Strawberry Anaïs plants (everbearing) - Fragaria ananassa

The Anaïs strawberry produces ovate strawberries, medium-sized, between 10 and 15 g, with a shiny blood-red colour, fragrant, sweet, slightly acidic, juicy, reminiscent of the taste of wild strawberries. It is a perpetual variety, with the advantage of producing regularly over a long period from the end of May until the first frosts in October. It is a variety that is resistant to strawberry diseases. Combine it with a non-perpetual variety like Gariguette for a large production at the beginning of the season!

Strawberries can be consumed in multiple ways: they can be eaten raw, with sugar, cream, or can be sliced thinly and dried before being incorporated into mueslis or cottage cheese. If you have a plentiful harvest, consider making jams, sauces, pies, ice creams, or sorbets. You can also freeze strawberries.

There are 3 categories of varieties:

- Wild or perpetual strawberries, producing small fruits from June to October

- Non-perpetual large-fruited varieties, flowering once a year in spring, producing very large fruits around the month of June

- Perpetual large-fruited varieties, flowering twice a year or continuously, producing large fruits from June to October

Indeed, the wild strawberry, present in Roman times and the medieval period, was crossed in the 18th century with a species brought back from Chile, creating successive selections, of different large-fruited varieties.

The strawberry is a hardy perennial belonging to the Rosaceae family. This variety has a sturdy habit, with persistent trifoliate, ovate, and dentate leaves. It offers small white flowers with a golden centre that will transform into large red fruits. 

For harvesting, pick the fruits as they ripen, every 2 or 3 days ideally in the morning. Strawberries are fragile, pick them with their calyx by pinching the stem 1 to 2 cm (0.5 to 1in) above it. The texture of the fruit is a good indicator of its ripeness. It should be firm and soft to the touch. Strawberries are rich in vitamins and minerals. They can cause urticating effects for some people as they stimulate the release of histamine in the body.