When it comes to fruits that captivate both the eye and the palate, strawberries undeniably hold a cherished place. Hailing from the land of the rising sun, these vibrant gems are ready to dazzle your taste buds. But here’s the twist: behind their sweet perfection lies a tech-savvy touch, courtesy of GRA Co. Japan.
Cultivating Migaki Strawberries is a labour-intensive process that begins with selecting the finest seeds and nurturing them into robust seedlings. Enter Hiroki Iwasa, the founder of GRA with a fiery passion for agricultural innovation. Iwasa-san collects insights from experienced farmers and with their valuable knowledge, applies advanced greenhouse technologies to provide optimal conditions for growth, carefully controlling factors such as temperature, humidity, and light exposure. GRA has mastered the art of nurturing Migaki Strawberries with precision and all this with just the swipe of a touchscreen. The result? Picture-perfect berries that look like they’ve been plucked from a fairy tale.
But what exactly makes Migaki Strawberries so special? It’s simple: they’re picked at the peak of ripeness, ensuring maximum sweetness and flavour. GRA’s farmers rise with the sun to hand-pick each berry in the cool, dewy mornings when they are most succulent. But not all strawberries cultivated this way will become Migaki Strawberries. It is only with careful selection and checking the degrees of ripeness, the fruit shape and size, andthe overall condition of the strawberries during harvesting, sorting and packing. The highest grade of Migaki Strawberry is called Migaki Strawberry Platinum, which only occurs in about 1 out of 500 strawberries.
Now, let’s talk about the Migaki Strawberries themselves. Visually, Migaki Strawberries are a sight, boasting a deep, lustrous red hue that glistens like precious jewels in the sunlight. Their shape is uniformly conical, with a glossy surface that reflects the care and attention lavished upon them during cultivation. Despite their gigantic size, Migaki Strawberries maintain a delicate balance of sweetness and acidity. One of the most notable characteristics of Migaki strawberries is their exceptional texture. Unlike some varieties that can be watery or overly soft, Migaki strawberries possess a firm yet tender texture that melts in the mouth. Each bite yields a burst of juice, releasing a cascade of flavours that linger long after consuming the berry.
Strawberries hold a special place in the hearts of the people of Japan, symbolising beauty, abundance, and prosperity. Migaki Strawberries takes culinary applications to a more refined level. In addition to their unmatched taste and flavour profile, they are versatile enough to be incorporated into classic desserts like strawberry shortcakes and parfaits to innovative creations such as strawberry vinegar, strawberry salsa and balsamic-glazed strawberries. Migaki Strawberries possess the ideal texture for slicing, dicing and halving, allowing chefs and home cooks to unleash their creativity in the kitchen.
Migaki Strawberries are currently being produced in the Miyagi, Saitama, Kanagawa and Aichi Prefectures in Japan. The weather and climate differs depending on the location of the production area but GRA has spread out their production across multiple locations in order to stabilize production and ship them domestically and internationally. The peak season for the Migaki Strawberries is usually February through March, and are usually ready for harvest from December through May.
If you are interested and eager to get your hands on some Migaki Strawberries, head to our SECAI MARCHE Farm-Direct platform Buyer’s Page to place your orders. If you do not have a registered account with us, do feel free to drop us an email or a message, and one of our designated sales representatives will get in touch with you promptly.