Bursting with sweet flavour, strawberries are our first taste of summer. They’re only at their peak for a short time, so learn to treat them with care and enjoy every last ruby red bite.
Optimal Storage
- Do not wash until ready to use
- This is important for two reasons. Once wet, strawberries soak up every bit of moisture, making them more likely to get mushy and spoil faster. Also, wet berries are more likely to get moldy.
- If you don’t plan to eat your strawberries the day you bring them home, the best place for them is in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. It helps to maintain humidity and keep the berries from losing moisture and becoming dry.
- Store in a single layer in an aerated container or tray lined with cloth or paper towel. If space is limited, store in multiple layers separated with cloth.
- Leave the green caps on until ready to eat
Freezing
- Rinse, dry, and remove stems
- Place uncovered, cut side down, on a baking sheet lined with wax paper, and freeze
- Transfer to an airtight container once frozen
- Use frozen, or thaw at room temperature for an hour
Root to Fruit
Use the Green Stems
- The green caps are edible. It’s no problem to leave them on when making smoothies.
- Add strawberry hulls to a pitcher of water. They add a lovely hint of strawberry flavor.
Hull a Strawberry to Save the Most Fruit
Chopping off the top of the strawberry to remove the green stem can waste a lot of the fruit. Learn to hull them so that most of the berry is preserved.
Revival
Moldy
If a small amount of berries in a container show mold, don’t discard the entire container. Instead, go through the container and discard the obviously bad berries. Do this as soon as possible to prevent mold from spreading.
Bring Out the Flavour
To bring out the flavour of lacklustre berries, hull and slice the berries and place them in a bowl. Sprinkle with a little sugar and let sit for 15 minutes. The sugar will draw moisture from the berries to make a natural sweet syrup.