What Are White Strawberries?
One of life’s greatest pleasures is biting into a plump, red strawberry in the springtime. But have you ever tasted a white strawberry? There are a few varieties you can grow at home and some that are as difficult to find as a needle in a haystack. Keep reading to find out more about these curious cousins of the red berry we all know and love.
See more: 7 Reasons to Eat Fresh Strawberries This Spring
What Are White Strawberries?
You may suspect a white strawberry is as simple as it sounds, and you would be pretty close to correct. White strawberries resemble the red varieties you can find at your local grocery and farmers market in just about every way but one: their appearance.
With a creamy white flesh and ruby red seeds, white strawberries, at first glance, simply look like strawberries that didn’t get the chance to ripen before harvest. But growers nearly always breed white strawberry varieties (and there are several) to produce this unique coloration that separates them from the common garden varieties we all see when we walk down the produce aisle.
See more: What Is Yellow Watermelon?
What Makes White Strawberries White?
Red strawberries begin as petite white flowers, form into green berries, turn white and gradually turn red as they mature. But white strawberries don’t often reach the pink and red phase. Growers intentionally cultivate some, like the White Jewel, with limited sunlight exposure to reduce their level of anthocyanins, which are pigments that create red, purple, blue and black colors in fruits and vegetables. Others lack a protein called Fra a1, which creates the red color in traditional red strawberries. Despite their difference in appearance, white strawberries are remarkably similar to their red cousins.
White Strawberry Varieties
There are believed to be around 50 varieties of white strawberries. However, there are a few conflicting opinions about which cultivars really make the cut. A few of the most common, or popular, include the Alpine, Beach and White Jewel.
Alpine Strawberry (Fragaria vesca)
Alpine strawberries are a wild species of berry with a multitude of varieties including Albicarpa, Pineapple Crush, White Delight and White Soul. Small and bite-sized, they pack a deceiving punch of flavor despite their petite size. You can purchase these berries from various nurseries around the country and grow them in your own backyard with a little tender, loving care.
See more: How to Grow and Harvest Your Own Strawberries
Beach Strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis)
Beach strawberries are also known as coastal strawberries, South American strawberries or wild Chilean strawberries. These wild cultivars were crossbred to give us the common red berries we know and love today. Like the alpine strawberry, these fragrant fruits are sometimes described as “small as a thumbnail,” but taste delicious, nonetheless.
White Jewel (Shirou Houseki)
Bred by Yasuhito Teshima on his farm in Japan, the White Jewel is arguably the most talked about among strawberries today. Teshima spent years cross breeding varieties to achieve these elusive berries that are white on the inside and the outside.
Their popularity in Japan has driven demand so high that people will readily spend $10 for one berry, or upwards of $40 for a single package – and that’s only if they can find them. Because there are so few breeders and only 10% of this variety matures to white, they are a rare luxury that doesn’t pop up in the marketplace very often.
See more: Did You Know May Is National Strawberry Month?
Pineberries (Fragaria x ananassa)
Many people question whether pineberries count as white strawberries at all because they are technically a hybrid. When allowed to ripen in the sun, they tend to take on a pink hue that indicates some level of the Fra a1 protein. Even though these are hybrid plants that may or may not be considered white strawberries (depending on who you ask), they do have the iconic pineapple flavor common in other white strawberry species.