Strawberries are one of the most popular fruits around the world. With its red inviting skin color that carries an average of 200 seeds on it, a pack of freshly picked strawberries surely something that is not easy to say no to. Some love to eat them fresh and raw some preferred it in a dessert or like most children some will prefer to have it in ice cream or milk. Eaten in anyway, strawberries surely are one tasty fruit with high nutritious content that is good for our health.
Now say that you just bought a pack of fresh locally grown strawberries from the supermarket, make sure that you don’t wash them all right away. Not like some other fruits that can be washed straight away and store in the refrigerator, strawberries are like any other type of berries, they are easily perishable.
The best way to store your strawberries will be depending on when you are going to consume it or use it on your cooking. Strawberries should be refrigerated right after you bought them to prolong its life shell, without washing them. If you live in areas that don’t have high humidity, you might leave them on the counter for one or two days, but if you want to store them longer, putting your strawberries in the refrigerator is always the best option.
Further tips on what is the best way to store your strawberries will be discussed later in this article.
RULES FOR STAY FRESH STRAWBERRIES
As mentioned before, strawberries are very delicate, and they are not harvested throughout the year that makes them always anticipated. The first rule to keep your strawberries fresh is to pick the right level of ripeness of your strawberries because they don’t ripen once they are picked.
Once you unpack your strawberries, scan through and look for the moldy strawberries. Removing the moldy ones from the pack is essential to avoid the rest of the strawberries become moldy too. When picking the strawberries pack in the grocery store, you might want to flip the pack over to check if there are any moldy strawberries hidden at the bottom of the bunch.
Strawberries are usually picked with a tiny bit of stem attach on it. Leave the stem as long as you can to prolong the freshness of your strawberries. This stem is the part of strawberries that connect the rest of the fruit while they grow.
At the beginning of this article it has been said that strawberries should not be washed or rinsed with water until just before they are used or eaten. This is because strawberries will absorb all the moisture from water and it will enhance the growth of mold.
TIPS FOR KEEPING YOUR STRAWBERRIES FRESH
If you want to eat your strawberries fresh and raw straight from the pack within one or two days, you can leave your strawberries in room temperature. Take some of it and wash only the ones you would like to eat. However, if you live in a pretty hot and very humid area, you might not want to leave your strawberries on the counter for overnight as there is a chance of your strawberries become mushy and moldy on the next day. If this is the case, the next tip may be the best option to store your strawberries.
If you don’t plan to eat the strawberries straight away or within a day or two, the crisper drawer might be the best place to store them. Put your un-washed strawberries in a half closed container and place a single layer napkin at the base of the container to help absorbing any excess moisture. Placing the container in the crisper drawer at the same time will maintain the right amount of moist needed by the strawberries to keep the skin from being too dry and wrinkly and the flesh of the strawberries firm. This type of storage will keep your strawberries fresh for about 5 – 7 days.
If you plan to use the strawberries within a couple of month but less than a year, you can store your strawberries in the freezer. At this stage, you will need to remove the stem and slice the strawberries nicely before placing them onto a single layer of baking sheet. Once they are properly arranged on the baking sheet, place them in the freezer for about 2 hours or until they are solid. After that, move all the sliced strawberries to a freezer safe container and store them in your freezer. This will keep your strawberries until a couple of months.
Frozen strawberries can last up to 6 months or probably more but with certain loss on its firmness as well as taste, but this type of strawberries will taste amazing in your smoothies mix with banana or other summer fruits. You can also defrost them and put it in your pancake batter or make jam to preserve its flavor and enjoy it even when the season has gone.
Despite all the things that we can do to keep our strawberries fresh, freezing and other type of storing strawberries might as well reduce the rich flavors of the strawberries. Freezing can be considered as the best option to store the strawberries that will retain its flavor and the juicy texture once they are defrosted or processed. However, eating strawberries fresh are always the best way to enjoy its vibrant taste as well as take the most advantage of its vitamin and mineral for our body.
