Pineberry?

Pineberries and cream? The new summer fruit which looks like a white strawberry... but tastes like a pineapple

Seeing their juicy red flesh in the shops is a sign that summer is on its way.

But this year your strawberries could be as white as the cream poured over them, after a new variety went on sale today.

The pineberry is said to combine the shape and texture of a strawberry with a flavour and smell closer to that of a pineapple.

Tasty? Pineberries may look like a blanched version of the strawberry but they taste very different

Grown in glasshouses, pineberries start off green, gradually turning paler as they ripen.

When the fruit is sweet and juicy enough to eat, the flesh is almost totally white but studded with red seeds - the reverse of the usual variety. 

Discovered wild in South America and rescued from extinction by Dutch farmers, they can now be bought in Waitrose.

They are smaller than most commercially grown strawberries, measuring between 15 and 23mm across - slightly less than an inch.

According to Waitrose, they can be used as an alternative to their red counterparts in a range of recipes and desserts.

Pineberries will be on sale for fiveweeks. A 125g punnet will cost £2.99 until April 13 and then sell for £3.99.

They join other unusual recently introduced fruits such as the strasberry, which looks like a cross between a strawberry and a raspberry.

Grown in glasshouses, the pineberry - as they have been dubbed for the British market - starts off green, gradually turning paler as it ripens.

When it is sweet and juicy enough to eat, the flesh is almost completely white but studded with red seeds.

Waitrose fruit buyer Nicki Baggott said: 'Pineberries offer our customers the chance to add a new fruit into their diet, and the berry's bright appearance can add an unusual decoration to sweet dishes.

'As the summer unfolds we won't be surprised to hear that our customers are inviting their friends over for pineberry pavlovas or punch, or serving them up with yoghurt for a lighter alternative.'

All commercially grown strawberries originate from an 18th century European cross between wild varieties from North and South America which achieved the sought-after combination of sweet taste and large, juicy berries.

They quickly took over from the tiny, tart-tasting fruits now known as alpine strawberries which have been grown and enjoyed in European since before Roman times.