North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[road's end farm <organic101@linkny.com>]

On Apr 19, 2007, at 9:21 AM, Lon J. Rombough wrote:

> "Strawberry" is a generic term in much of Europe referring to the taste of labrusca grapes.  Uva Fragola may be a specific hybrid, but in many places it's often the old American "Isabella".  Concord is often described as having a strawberry flavor in parts of Europe.

Neither Isabella nor Concord tastes at all like strawberries to me.

I wonder whether this is a difference in the flavor of these grapes in European growing conditions; a difference in the flavor of strawberries in Europe; a difference in taste buds between individual humans; or maybe just an (in my opinion) not very successful attempt to describe the flavor of American grapes, which is a distinctly different flavor from those European grapes I have tasted; but varies a good deal from variety to variety (I don't think a Delaware tastes at all like a Concord, for instance).

--Rivka
Finger Lakes NY; zone 5 mostly