Native strawberries spoil you. After just one taste of New England's sweet, spicy, juicy berries, it's simply not possible to go back to those over-large tasteless, cottony-textured ones imported from Florida or California.

Every year, the appearance of locally grown strawberries seems like something miraculous, and I try to eat as many as possible during their all-too-brief season.

Gathering them yourself on hands and knees at a pick-your-own farm somehow seems to make strawberries all the sweeter, but however they're procured, native berries are surely one of nature's most priceless seasonal offerings.

U-PICK STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE WITH EGG BISCUIT

From "Dishing Up Maine" (Storey, 2006):

Shortcake is one of America's most estimable contributions to the roster of the world's great desserts.

Simplicity itself, shortcake – which requires little in the way of culinary expertise except for a light hand with the dough – is the epitome of good Yankee country cooking, and strawberry shortcake, made with dead-ripe, fragrant native berries, is probably the queen of all shortcakes.

This "short" (meaning very buttery) egg biscuit is made into one large cake for an impressive presentation to a large group. Although shortcake is best served warm, I give instructions for preparing all the elements before guests arrive.

STRAWBERRY FILLING:

2 quarts ripe strawberries, preferably local berries

1/3 cup sugar, or more to taste

2 teaspoons lemon juice

EGG BISCUIT:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut in about 12 pieces

1/2 cup whole or low-fat milk

1 egg

TOPPING:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

3 tablespoons powdered sugar

3 tablespoons softened unsalted butter

Choose 8 pretty berries and set them aside. Hull the rest. Place half the berries in a large shallow bowl or on a large rimmed plate and crush with a large fork or a potato masher. Slice remaining berries and combine with crushed berries.

Stir in sugar and lemon juice and set aside at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to allow juices to flow. (Can be prepared up to 6 hours ahead and refrigerated. Return to room temperature before serving. If berry mixture is not sweet enough, add a bit more sugar.)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Generously butter an 8-inch cake pan.

In a food processor, pulse flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to blend. Distribute butter over flour mixture and pulse until the mixture looks crumbly.

Pour milk into a glass measure and whisk in the egg. With motor running, pour milk mixture through the feed tube and process just until dough begins to clump together. (To make by hand, whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl, work in the cold butter with your fingertips, add the milk and egg, and stir with a large fork to make a soft dough.)

Scrape out onto a lightly floured surface, knead lightly a few times, and roll to an 8-inch round. (Dough can be prepared ahead and refrigerated to this point. To make individual biscuits, see note.)

Transfer dough to prepared pan, patting it gently to the edges. Place in the oven and immediately reduce temperature to 375 degrees. Bake until shortcake is pale golden brown on top, 22 to 26 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. (Can be made up to 3 hours ahead and kept at room temperature. Refresh in 375-degree oven for 5 minutes.)

In a medium-large bowl, whip cream with powdered sugar to soft peaks. (Can be done a couple of hours...