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Knowing how to store strawberries properly will benefit your produce and emotional well-being in equal measure. After all, the window between scoring a carton of fresh strawberries from the farmers market and watching them don a jacket of fuzzy mold in real-time is notoriously, tragically short. You can, in fact, keep them ruby-red and free of mold for an entire week (that’s basically a lifetime in strawberry years)—and abate your fruit-related stresses in turn.
How to store fresh strawberries
Mitigating excess moisture is the most important step in keeping berries fresh. When senior test kitchen editor Jesse Szewczyk tested multiple methods for storing strawberries for The Kitchn, he found it most effective to soak the berries in a solution of 1 part white vinegar to 3 parts water. To further stave off mold growth, he then drained the berries before drying them in a paper-towel-lined salad spinner and transferring them to a food storage container lined with fresh paper towels.
Effective as this storage method is, Jesse has since found you can achieve the same results through simpler means. “The easiest and most effective method is: washing strawberries under cold water in a colander, discarding any bad berries past their prime, and storing the [clean berries] back in the original container they came in,” he tells me. “Just make sure you dry them really well, either with a clean kitchen towel or via a quick spin in a salad spinner.” If your berries came in one of those fibrous, open-top green pints, transfer them to a container with the lid loosely placed on top, not sealed. This keeps them from drying out while simultaneously promoting air circulation, minimizing condensation, and allowing spoilage-inducing gases to escape.
If you have the time, rinsing unwashed strawberries in the above vinegar solution will extend their lifespan even longer—it’s known to effectively kill off bacteria and mold spores, according to Southern Living.
Where to store fresh strawberries
Beyond how you wash berries, where you store fresh strawberries in the fridge can also extend their shelf life. Jesse suggests nestling them in the crisper drawer. “It’s specifically calibrated to keep fresh produce hydrated,” he says. If you’ve come into a goldmine of blackberries or blueberries, follow the same washing and storage tips. For raspberries, which are more prone to molding, wash them just before using.
With these tips, you can consider moldy strawberries a thing of the past. And, once strawberry season arrives and grocery stores overflow with the juiciest morsels, you’ll be properly equipped to prevent spoilage and embark on the strawberry recipes of your dreams.
