high.
|
| As you're essentially re-planting pure hybrids, but the
| native species is having to seed and grow generations
| normally.
| robg wrote:
| Costco has had these recently as pineberries. So maybe they are
| at-risk in Chile but not at-risk of being cultivated elsewhere.
|
| As for the taste, like a mix of strawberry and pineapple. Solid
| but not worth the added cost over strawberries.
| what-is-water wrote:
| It's not the same. Taken from the article:
|
| > In the U.S., pineberry goes by the name "hula berry" and made
| waves after appearing (in plant form) in stores like Home Depot
| and Walmart.
|
| > Like the garden strawberry, however, both of these fruits are
| a Fragaria x ananassa hybrid. They're not the pineapple-scented
| fruit from Chile
| steve_adams_86 wrote:
| I'd love to propagate these via tissue culture for local
| nurseries but I can't even seem to find seeds anywhere near me.
| If anyone has a line on some of these I'd love to hear. I can
| find many similar varieties of chiloensis but not this one.
| dendrite9 wrote:
| Do you have any advice for this or for identifying why certain
| strawberries are different? My partner and I have found small
| patches of small delicious white strawberries in the forest but
| I tried saving some seeds without any success. There's also a
| short route in the Cascades with a variety of strawberries that
| appear to be the same species but change in flavor at various
| patches from piney, to slightly coconut-y, to concentrated
| strawberry essence (hard to describe unless you eat fresh wild
| strawberries) All the patches are at similar elevations and
| orientations within about 1-2 miles, the most likely
| explanation I can think of is that the soil is different? I
| think they are Chiloensis but I plan to go back next year and
| look more carefully.
|
| Finding strawberries in the woods has ruined store bought
| berries for my partner. Even farmers market berries are
| questionable because of the varieties they grow, which I
| understand, they have a business with different needs.
| xeromal wrote:
| You know what's interesting? I watched a video the other day,
| maybe max miller?, about strawberries in europe and they used
| to only be able to be gathered in the forest as you say and
| were never conducive to agriculture. Once the big
| strawberries were discovered in the new world, they cross
| bred them but they lost a lot of flavor but could be grown. I
| never even considered wild forest strawberries but I want to
| try one now.
|
| If you're ever in california and have money to burn, try
| harries berry's. They are tiny little delights and VERY tasty
| throwup238 wrote:
| I strongly recommend going out to collect the wild
| strawberries (and wild bilberries!) if you're ever visiting
| Europe when they're fruiting. They're one of the things I
| miss most about living in Europe. Even the best California
| strawberries picked ripe off the vine don't come close.
|
| Once in a while one of my local Russian restaurants or
| grocery stores will have wild strawberry jam imported from
| Europe. Usually $15+ a bottle and I buy out every single
| one they'll let me (my favorite store now sets aside half
| the stock for me). They make the perfect gift too.
| xeromal wrote:
| I'll look out for that jam!
| user070223 wrote:
| Probably because strawberries are not grown from seeds (The
| visible seeds, is actually, "botanicly", the fruit; the
| strawberry is the Accessory fruit)
|
| Never knew the strawberry was also part of the colombian
| exchange, I find it funny that the modified strawberry found it
| way back to chile, which remind me of the legend about the
| Calafate, another chilean berry, "whom who eats the calafate
| always comes back".
|
| https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calafate_(mito)
| adrian_b wrote:
| The European wild strawberries are very small, but their
| fragrance is much more intense than of the cultivated
| strawberries.
|
| Before the import of the American strawberries from which the
| cultivated strawberries have been obtained, there were no big
| strawberries in Europe.
|
| A similar relationship exists between the European wild
| blueberries and the cultivated blueberries brought from
| America. The European native blueberries are smaller, but
| more fragrant.
| throwup238 wrote:
| I think the wild blueberries are actually bilberries, at
| least that was the case in Russia. Closely related and in
| the same genus, but they're distinct species. Like the wild
| strawberries no one has figured out how to cultivate them
| so there are few commercial sources and supply is
| constrained.
|
| Some of my favorite memories of preschool was gathering
| bilberries in the forest behind the school. It was
| essentially like Halloween with kids coming back sick from
| eating too much sugar.
| stickfigure wrote:
| I'm disappointed not to find a description of their taste. The
| best I'm getting is "pineapple-like fragrance", which is an
| intriguing start. Is it sweet? Tart? Bitter? Or does it taste
| like garden strawberries, just looks different?
| CSMastermind wrote:
| My brain read this as Chile's the restaurant and "white
| strawberry" as some kind of cocktail.
|
| The actual article is far more interesting.
| Loughla wrote:
| For the longest time as a child I thought a chiles was just
| something that existed in airports. I have no idea why my brain
| worked like that.
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