How to keep strawberries fresh
Keeping fruit fresh can be quite the challenge! Normally, after grocery shopping, most of our fruit goes straight in the fridge and a lot of times, it goes bad before we get to it. We LOVE strawberries at our house and we still seem to get yucky ones a day or two after we buy them which is so frustrating! today I’m going to show you my easy tip on how to keep strawberries fresh.
Well, since I’ve discovered this amazing secret, now I can keep our strawberries and other berries fresh for up to two weeks!! It’s amaaaazing!
How to keep strawberries fresh
- First, place berries into a large bowl. I use a large mixing bowl.
- Fill bowl with cool tap water, just enough to cover all of the berries.
- Next, add 1-2 cups of distilled white vinegar to the water and berries.
- Let sit for 5-10 minutes in vinegar/water mixture.
- Pour berries and vinegar/water mixture into a colander. You do not need to rinse them, just drain the water.
- Place berries on dry paper towels on the counter or table. Be sure they are NOT touching one another.
- Let berries air dry COMPLETELY. I usually let them sit out for an hour or so.
- Once they are totally dry, place them in a clean bowl in the fridge! You can even cut them up if you’d like.
TIP for quick snacks:
We like to cut them up and remove any soft spots so we have a cool, healthy, delicious snack ready to go at any time.
I know someone will ask because I was really curious, you will NOT be able to taste any sort of vinegar-y taste after doing this method. Your berries will last several days longer than just sticking them in the fridge when you buy them. We have seen them last 1-2 weeks using this method but we normally eat them up so fast when they’re clean and cut up in our refrigerator!
Strawberries are such a delicious, healthy snack (especially for kids!) in the Spring and Summer! My kids love a handful of them after playing outside.
Do you have any tips on how to keep strawberries fresh? This method works on most berries and fruit. I’d love to hear it!
If you like strawberries, be sure to check out:
This is a great idea. After you have them clean and dry, you can put them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze them, then put them in zipper bags, or better yet, vacuum bags.
What a great idea! So perfect for smoothies or to toss in yogurt! Thanks for sharing!
XOXO, Mallory
Thanks for this wonderful post! Pinned it!
Funny you should post this yesterday. After dinner last night I was cleaning out the fridge in preparation for garbage/compost pickup today.
I knew we had some older strawberries in the fridge still in their clam shell packaging. Since we had both been gone for 4 days and they were in there prior to that I tossed them without looking at them too closely.
After dinner my husband asked me what I did with the strawberries and when I told him he said he had just bought them that day for dessert. Ooops. My bad.
We will have to try this since we often lose them to mold very quickly.
Great tip! I am always amazed at how long berries last after this treatment and it is awesome to be able to open the fridge and eat a couple of berries without having to wash them… Encourages healthy snacking habits! I usually use much less vinegar though – maybe 1-2 tablespoons in a bowl and it is still effective.
or you could purchase Tupperware fridgesmarts and keep all your produce fresher, longer!
I heard this works on all fresh fruit.
An easier way is to squeeze a wedge of lemon juice into the water (instead of the vinegar). Anything acidic ~ vinegar, lemon, lime ~ will kill bacteria and make the strawberries last longer. I love the zest that the lemon juice adds.
Oh good!I like this tip, the smell of vinegar makes me GAGGGG. Lol
Thanks for sharing. It’s strawberry season and I am in the process freezing them. Now I can keep some fresh and on hand for snacking on. I will use this method and them freeze them whole too without the usual sliced ones with sugar as I normally do. I appreciate this great tip!
Love this post thanks so mich for sharing! Would Pompeii white vinegar work or does it have to say distilled?
I have never tried it with that type of vinegar but I’m sure he would work just as well! Thanks for stopping by! xoxo
I just happened to catch a great sale on strawberries today so I will be giving this a try! If I cut the strawberries up after soaking and drying them, do I still store them in the fridge uncovered?
I have stored them both covered and uncovered and it doesn’t seem to affect the length of time they stay fresh. 🙂
I don’t wash my berries until I’m going to eat them. I take a plastic container and line it with a paper towel then cover the bottom with the berries without squishing and crowding them then I cover with another paper towel and put the lid on and store in the fridge. This has worked great for me but I’ll have to try the pre-washing method too 🙂
Omg why have I ever known this?!! Ah so excited. We waste so much because of them going bad. Thank you!!!
Thank you for sharing the tips!! Wow! I have to try it next time. I always freeze strawberries for smoothie, because I can’t keep the fresh for a long time.
The day you first posted I had purchased 2lbs of strawberries so I tried your tip. It works! I still have berries, they look great & taste fabulous! Thanks for informing us!
Just tried this process. Do I cover them or leave the bowl open?
Either one is fine! I’ve done both!
After that’s all done and dry can I put them all in a plastic container together can I cut them before
After thats all done and dry can I cut them and take the stem off also can I put them all in a plastic container together in
After I soak the strawberry’s and blueberry’s in the water and vinager for a hour I lay them out on paper towel to dry not touching each other once they are dry can I take them stem off and cut them ? Also can I put them all In a plastic container together ?
Absolutely! That’s what we do at our house!