English strawberries in season are one of the best foods in the entire world.

Shiny, juicy, red, sweet and delicious – like little sparkling jewels, only edible ones.

My absolute fave way of getting my strawberries is to pick them myself on a trip to a PYO farm (or from my mum’s allotment), because then you can cherry pick the best ones and pay a fraction of the cost of what you would in any stores or market stalls. Plus, it’s so much fun to get out there and go hunting for the biggest, fattest, juiciest ones. Strawberry heaven.

I went last week – luckily just in time, as Lidgate Farm in Isleham is due to close their strawberry fields for the season soon – and in under an hour we had managed to pick enough to generously fill five ice cream tubs. (If you want to visit Lidgate specifically, then keep an eye out here for strawberry availability updates and also when they have other fruits to pick too.)

Yep, you heard correctly. Five big tub-fulls.

Yes, yes, I may have gone a little overboard, but I got excited and honestly they can be used up in so many different ways. You can eat them straight from the tub; pop them in a bowl with ice cream, cream, balsamic or meringues; put them in a pie; freeze them for later in the year for hot crumbles; make sorbet or ice cream; make jam….. the list is literally endless. I’ve already made – and demolished – a pie, but I’ll absolutely share my other strawberry flavoured achievements with you!

Definitely search out a ‘pick-your-own’ farm near you, so that you can get your hands on lots of tasty fruit and veg this summer (and beyond). Think of all the delicious dishes and desserts you can make with them, or all the snacking you can do straight out of the fridge! Some places will have a huge variety of things to pick, but some will focus on only one or two kinds of fruit, so make sure you choose a farm to fit your cravings. I’m thinking my next trip will be for tons of raspberries….