Corfu, Strawberries, Butter & Jackie O
The magnetic forces of a magical island
Disclaimer:
This image is of a publicly displayed plaque and is shared for informational purposes. All rights to the image of the plaque belong to its respective owner. The use of this image in this post is intended to showcase a moment in history and provide context for the related content.
There are many places to go in this world, but Corfu is one I have visited again and again, always discovering new things along the way.
On one blissful afternoon walk, I sauntered through narrow streets, passing shops of all varieties, admiring architectural elements on historical buildings, and a squash large enough to take up most of a counter in the Fischer Kitchen.
On another, I assured my friend he should not be discouraged by the rain. I had seen a sign that there was a beekeeper’s house where we could buy honey. Sure enough, we made it.
During yet another journey, this time during the pandemic, the desserts demanded attention—blackberry dots and watermelon on sticks. I admired them without tasting them. And that’s my usual course.
But it was the framed picture of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis that was the most eye-catching. The headline read: “Strawberries and Butter Captivated Jackie.” (Our guide Nausica gave me an idea of what it said on the spot and our friend Dimitrios from Mykonos provided the full translation later on.)
“When Jackie Kennedy visited Corfu alongside Aristotle Onassis, the place enchanted her. Strolls on the beach, local cuisine, nights of endless fun... However, what truly "shook" the great lady were the tiny Corfiot strawberries and the island's butter. She enjoyed them so much that she expressed the desire to eat them every day, wherever she was. Onassis, always eager to fulfill every wish of his companion, found a way to have Jackie have them "on her plate" ... Corfu every morning.
“With the first Olympic Airways plane, the basket with the strawberries and butter of Corfu would depart from the island. As soon as it arrived in Paris, the pilot would hand it over to the company - which was then owned by the tycoon - and from refrigerator to refrigerator, it would reach the home of the wealthy couple. Even if Jackie was in New York, the strawberries and butter always reached her plate, after having first made a... transatlantic journey!”
My goodness, I thought. However apocryphal this story may someday prove to be, it is a legend on the island memorialized in the plaque. If true, then such are the ways of the rich and famous. Once you have seen a few of these plaques around, you start to understand marketing can come in all forms. That said, I think all of us can appreciate having something special.
When it comes to butter, I usually stick to one with zero cholesterol—Smart Balance Low Sodium butter—since I watch that. The other two types of butter I have are Miyoko’s Creamery Plant Milk Butter and Ronnybrook Salted European butter. I am betting we can all find a brand we like in the food store without the environmental cost of flying them across the world!
Strawberries can be tricky. Sometimes they are delicious, other times bitter. Those from a farm usually are better tasting than the store, but that’s just one person’s experience. Recently, I purchased Oishii strawberries because their bright red, dimpled skin nestled in little egg cup-like depressions in the plastic packaging looked like a small box. This was my “Jackie O strawberry moment” in Whole Foods.
The packaging says they are “pesticide-free, perfectly ripe, vertically farmed, and non-GMO project verified.” There was even a little note on how to enjoy them: “Keep refrigerated and consume at room temperature for the best experience.” I followed the instructions, and they were very sweet tasting.
Phil, who had experience with picking berries as a child, said they were “very good, with a consistent color and flavor and a nice taste. They don’t match the best of wild berries, but they also are a lot better than you usually get from the grocery store in a little box.”
“What were the wild berries like?” I asked.
“If Jackie O had seen them—they were luscious, plump, sweet, and the best was when they were picked right off the side of the barn on a hot July day—she would have gotten Ari Onassis to buy a farm in Oregon and have them shipped every day.”