New York City is a city of finding anything you want, and fancy produce is no exception. Over the summer, the famous Oishii Strawberries were trending all over my TikTok page. After doing some research, which included finding out that they were $6 a piece, I knew I had to find these berries. The Omakase Berry is a rare type of strawberry that is grown in the Japanese Alps, but has become available in New York City due to this state-of-the-art indoor farming method. Recently, Oishii announced they are coming out with a new berry in addition to their trending Omakase Berry. The new Koyo Berry will be similar to the Omakase Berry, that I tried over the summer, but it will be slightly firmer and have more of a tartness to it.
What makes the Oishii Strawberries so expensive?
These berries are grown differently than a typical berry. Instead of growing out on soil, farmers use a method known as Vertical Farming, where the berries are grown indoors. The farm replicates the rain, cool breeze, and sun of a Japanese winter’s day. This method allows for more freedom in growing fruit at any time of the year. The company currently works amongst three farms- two outside of Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. This type of indoor farming means that these berries are always in season and also they do not encounter any pesticides, creating a clean and fresh fruit.
Finding the Oishii Strawberries in New York City
The Oishii Strawberries are sold in a few different places throughout NYC, but I found them in a store with vitamins and other supplements in SoHo. After walking around the store for a bit, I found the fridge and spotted the strawberries. The fridge had about ten plastic containers, each filled with six strawberries. They looked too good to be true; perfectly red, not too big nor too small, and cold and crisp. My friends and I bit the bullet and spent $36 on six strawberries. We finally took a big bite of our expensive berry, and had so much fun doing so.
So... Was it worth it?
The berry was delicious; it had that fresh sweetness to it that reminded me of a perfect summer day. You know when you have a batch of strawberries, and you occasionally get a perfectly ripe, sweet, and juicy strawberry? That was pretty much what this singular berry tasted like. But was it the best berry I ever had? Or worth $6? It was crisp, sweet, ripe and luxe, but I am not sure it is worth the price. Before I knew it, my $6 strawberry was gone, and I couldn’t snack on any more of them. It was a tease that I couldn’t scarf down ten more. I will say, the experience was 10/10, and this is something I will never forget. If you are in NYC and want to have a fun experience while trying a new kind of fruit, trying the Oishii Strawberry could be for you. Don’t get your hopes up too high though, I think you could go to a summer farmer’s market and find fresh berries just as tasty.
On the hunt to try more berries
Similar to the Omakase Berry, Japan is known for its White Berry that could be sold for up to $10 per berry. Japan has a plethora of different types of strawberries that offer a different tasting experience, and all have different qualities about them. All of these berries are grown in a safe and clean environment, offering the cleanest berry in the market. Today, the Oishii berries are sold in some select Whole Foods Market’s and via FreshDirect in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Although these strawberries are pricey, if you have the opportunity to buy a couple containers, I think it would be tasty and fun to use them for a fresh recipe. Try using them to make a strawberry puree! There are plenty of fresh berry recipes you can incorporate these ever so luxurious strawberries in, and I think it would make for an amazing experience and treat.