The full moon of June is known as the Strawberry Moon in Algonquin lore; European cultures variously name it the Rose, or the Heat, Moon.
This year, June’s full moon came on the 2nd, about the earliest it can fall, and a few weeks ago I would have said way out of line with the on-the-ground reality out there. Strawberries early June 2015, uh uh, no way.
Well, surprise surprise I picked up some of the first local beauties at Chatham’s the Berry Farm last week. June 5 to be exact; this week will be making forays to Ancram (Thompson-Finch) and Tivoli (Mead) to get down in there and pick. Seems our hard, hard winter and jib-jumpity spring have somehow got us to a place of on-time crops, at least for the time being.
Washed and ready to hull, these sweet beauties were lightly mashed and introduced to some strong, strong brewed Lapsang Suochong for one of my favorites…strawberry preserve with Lapsang Suochong. Straightforward name, no? But the flavor is complex and evocative. So very good on its own, it is divine on vanilla i.c., or with a rich cheese, a triple cream like Brillat-Savarin.
The Strawberry Moon is one of the few full moon names that is universal to every Algonquin tribe. Makes sense: who doesn’t love strawberries, and everyone knows, they arrive in June xo