Experts engineer new breed of super-sized strawberries
Strawberries and Wimbledon have long been perfect partners.
And now experts have engineered a giant breed of the fruit that can grow to the size of tennis balls.
The new strawberry plant - Gigantella Maxim in Latin - produces huge berries that can fill the palm of a hand and be eaten like an apple.
It has taken ten years of cross-pollinating the largest varieties of the fruit to produce strawberries around six times the normal size.
Massive: The strawberries (one of which pictured above) are about six times the ordinary size
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ShareBut once they reach peak size the giant strawberries do not have a long shelf life and have to be eaten straight off the plant, frozen or used to make jam.
The Gigantella Maxim is a medium-early variety, which means it can be harvested early in June or July – making it ideal for Wimbledon.
Adrian Nind, managing director at gardening firm Bakker which is selling the plants, said: ‘This strawberry really is huge. Just one of them can fill the palm of your hand.
Huge: The glorious red berries are the product of ten years of cross-pollinating
‘It’s firm, juicy flesh is great to bite into and they are just delicious with fresh cream.
‘Still with the same sweet taste of a standard strawberry, this variety has been cultivated over ten years to not only be a show-stopper in any dessert, but to also be ready earlier than other varieties.’
The origins of the strawberry go back centuries.
The fruit is mentioned in ancient Roman literature in reference to its medicinal use and the wild strawberry appeared in western European monks’ illuminated manuscripts in the early 15th century.
The combination of strawberries and cream was created by Thomas Wolsey in the court of King Henry VIII and instructions for growing and harvesting strawberries showed up in writing in 1578.
Lincolnshire-based Bakker is selling packs of 25 plants for £10.95.
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