These Strawberries Actually *Taste* Like Rosé, & Are Too Perfect For A Summer Snack

The first blush of summer makes you think of warm breezes on the patio, long evenings spent outside, and of course, a crisp rosé in your hand. Now, you can also have that rosé goodness on your plate with the advent of Driscoll's new rose berries, and their new Sweetest Batch strawberries and raspberries, which are sure to be a favorite summer after summer.

This carefully bred non-GMO berry is a paler hue than your typical garden strawberry or raspberry, and it has notes of peach flavor with a floral finish. The texture is different as well, with a creamy flesh that blooms across the tongue, spreading the flavor through the palate much in the same way you would enjoy a rosé wine. The Sweetest Batch raspberries and strawberries are curated specifically for their intense sweetness, making sure that "sour berry face" is a thing of the past. The rosé berries will be sold through Fresh Direct and Whole Foods, and the Sweetest Batch berries will also be available at Wegmans retailers.

Much like the cotton candy grape and the sumo orange, these fruits are sure to sell out as soon as they hit the shelves, so get them while they last, between June and September.

Can you imagine a shortcake made with these delicious rosé-inspired strawberries and raspberries? Thinking about that floral finish, I wouldn't sprinkle them with cane sugar the way I would a traditional shortcake. Instead, I would consider a clover leaf honey or even a date sugar syrup, something that would complement the heady creaminess in the berries, and bring out the peach and floral notes. As for the shortcake itself, I am thinking that a lemony base would be best. A little citrus, a little extra floral flavor, and you're really on to something. Keep the whipped cream light, but with real vanilla, to bring the whole dish together. Of course, you're going to pair this with a glass of rosé. My favorite is actually sold at Aldi, of all places. If you happen to be pregtastic, perhaps a sparkling elderflower lemonade?

No matter how you eat Driscoll's new rosé berries and Sweetest Batch raspberries and strawberries, you can enjoy them happily, knowing their free from GMOs, which many people assume that hybrid or bred fruits are full of. In reality, they're just carefully bred for specific flavor profiles much in the way of the honeycrisp apple or my favorite stone fruit, the pluot. (And not just because it's fun to say.)

Driscoll's calls the designers of these berries their "joy makers," and according to them, they are a "team of agronomists, breeders, sensory analysts, plant health scientists, and entomologists" that "research and develop proprietary varieties." They do this through traditional breeding practices, which have been happening since the advent of agriculture. They noted that "each proprietary variety takes years to perfect, but promises to bring even more joy to the experience of biting into a berry."

Millennials love their rosé, and Driscoll's new rosé berries are the perfect way to celebrate this season. Their beautiful blush color will stand out on any fruit and cheese board, the perfect contrast to summer tomatoes and delicious charcuterie.

I am a bit of a cheese board snob, always seeking out ways to make them better, prettier, and tastier, and I cannot wait to get my hands on these. They're too perfect. Personally, I am going to pair them with a nice sparkling rosé to make the whole thing that much more festive. That is, if they make it past my snack time, and the jury is out on that one.