Chile’s Glorious White Strawberries

In the mountains of Chile, farmers grow crops of strawberries that resemble ping pong balls. They are white, they are very sweet, and they are huge, and they're also a part of Chile's history. At one time, Chileans used the strawberry fields for bait to lure enemies into ambush. If it weren't for Chile's frutillas blancas, we wouldn't have the red strawberries we get at the grocery. These big white strawberries were crossed with tiny American strawberries -in France- to give us the strawberries we are familiar with.

But even as the white strawberries bring high prices to those who farm them, more than ten times that of red strawberries, they are becoming more and more rare. It takes good soil, cold weather, and expertise to grow white strawberries. The lumber industry has degraded the soil, climate change has made the winters warmer, and younger farmers are turning to easier crops. Read about the plight of the Chilean white strawberry at Atlas Obscura.