berries

Organic strawberries from Harry’s Berries are given a light dusting of California-grown guajillo chile, a squeeze of Key lime and a sprinkle of Big Sur sea salt before being slowly dehydrated.

Service Berries are a local perennial shrub that fruit only for a couple weeks in mid spring.

The artificial mixed berry flavor tasted like straight-up medicine — think cough medicine mixed with Tums Ultra Assorted Berries — but frozen.

When Zandler Chavez, who works at the Harry’s Berries stand at the Santa Monica Farmers Market, sampled the berries about six weeks ago, the difference in flavor, he said, was obvious.

Those experts were led by Carlos Gereda, founder and chief executive of Inka's Berries.