I haven’t had any luck lately. A long (very long) time ago, I read (I think) on Chowhound to layer them with paper towels, that hasn’t worked lately. On their box, Driscoll’s says “Refrigerate your unwashed strawberries in their original container for up to five days. Keep them as dry as possible.” That hasn’t worked either. After 3-4 days, some of them are soft.
Thoughts, suggestions? Thanks in advance!
According to this guy’s comparison, no method is perfect, but some are much more effective than others.
https://www.thekitchn.com/the-best-method-storing-fresh-strawberries-23048250
I rinse in water with a bit of vinegar then into a container with paper towels. Works great
I appreciate the link and the answer. How long do you keep the berries in the water bath?
Many thanks.
Thanks for “seconding” the vinegar method!
I just do a quick rinse and a par dry and put in tupper ware container with paper towels I try to make sure they stay as one layer or at least not have too many stacked on each other
just eat as many as you can before you refrigerate them because they will always taste the best that way
Rinse in a hot water bath, dry thoroughly, store in a green box.
I’ve had the most success laying them flat and keeping them as dry as possible. It ends up taking up a bunch of space in the fridge. Don’t wash them until you are ready to eat them.
Maybe try this:
Thanks for all the suggestions. I was out of town for a few days so finally was able to test the vinegar/water method early this week. I kept them in the bath for 10 minutes and they came out soggy. I dried them with paper towels, did the spinner method as well and they were still soft/soggy/spongy. A major failure. I’m going to try strawberries from another store/vendor and will do the same bath but for much less time.
Does anyone have any other thoughts/suggestions? I didn’t have this problem when I lived in the Bay Area, which isn’t to say the problem is living here, which I love. I always have strawberries in the fridge so this is frustrating.
Thanks again!
When I do it the strawberries are in the mixture for no more than a minute or two. Keep it all cold as well
10 min is way too long strawberries are porous also likely washing out all the flavor too. If it rains hard strawberries become tasteless
Unless they’re covered with plastic, which is common.
Agree with @aaqjr.
Just a few minutes in the solution, then a quick rinse, and I dry with paper towels before placing them dry in an airtight container layered between more paper towels. I don’t hull, but will pull the leaves off if I feel like it. I don’t recommend the salad spinner because I fear the berries may get tossed around and will damage.
I find our berries can last longer than a few days…but if they are Harry’s, I’m lucky if they last 1 day.
I’ve been out of town so was able to test the method again, twice. I did the vinegar/water bath but kept the berries in for only a minute. They were much less soggy so that was a relief, but after a few days, they were turning again, softer and some berries were very soft. These were Driscoll’s which I’ve bought before so it was a bit disappointing.
A few days ago I bought Driscoll’s organic berries. I was almost out of white vinegar so I used much less than the first 2 times. I didn’t have enough liquid (including the water) so I just swirled the berries a few at a time in a plastic container that was more horizontal than vertical. I quickly spun them in a colander, dried them in paper towels and put them back in the original container. The only thing I noticed then was that the berries were darker, but more firm. I just ate another one and SUCCESS!! They are still firm and sweet.
Thanks again for all the suggestions. It’s a sad day in my home when we don’t have fresh strawberries to eat (seriously!).
Have a great day wherever you are!
Yay!