Would You Pay Six Dollars for a Strawberry?
Nice article this morning in the Wall Street Journal about the Oishii strawberry, grown indoors in New Jersey and making some waves in the retail markets out East. Yes, each fruit is nearly six bucks!
The article touches on some other branded fruits like Cotton Candy grapes, Pink Glow Pineapples and Pink-A Boo Pineberries (a blush strawberry). Some back and forth about naming, trademarks and branding campaigns.
Again, while I am not big on haute cuisine and the ethos that goes with it, I do still adhere to the German culinary maxim of das Auge isst mit , in other words presentation has a lot to do with enjoyment of eating. And I am just not feeling that here with these Oishii strawberries - note the rumply appearance of the fruit and I am a bit shaken by the dry appearance of the calyx of the fruit in the clamshell.
Again, I know this a privilege but I'd rather eat my strawberry right after snapping it off of the plant with that familiar pop. And, rather than having to pay six bucks, it's all just a quick drive away.