How To Store Strawberries In The Fridge

The Best Way to Store Strawberries According to Food Network Experts Natasha Breen / Getty Images By Amanda Neal for Food Network Kitchen Amanda Neal is a recipe developer at Food Network. Those first fresh, vibrant strawberries of the season are like little edible gems telling us that winter is over.

Though hardier than some other berries, soft and sweet strawberries do require some special care and safe keeping to help them last. If you’re planning to eat your strawberries right away, storing strawberries at room temperature on your kitchen counter is the best option — they’ll lose a bit of luster and flavor in the fridge.

However, if you want to prolong their lifespan for use in baked goods and other recipes, the refrigerator will become your best bet. Here are some tips for storing strawberries in your refrigerator to keep them fresh throughout the season. When stored properly, strawberries will stay firm and fresh for about a week.

• It’s important to keep strawberries very dry and cold.
• To do this, line a plate, baking sheet or shallow glass bowl with a couple paper towels or a clean kitchen towel.
• Place your unwashed strawberries on top in a single layer, then cover with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use, ideally within seven days.

If you notice one of the strawberries going bad or turning moldy, immediately remove it and discard. Mold spreads easily and quickly, so it’s crucial to keep an eye on your strawberries for any spoilage. You don’t want one bad berry to ruin the whole bunch! Here are a few important tips for how to store strawberries in the refrigerator: Strawberries will stay their freshest when dry and cold, and any added moisture will soften the strawberries and encourage mold growth.

• So instead of washing all of your berries right when you get home from the store, wash them as you plan to eat or prepare them.
• Eep those little, frilly green stems on your fresh strawberries when storing in the refrigerator.
• Having the stems intact will protect the interior of your berries and prolong their shelf life.

Your strawberries will stay best when not crushed by layers of berries on top of them. If you’re planning to keep your strawberries for a longer period of time, your best bet is to freeze them. Remove the stems, then quarter or thinly slice the berries.

• Place the strawberries on a parchment paper-lined plate or baking sheet, then freeze until solid, at least 30 minutes.
• Transfer to a resealable freezer bag, and store for up to 3 months.
• This method will allow you to easily thaw and snack on your in-season strawberries, or simply throw frozen berries into smoothies and frozen beverages.

Kate Mathis, © 2016, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved Baked with a golden biscuit topping, this dessert makes the most of sweet strawberries. To ensure the filling sets correctly, let the cobbler cool completely before serving. Kate Mathis, © 2016, Television Food Network, G.P.

All Rights Reserved This light and springy dessert satisfies the cheesecake lover, but is a bit easier to make. It’s a great way to use up your strawberries. Sweet strawberry and tart rhubarb are a match made in heaven. Serve this cake with a dollop of whipped cream. Presenting the ultimate summer dessert.

We promise you’ll want to be saving this recipe. This buckle screams summer, thanks to the generous helping of fresh blueberries, blackberries and strawberries. We boosted the flavors by adding a good amount of lemon zest to the tender cake and a pinch of nutmeg and ginger to the sweet crumb topping.

What is the best way to store strawberries to make them last?

Should strawberries be stored in an airtight container? – It depends. If your berries are whole, storing them in an airtight container could actually cause them to mold quicker due to trapped moisture. The best way to store a bunch of whole berries is to loosely place them—in a single layer if possible—in an open container lined with paper towels.

1. A berry bowl or colander works great for this because it lets air circulate around the berries! The paper towels absorb moisture to keep the berries nice and dry.
2. Sliced or hulled strawberries, however, are different.
3. Once they’ve been cut into, strawberries should always be stored in an airtight container to keep the flesh from drying out and bacteria from growing.

Berries don’t last nearly as long once sliced so it’s best to keep them whole as long as possible.

Should you vent strawberries in the fridge?

Nobody likes opening up their once-vibrant box of berries to find mushy, browning, or even moldy fruit. To keep your strawberries in tip-top shape, take a few extra minutes to give them a little touch of TLC before putting them away in the fridge to keep them fresher for longer.

• The Easy Way Open up your container of strawberries and pour the fruit onto a sheet tray in a single layer.
• Inspect them: Are any bruised or soft? Take them out, rinse them, then roast them or jam them,
• Are any visibly rotten, perhaps moldy? Toss those, or better yet, compost them,
• Now that your remaining batch of strawberries are the healthiest bunch of berries you’ve ever laid your eyes on, line with your container with a piece of paper towel, place the strawberries back in, then slide that container into your refrigerator, preferably in the crisper drawer with the humidity vent open.

Why it works: Excess moisture and humidity is the enemy here. As with all produce, once one strawberry in the bunch starts to go bad, its neighbors will soon be infected by the same mold spores and catch the fuzzy spoilage soon after. Moisture encourages mold growth, which is why it’s important to weed out the bad berries first, then give the rest of the batch an extra layer of insurance with a moisture-wicking paper towel.

A crisper drawer with the humidity vent opened will maintain a drier environment and allow for ethylene gas to escape, effectively slowing the ripening process and ensuring your berries can rest in a cool, well-ventilated space until you’re ready to snack on them. Your berries should stay plump and fresh for at least 3 or 4 days this way.

The Slightly Harder Way If you’ve got 10 more minutes on your hands, you can give your berries a vinegar bath. The magic ratio is 3 parts water to 1 part white vinegar. Combine your vinegar and water in a large bowl, gently slide your strawberries into that solution and swish them around for 10 to 20 seconds, then drain and dry them completely.

1. It is very important that you dry your rinsed berries completely,
2. As with the first method, any residual moisture will lead to faster spoilage, so be sure to take your time and pat each berry dry before putting them away in the paper-towel lined container.
3. When in doubt, let the berries air dry for 20 minutes more before sliding them into the fridge.

If you’re really not sure you got every single drop of water off, keep your container slightly open to allow for excess moisture to evaporate off in the fridge. Why it works: Vinegar helps to rid some of the surface bacteria that may eventually grow to cause spoilage.

• The vinegar solution rinse process essentially acts as a food-safe wash, and when paired with the above storage steps, may help to keep your berries fresh for twice as long.
• Your berries should keep very nicely for about a week this way, The Worst Method Remember, moisture is the enemy! Under no circumstances should you rinse your strawberries and store them away without patting dry.

If you truly have no time to sort through the berries after getting them home from the store, your best option is to simply place them in the fridge as is and rinse them right before eating. Former Senior Food Producer June Xie is the former Senior Food Producer for Delish, where she hosted recipe videos and the wildly popular YouTube show, Budget Eats. She previously worked in numerous restaurant kitchens throughout NYC before first joining Delish as our Test Kitchen Assistant and chief baking expert with a passion for bread dough, peanut butter, whipped cream, and gluten free cookies.

Can strawberries be stored in a plastic container?

Here are some fresh tips on how to store strawberries. The large holes in their plastic grocery container allow for more airflow than the berries need. It’s best to transfer strawberries to a different container. Remove any strawberries affected by mold to prevent spreading.

Can you store strawberries in cardboard?

Berry Saver To keep strawberries fresh longer, store them in a cardboard egg carton. It allows air to circulate around the fruit better than if berries are left in the containers in which they’re typically sold.

How do you store berries in the fridge?

Step 2. Store Berries – If your berries came in a ventilated plastic clamshell-type package, wash it with soap and hot water, rinse and dry, then line it with a dry paper towel. Put the clean, dry berries back in the clamshell and store them in the fridge.

• Make sure to leave ventilation holes in the top uncovered so air can circulate in the package.
• Otherwise, store the berries in a clean container lined with paper towels, with the lid ajar so condensation can evaporate.
• Change the paper towels if they get damp over time.
• Vanessa Greaves When I was researching this kitchen tip, I read where people were worried about the berries tasting like vinegar after their bath.

I can tell you from experience that they don’t. I used plain white vinegar and didn’t let the berries sit in the bath for more than a couple of minutes. It didn’t take much rinsing before I couldn’t smell even a hint of vinegar, and I never tasted any.

How long do washed strawberries last in the fridge?

Final Tips: Dryness is Key! – As mentioned, moisture is enemy number one, so however you wash them, strawberries need to be completely dry before you store them. Pat them dry with paper towels, making sure to absorb as much water as possible, then let them dry completely on fresh paper towels.

After they’ve been cleaned and dried, you’ll want to store them in an air-tight container lined with paper towels. This will help soak up any additional moisture. If washed and stored properly, strawberries should last about two weeks in the refrigerator. Remember: if you do spot a strawberry starting to mold, make sure to remove it so it doesn’t spread to the rest.

If you haven’t taken advantage of strawberry season yet, you officially have nothing else stopping you! Need ideas for what to make? We recommend putting fresh strawberries in a Watercress and Strawberry Salad, cooking ripe strawberries into a Brandied Strawberry Shortcakes with Malted Whipped Cream, or if you’ve got some use-em-before-you-lose-em strawberries, mix them up into a Strawberry-Cabernet Barbecue Sauce, and put them on grilled chicken!

Why do strawberries mold so fast in the fridge?

6 Tips for Keeping Berries Fresh Who doesn’t love fresh berries? Except when those berries start growing fuzz within 24 hours of bringing them home. Why do berries go bad so fast? It comes down to moisture and mold. Berries tend to be quite porous, water-rich and delicately skinned, meaning they soak up excess moisture in their environment very easily.