Stawberries are sweet, refreshing, and go down a treat especially during the hotter seasons, but like many fruits they often spoil very quickly, meaning most people buy a fresh batch and end up having to bin half of it. Yet, doing this one easy thing will change everything as it is claimed to keep strawberries fresh for up to an impressive two weeks.
And better yet, this hack doesn’t involve spending loads of money or time, in fact the thing needed to keep your strawberries fresh for longer is most likely already in your kitchen. The trick was revealed by food writer and cooking teacher, Sheri Castle on PBS North Carolina’s YouTube Channel.
Acknowledging that strawberries can go from “perfect to bad overnight”, the food expert revealed “the simple steps” that everyone should follow to help preserve the fruit, and all you need is some vinegar.
Sheri said: “Make a vinegar bath with one part vinegar to three parts water and yes the ordinary vinegar you keep in the kitchen cabinet eliminates bacteria and mould spoils on the berries which helps it stay fresh.”
Strawberries should be soaked whole with the caps still on for 10 minutes before being drained using a colander and rinsed with cold running water. This will remove “any lingering traces of the vinegar”.
She added: “It is important to dry the berries as thorougly as possible after their bath because cleaning moisture is the enemy of ripe berries.”
For those who have a salad spinner, the tool works perfectly to ensure your berries are completely dry. It’s what Sheri uses herself. The basket should be lined with paper towels to “cushion” the strawberries.
However, if you don’t have a salad spinner, then you can easily blot them with a paper towels and spread them out on a tray to allow them to air dry.
Once they are completely dry, avoid putting the berries back into the container or packaging they arrived in. Instead, Sheri advises to place them in a sealable container that is lined with paper towels.
The lid should be left “partially open” as this will avoid moisture being trapped in the container. Then they can be popped into the fridge.
