How to Store Fresh Strawberries
- Wash strawberries only when you’re ready to eat them.
- Keep them as whole berries.
- Line a plastic or glass container with paper towels.
- Place the strawberries in a single layer inside the container.
- Tightly seal the container and place it in the refrigerator.
Contents
What is the best way to store fresh picked strawberries?
Strawberry Care – Picking, Storing, Freezing & Preparing The best strawberries are the ones you pick yourself or buy from your local strawberry farm. These berries will be the freshest you can get, with little or no handling and travel. Nothing beats the flavor and fragrance of fresh-picked strawberries! Picking Pick by pinching the stem of the berry between your thumb and forefinger.
This will prevent damage to both the fruit and the strawberry plant. Leaving the caps on helps your strawberries last longer. When selecting berries look for the ones that are plump, firm, and well colored. These are the best for all your needs–freezing, preserving, or eating just the way they are. Storing Strawberries are best when prepared and eaten in the same day, but if you must keep them longer, store them in your refrigerator.
Arrange the berries in a shallow container, separating out any damaged berries. Cover them loosely, and keep at 35 degrees for best results. Do not remove the caps or wash the berries until you are ready to use them. When caps are removed before use, the berries lose some of their moisture.
- Washing early tends to bruise them and the berries lose their freshness.
- Preparing When preparing (for whatever use), place the berries in a strainer and rinse with cool water.
- To remove the caps, give the caps a gentle twist or use the point of a sharp knife, trying not to remove any of the berry.
- The tip of an ordinary vegetable peeler makes a good tool for capping berries.
Freezing Whole berries: Place one layer of clean, capped berries on a cookie sheet and freeze until firm. Remove from cookie sheet, package in freezer bags, and seal. Packing with sugar: Slice berries in halves or thirds. Mix with sugar (six cups sliced fruit to one cup sugar).
Allow to stand until sugar dissolves (about 10-15 minutes). Pack the fruit and juice into freezer bags or containers. Leave 1/4-inch head space for pint containers. Packing without sugar: Strawberries may also be packed whole or sliced without sugar or with minimal sugar, but the color and texture of the thawed fruit won’t be as good.
Good for kids: Let kids cap and pack their choice of berries into pint yogurt containers, put their names on them, and freeze. For a quick, nutritious snack, thaw container slightly in the microwave and let kids eat their partially frozen berries straight from the container.
How long do freshly picked strawberries last?
How long will strawberries last after picking them? – Strawberries will usually last for 2-3 days, and of course you always want to wash them before eating
Should you keep fresh picked strawberries in the refrigerator?
How to Store Fresh Strawberries I grow a few strawberry plants every year, and the best berries of the season are usually those picked in the yard and eaten as I survey the garden, anticipating a summer of luscious, homegrown crops. Growing strawberries at home is a pleasure I wouldn’t give up, but with “U-Pick-‘Em” fields and the farmers’ market offering the succulent, crimson berry for the next few weeks, the select strawberries from my yard will be overshadowed by gallons and gallons of sourced berries to be cooked into jam, churned into ice cream, served in smoothies and desserts or, best of all, eaten fresh by the fistful.
Fresh strawberries are an unparalleled spring delight, but all too fleeting. Picking more than you can eat this season? Whether you intend to eat them today or six months from now, knowing how to store strawberries will ensure you get the best flavor without losing a single berry to a notoriously short shelf life.
Fresh strawberries can go directly into the refrigerator, but will do just fine on the counter for a couple of days. Remove any bruised or otherwise marred berries and place the rest in a colander or open-weave basket to allow good airflow. Stems should be left intact until the berry is ready to be eaten to protect the mold-prone, wet flesh inside from exposure.
While it is tempting to wash strawberries as soon as you get them home, resist the urge. Strawberries will soak up the water, making them more susceptible to spoilage. Even with careful handling, strawberries won’t last longer than a few days without refrigeration. Moisture is an enemy of the fresh strawberry.
The inclination may be to store them in airtight containers, but strawberries will rot more quickly when the moisture is trapped inside. Even the plastic containers in which many grocery store strawberries are packed are a bad choice for refrigerator storage.
Instead, immediately pack strawberries loosely in an open container or wide pan lined with paper towels to help wick water away from the delicate berries. Colanders are perfect for strawberry storage, allowing air to circulate freely. Unlike whole berries, once strawberries have been cut or hulled, they should be stored in an airtight container to protect the exposed flesh from mold and bacterial development, significantly reducing shelf life.
Strawberry season only lasts a few weeks, and there’s a reason it’s so hotly anticipated. Fresh strawberries picked just a week ago are already past their prime, but that doesn’t mean you can’t continue to enjoy this year’s haul well beyond the expiration date.
Dry-freezing strawberries will retain much of the flavor and some texture for up to six months and can be stored for as long as a year (with some loss of quality). Strawberries canned or frozen in syrup keep some flavor, but will be soft and are best used in baking or stirred into yogurt or oatmeal. Then, of course, there’s strawberry jam.
Freezing comes closest to retaining the qualities of fresh-picked strawberries. Other tactics for long-term storage have their appeal as well, but no preservation method can truly retain the vibrant flavor and firm texture of freshly harvested strawberries.
Do strawberries keep ripening after picked?
Strawberries – Strawberries don’t ripen once they’re picked, so if they don’t look ripe, they never will be. How can you tell which strawberries are the freshest? Look for a bright red colour, a natural shine, and fresh-looking green tops. Avoid berries with white tops or tips.
Eep berries refrigerated, although they will taste sweeter if you let them come to room temperature before eating. Select strawberries that are rich and uniformly red. Avoid mushy berries that exhibit signs of mould. You can find fresh strawberries in the grocery store any time of the year, but they’re best during spring and summer, fresh off the farm.
Check your local farmers market or find locations to pick your own berries for the sweetest and ripest fruit. If possible, choose organic strawberries to avoid pesticides commonly used in conventional growing. You can also purchase frozen organic strawberries for extra sweetness and a boost of nutrition at any time of the year.