【Ozawa Farms】 Fully Ripe Strawberries and Oku-Aizu Beef Lunch Course

Even the greenhouse is different

You could hardly blame one for falling in love with the sight of honeybees gently flying from bud to bud, and the rows of plump red berries hanging from the vines. You may even get a bit jealous of the strawberries, especially those as delicious as the ones produced by Ozawa-san. His fully ripe strawberries were already a well-known secret to both producers and customers in Fukushima, making the farm-shop a place where many people cross paths.

Last fall, a new shop opened on the premises of Ozawa Farms, called ‘And Roll,’ serving roll cakes made of Ozawa Farms’ fully ripe strawberries. On Saturdays and Sundays, customers without reservation start lining up in droves.

Once you try one of Ozawa Farm’s fully ripe strawberries, you will forget you ever tasted any other.

Ozawa Farms has six greenhouses, which look the same, but are actually quite different.

The greenhouse on the north-side of the farm has relatively low mounts running from north to south. The vinyl cover has a high transparency, allowing in very strong sunrays, especially when the sun is up high. In another greenhouse, the mounts run from east to west, and go up to an adult person’s knees, and the cover makes the sunrays slightly more gentle.

The shade provided by the bamboo-patch on the premises makes for subtly different conditions. This may not seem like much of a charge in conditions to people, but for strawberries this makes all the difference. It is like a ‘dosage,’ controlling the production throughout the season.

Different tastes and textures

It’s also possible to have different tastes and textures in strawberries, even within the same variety.

Ozawa Farms cultivates the variety known as ‘tochi-otome.’ Tochi-otome strawberries are brightly colored, and have relatively defined cone-like shapes. The berries have a glamorous look, being quite large and pinkish, with a red center. The strong, sweet scent is prominent, and it has an exceptionally good balance between sweet and sour. Despite its relatively strong flesh, it is very juicy, making it a popular variety around the country.

When you try one of Ozawa’s fully ripe strawberries, it’s clear that he has brought out their full potential. Even within the tochi-otome variety, it is in a league of its own.

Enjoy all the different expressions of the strawberry

Everyone knows the different stage of the ripening process, from the unripe white berries, to the ripening ones that are slowly turning red, to the bright-red fully ripe strawberries. The taste and texture depends on the size of the berry, and the condition in which they are grown. However, that is not everything. Even within a single berry the taste differs varies greatly between the tip and the part near the stem.

Every year, the FoodCamp at Ozawa Farm is immensely popular. And every time there are new things to discover. Undoubtedly, everything Ozawa-san has told us about strawberries so far is like the first few pages of a book. With the help of chefs, it is the pleasure, or rather the calling of FoodCamp to dig even deeper.

Discover the further secrets of strawberries together with Ozawa, at the strawberry farm in spring!

Possibilities of strawberries beyond desert

Chef Hayashi is the owner and head chef of Wagyu & Seasonal Vegetables A-UN, in the Koriyama Station area. The restaurant specializes in Japanese course-style seasonal dining, with Oku-Aizu beef as the main feature.

Oku-Aizu beef is a rare type of beef produced at designated farms in Aizu-Bange town (on the west-side of Fukushima Pref., where the beef gets its name from) with a sweet fattiness and a delicious, yet mild aftertaste. There are so few producers of Oku-Aizu beef it is generally only sold through direct relationships. Chef Hayashi was drawn to Oku-Aizu beef through its superior quality and the determination of the producers, and has been using it ever since. There seems to be some similarity with Mr. Ozawa there…

The two already know each other (Chef Hayashi already uses Ozawa’s strawberries in his restaurant), but they have fewer opportunities to just meet up and have a talk than one would think. The two spend some time between the mounts; standing, then crouching, almost as if in direct conversation with the strawberries. Chef Hayashi is handed a strawberry by Ozawa, and takes a bite. The berry, still warm from the strong sunlight, seems to give him a flash of inspiration.

“Strawberries tend to be used only for deserts. I’d like to take this opportunity to explore more possibilities beyond just deserts,” says Hayashi. Ozawa nods with a deep sense of interest.

“Leaves, stem, unripe berries… in the end it’s all strawberry.”

“Can I try one of the sprouts?” asks Hayashi. As he tastes the pungent, bitter leaves, Ozawa instinctively follows suit. Chef Hayashi might just be the only chef to try the not-yet-ripe, green berries. But with FoodCamp, this is not a rare sight.

This is exactly the kind of thing a chef has an eye out for. And this might just lead to a new kind of revolutionary taste. During a previous FoodCamp, Chef Hayashi used hop to make miso, and went on to combine it with Oku-Aizu beef, to the great delight of the guests. So much so, some of them practically begged him to bring it to market.

Fully ripe strawberries; a gift of skill and character

When asked for his first impression of Ozawa Farm’s fully ripe strawberries, he responds: “When I first had a taste, I thought “Wow, this is sweet!” Getting to know Ozawa, I was impressed more than anything by his character and passion towards strawberries. That’s the best quality of Ozawa Farm.” The skill of the farmer is beyond doubt, but for Hayashi, the ‘person behind the product’ is also important.

In fact, this collaboration was made possible by the recommendation from Ozawa’s wife. Hayashi: “I always wanted to work together with Ozawa, so I was very happy to learn I was chosen, but also a bit nervous.”

As Ozawa reassures Hayashi by saying, “I’ll adjust the conditions to make sure you get strawberries with the exact taste and texture you’re looking for!”, there’s no doubt this tour will be a great success.