[lproven]

100% this.

I never liked strawberries much until I my ex-fiancée took me for an afternoon picking wild ones in the beech forest above a fjord in southern Norway (near Porsgrunn). Only the size of garden peas, but a taste explosion in the mouth: intense flavour and intoxicating sweetness. Absolutely wonderful.

The giant store-bought things are pale and uninteresting by comparison. I can't eat them. They are like the ghosts of fruit.

My friend's wild strawberries in his garden in South Moravia are nearly as good. Similarly tiny, similarly intense.

[_a_a_a_]

Interesting. I wonder if it's the difference in climate (does Norway get hot in summer?) or in species of strawberry or both. Sounds like you got the better deal anyway.