Let’s face it, most strawberries in Cameron Highlands are sour as all heck; if you wanted sweet strawberries you need to get those imported from Korea. Thankfully, not anymore.
The man behind these delectable nibbles is Mr. Kyosuke Kinoshita. He moved from Tokushima, Japan to live in a strawberry farm on the outskirts of Kota Kinabalu a few years ago.
He said that he was told that the land he’s about to use is horrible for planting strawberries and that many other farmers before him have tried and failed.
Source: CAI Singapore
Nevertheless this did not deter him from setting up shop anyway. To the locals’ bewilderment, Kyosuke managed to grow his crop and yielded a large harvest.
Since then he moved over to Cameron Highlands determined to fix his biggest grape gripe with local strawberries; the fact that they are always so sour.
Surely this can be fixed with some careful planning and proper cultivation.
In Cameron Highlands, he partnered up with a Japanese company called Chitose Agriculture Initiative (CAI). Fun fact: Chitose is Japanese for 1,000 years.
CAI, which is based in Singapore, is a biotechnology firm hell-bent on improving and promoting sustainable agriculture in Southeast Asia. Think of all the possibilities e.g. bigger, sweeter fruits!
They basically partner with farms in Japan and Malaysia and help them evaluate the different agricultural conditions of their farm as well as help with recruiting local workers.
Source: CAI Singapore
Together with CAI, Kyosuke managed to grow premium Japanese strawberries on Cameron Highland which they call ‘Chitose Ichigo’.
These plump, juicy strawberries are bright red and have a very natural, fruity sweetness to them. To the other farmers, why yours so sour la?
They’re now being sold online here if you guys are interested in trying. They cost SG$16 (RM50) for ~200g, not including shipping, but if they’re that good, it’s worth a try, no?
