The season for local NJ strawberries began in mid-May and the increasingly warm temperatures that we’ve had over the past few weeks have caused them to become sweeter and sweeter with each flat we buy. We won’t have our ultimate favorite — Tristar strawberries from Berried Treasures farm — until the end of June, but we are really enjoying and making great use of the classic early spring strawberries available now. Some of our favorite NJ farms to get them from include Bodhitree Farm, Lani’s Farm, and Cherry Lane, all of which use minimal spray and natural herbicides. The berries from Lani’s Farm that I tried Monday, a variety called Chandler, were the sweetest I have had yet with such concentrated strawberry flavor.
We are using strawberries in all parts of the PRINT. kitchen: sweet, savory, and even at the bar.
- Drinks: I infused strawberries into a shrub with anise hyssop grown in our rooftop garden. We are using the shrub for a refreshing non-alcoholic beverage topped with seltzer and in our Sailor’s Swizzle cocktail where it gets combined with Owney’s White Rum, some lime juice, and ginger beer.
- Savory: We are featuring spring strawberries in a delicious salad: Friseé-Endive Salad, Strawberries, Hazelnuts, Blue Cheese, White Wine Vinaigrette
- Sweets: Our pastry chef Emily Wallendjack is a big fan of ice cream floats and she has sort of outdone herself this season with her Strawberry Rhubarb Float: Strawberry Ice Cream, Basil Sorbet, and Lemongrass Bubbles get topped with a housemade rhubarb soda. The float is accompanied by a slice of Almond Strawberry Jam Layer Cake. She is also making an intense strawberry sorbet for our a la carte ice creams.
