Strawberries can rapidly go tender and mushy in the event you do not retailer them correctly, and doing one factor earlier than they go into the fridge might prolong their life.
Strawberries will final even longer in the event you use this trick (inventory photograph) (Picture: Getty)
Strawberries are a quintessentially British fruit, and hundreds of thousands of us love indulging in all of them 12 months spherical – particularly in the summertime months when British strawberries are ripe.
The very first British strawberries ought to begin to seem in late Might, with peak selecting season occurring in June and July, simply in time for them to be loved with lashings of cream at occasions like Wimbledon.
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However as anybody who recurrently eats strawberries will know, they could be a difficult fruit to maintain recent. Like most berries, strawberries are delicate, and it would not take a lot for them to turn into mushy and unappealing – particularly if they don’t seem to be saved appropriately.
Most individuals will put them within the fridge to maintain them recent for longer, and whereas this positively does work, there are some steps you’ll be able to take earlier than storing them that might lengthen their life for even longer.
Karissa Barker shared a video on Instagram that was all about wash and retailer fruit like strawberries and blueberries to make them last more, and all of it begins with one ingredient – baking soda.
READ MORE: Bananas will final twice as lengthy with intelligent technique that ‘actually works’
Karissa quoted a examine from the College of Massachusetts that claimed that soaking your berries in a mix of water and baking soda will help to take away grime, micro organism, and even floor pesticides from the fruit.
Not solely does this make the berries nicer to eat, however it will possibly additionally assist them last more, as you are eradicating some micro organism that may in any other case trigger them to interrupt down.
Karissa really useful soaking your berries for quarter-hour in a mix of chilly water and baking soda, earlier than emptying the berries right into a colander and rinsing off any residual baking soda. Depart the berries to dry or gently dab them with a paper towel, after which switch them to an hermetic container.
She mentioned: “Retailer in an hermetic glass container for optimum freshness.”
Commenters on the submit added extra context to Karissa’s hack, claiming that typically baking soda could make strawberries softer. If this occurs to your fruit, you need to use vinegar as an alternative of baking soda.
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Learn how to retailer strawberries for optimum freshness
In case you’re consuming them the identical day:
- Preserve them at a cool room temperature in case your kitchen is not heat.
- Depart them in a single layer if attainable (a crowded punnet will increase bruising).
- Preserve them out of direct daylight and away from warmth sources.
In case you’re consuming them in 2-5 days:
- Kind them: take away any mouldy or very tender strawberries instantly (one unhealthy berry can spoil the remainder).
- Line a container with kitchen paper (to soak up moisture).
- Prepare strawberries in a single layer the place you’ll be able to. In case you should stack, put paper between layers.
- Retailer uncovered or loosely lined (you need airflow). If utilizing a lidded container, do not seal it hermetic.
- Preserve them within the essential a part of the fridge, not the coldest again nook, the place they will partially freeze and go mushy.
Optionally available vinegar bathtub to extend freshness:
Some individuals use a diluted vinegar rinse to scale back floor mould spores. This will work to increase the shelf lifetime of your berries, however you will need to guarantee they’re correctly dried earlier than storing.
- Combine 1 half white vinegar with 3 elements water.
- Dip berries for 1–2 minutes, then rinse rapidly with chilly water.
- Dry extraordinarily effectively (a salad spinner lined with a paper towel will help), then retailer utilizing the fridge technique above.
It is typically really useful to not wash berries till you are able to eat them, as if they aren’t dried correctly, this could make them spoil sooner due to the added moisture.
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