From the historical claims of how strawberries were an exclusive royalty luxury to the countless of health benefits that come along with this magical fruit, the added burst of berry sweetness makes the icing on the cake.
One of the ultimate super fruits, strawberries have definitely made their hallmark in the health industry with a record for suppressing inflammation and boosting your immune system.
Sadly, with its high highs, strawberries also come with some down lows.
Just like most berries, strawberries are vulnerable to harbouring mould spores. Once a mould spore forms on a strawberry, it spreads like wildfire and can quickly destroy the entire basket of fruit.
To add more fuel to the fire, strawberries, in particular, have a high tendency to absorb and retain water, which leads to them easily getting soft and mushy.
So how do you keep strawberries fresh in the fridge for longer?
These tricks will help you stay ahead of your strawberry game.
How to prepare strawberries to keep for longer
The trick to keeping strawberries as fresh for as long as possible is to maintain them in their current state. Do not pull the stems out and do not soak them in water for too long.
If you see any strawberries showing any signs of mould, toss them out ASAP! You don’t want a few bad berries to spoil the bunch.
An effective way to kill mould spores is by rinsing your strawberries in a diluted vinegar solution of 1 cup white distilled vinegar and 8 cups of cold water. To get rid of the vinegar scent, rinse the strawberries after the clean.
If you don’t have any vinegar at hand, another efficient way to kill mould spores is using sodium bicarbonate (bicarb soda). Use one teaspoon of bicarb soda to 2 cups of cold water to create your washing solution.
Now it’s time to store them.
Storing your strawberries in the fridge
When preparing your strawberries for storage, ensure to remove as much water on the strawberry as possible. You can do this by using a paper towel and gently dabbing it on your damp strawberries.
Once dry, place the strawberries in fresh and crisp bags designed to store fresh fruit for longer. These fresh and crisp bags work wonders in creating a sealed vacuum and keeping the air and moisture out of the bag.
To take a step further, you can even throw in a folded paper towel to soak up any remaining moisture left in the bag.
Place your strawberries in the crisper drawers of your fridge as this tends to be the coldest to help keep it fresher for longer.
Strawberries are delicate fruit that typically has a freshness expectancy of no more than five days in the fridge. It, therefore, pays to keep an eye on your fruit past the five-day mark in a fresh and crisp bag and look out for any signs of mould or spoilage.
Fresh and crisp bags for fruit are known to store strawberries for longer than your average sealable bag. However, as the individual nature of each batch of strawberries varies from one to another, it’s hard to provide an exact period for how long the strawberries will stay fresh for.
Nevertheless, the design of the fresh and crisp bags will guarantee that air and moisture are kept out, which helps extend the freshness of your strawberries for longer.