Sweet, ripe, juicy strawberries are no longer only red, with novel new white and blush varieties now being grown commercially in Australia.
But you may have to wait to try some, as the fruit is still in very short supply.
It has been a race to be the first to get them to market, with years of research, crossbreeding and on-farm trials to reach this point.
Freshly picked Rose Pearl strawberries in the field. (Supplied: TSL Family Farms)
No ordinary strawberries
Growers have been eager to offer consumers colour choices in strawberries, just like we get with other fruit.
White strawberries, which range from cream to blush, originated from a natural genetic mutation, and have lower acidity than their red relatives.
"We all like something new, especially, you know, strawberries are so well loved by kids," Berries Australia CEO Rachel Mackenzie said.
Rachel Mackenzie says consumers want choice. (Supplied: Rachel Mackenzie)
"If you've got something new and exciting to try, that's really exciting for them."
With a fragrant aroma, the taste differs too. Some varieties are described as sweeter, like candy; others have hints of pineapple, pear, vanilla and guava.
White and red fruit grown by SSS Strawberries in Bundaberg. (Supplied: SSS Strawberries)
Where do they come from?
The fruit slowly making its way to supermarket shelves is being multiplied from varieties imported from Japan and the USA, and plants bred in Australia.
Bundaberg grower Toan Nguyen was intrigued when he saw white strawberries in Japanese stores and wondered why they were not sold here.
Now his family's farm, SSS Strawberries, is growing a few thousand plants with Japanese genetics and has plans to expand.
Gem Nguyen with SSS Strawberries's new white fruit. (Supplied: SSS Strawberries)
"The feedback has been amazing; some say it's actually sweeter than the red ones," Mr Nguyen said.
"We don't have enough to sell at our farm shop; we are sold out by lunchtime."
But it took time to educate customers.
"They thought it was under-ripe so no-one bought it until we started posting about it and they started tasting it," Mr Nguyen said.
Point of difference
TSL Family Farms at Bellmere, near Brisbane, also cannot keep up with demand for fruit from their 70,000 "Rose Pearl" plants.
"Coles's experience is that there's just none left on the shelves anywhere," co-owner Laura Wells said.
Laura Wells from TSL Family Farms with "Rose Pearl" strawberries. (Supplied: Taste'N'See Strawberries)
"We've only been able to send them through to New South Wales and Victoria currently and only to a few chosen stores."
Pickers have to learn to tell when the strawberries are ripe. (Supplied: Taste'N'See Strawberries)
The family-owned business secured exclusive rights to the variety, developed in Florida, and Ms Wells was pleased to discover its hardiness in heavy rain.
"We've had next to no crop loss associated with rain events with our white variety, so commercially it's pretty exceptional," she said.
"Rose Pearl" strawberries, grown by TSL Family Farms and Taste'n'See, were developed in Florida. (Supplied: Taste'N'See Strawberries)
Australian strawberry breeding program
Jodi Neal leads the national strawberry breeding program that has developed about half of the strawberry varieties grown commercially in Australia.
She is proud of her team's work breeding fruit for our climatic conditions, growing systems and the Australian consumer's palate.
Jodi Neal leads the Australian strawberry breeding program. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)
Growers visited the trial patch at the Queensland Department of Primary Industries' Maroochy research centre, where yet-to-be-named white varieties are growing.
"When the sun hits the fruit, the top of it colours up, kind of like a peach, while the bottom will always stay white," Dr Neal said.
"It tastes incredible and is newly available for our farmers to grow and our consumers to eat."
Dr Neal said it took seven years to go from cross-pollination to commercial release, with rigorous testing to ensure plants performed for farmers.
Ashbern Farms is trialling Queensland-bred white strawberry varieties. (Supplied: Ashbern Farms)
The focus is on developing hardy, high-yielding, tasty, disease- and bruise-resistant fruit that is easy to pick and pack.
"The best part of my job is seeing the varieties that we've developed here in Australia, grown by our Australian farmers, and being enjoyed by our consumers," Dr Neal said.
"We are trying to make sure that our farmers stay sustainable, that they can stay in business."
Growers in Queensland and Perth are trialling the Australian-bred white strawberries.
Brendon Hoyle at Ashbern Farms in the Glass House Mountains has about 100 of the plants.
Brendon Hoyle with a white Australian-bred strawberry. (Supplied: Ashbern Farms)
"They're looking promising; the flavour is amazing," he said.
"A little bit harder to grow but it's a unique kind of strawberry, and I think that there'd certainly be a market for them."
When are they ripe?
Mr Hoyle said his workers quickly learnt when the white fruit was ripe to pick.
"Once you've seen a few of them, they just need to start turning, just very slightly blush, and then you know they're good to go."
Brendon Hoyle says the strawberries are ready to pick when they start to turn pale pink. (Supplied: Ashbern Farms)
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