Recipes With Strawberries | Taste of Home (2024)

FAQs

What to do with fresh strawberries before they go bad? ›

Rinse with vinegar solution: Soak strawberries in a vinegar solution (one-part white vinegar and three parts water) for a few minutes. Then drain them, pat them dry, and place them on a clean paper towel in a glass container. Loosely place the lid on and store in the refrigerator.

Cut and discard the stems, then freeze whole or cut to desired size. Lay the prepared strawberries on a tray and put in the freezer and until solid. Once frozen, transfer to labelled resealable freezer bag, ensuring you remove any excess air before sealing. Frozen strawberries are best used within six months.

Add a little sugar and salt! Wash your strawberries, cut them, and hit them with a pinch of salt and a couple good three-finger pinches of granulated sugar, give them a little tossy-toss, and watch them magically start to darken and get extra juicy.

Despite their nutritional benefits, strawberries are often heavy in sugar and contain 8.12 mg of sugar per cup. Strawberries may have pesticide residue. Excessive berries consumption might cause stomach distress, heartburn, diarrhea, reflux, bloating, and allergic responses in some people.

Where is the best place to store strawberries? Unless you plan to use the strawberries right away, it's best to store them in your refrigerator to preserve freshness. Unrefrigerated, berries will last only a few days; stored in the fridge, they could last up to a week.

Conclusion: The Best Way to Store Strawberries

You can keep these berries for up to three weeks in the refrigerator. The vinegar wash method is fine for keeping the strawberries for 1-2 weeks, and the original container is best for keeping the strawberries for one week.

Whether you freeze the berries whole or slice them first is entirely up to you—they'll freeze well either way. Freezing the berries whole gives you more options for how to use the berries once they're thawed. You can choose to slice them, dice them or mash them depending on the recipe.

Methods of Freezing Strawberries

For whole berries: Freeze the berries in a single layer on a baking sheet to keep them from getting stuck together. Once they're solid, transfer the berries to a container, such as FreezerWare™, or a zip freezer bag such as Glad® Freezer Zipper Gallon Bags.

Strawberries frozen without sugar will keep, but may lose some of their flavor, texture, and color. However, unsweetened packs are desirable for sugar-free diets and for making jams later. Here're some suggestions that have worked for us.

"When frozen strawberries thaw, they won't have the same texture as when they are fresh. Plan to use them in dishes where they get mashed up or cooked down," says Gay. Frozen strawberries are perfect for drink recipes like smoothies and milkshakes, say both Marquez-Sharpnack and Gay.

What does coffee grounds do for strawberries? ›

Because coffee grounds are slightly acidic, they are ideal for strawberries and other plants that prefer a slightly acidic soil. Although coffee grounds are high in nitrogen, they should not be used as the only fertiliser for strawberries, as they contain hardly any other nutrients.

Both batches of berries lasted a full week without going moldy, but the ones washed in a solution of water and baking soda were noticeably softer and stodgier than those washed in a water and vinegar, which remained firm.

Another quick and easy option to rid strawberries of pesticides and bacteria is washing them with salt. This method will also draw out any fruit fly larvae, or tiny white worms, that may be hiding inside the berries.

Runners take a lot of the plant's energy to produce, so in the first two years of life they should be cut off from where they emerge to concentrate the plant's efforts on fruit production. From year three some of the runners can be used to propagate new plants.

The Bottom Line

To get the most life out of your berries, I suggest you: Keep them whole, keep them dry, keep them spaced out (if possible), keep them in the fridge, and keep them covered/in high humidity. That's the best you can do.

If you're pressed for time, simply storing the strawberries in their original container after discarding any that are on the brink of spoiling is a great option — but if you have extra time, soaking them in a vinegar-water solution and drying them afterwards is a great way to extend their shelf life.

Keep your fresh strawberries in the refrigerator for best results. If you're pressed for time and cannot wash and rinse them right away make sure to place unwashed berries in an airtight container lined with paper towels (this will help absorb any extra moisture) and keep them in the refrigerator for up to five days.