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Do you struggle with figuring out how to keep your strawberries fresh? Here’s a method to make them last longer to avoid food waste!

Have you ever bought a pack of strawberries only to find that 2 days later, most of them are squishy and starting to turn white?

It’s so gross, and such a waste of money. It’s one of the reasons I never wanted to buy fresh produce because it just went bad so quickly.

After doing some research, I found a way to keep strawberries fresh that works for me, and makes the strawberries last at least a week.

Do you need to wash strawberries before eating?

According to this article from Healthline, washing any produce before eating is a good idea. Other hands have touched your food before you, and who knows if those hands were clean.

Gross to think about, I know.

Healthline actually recommends just using water and gentle rubbing, but I prefer to use a water and vinegar soak just because I think it works.

But yes, definitely wash your strawberries before eating, dipping in chocolate, or making jam.

Do you wash strawberries before or after cutting them?

I wash my strawberries before cutting. Since they’re sitting in a vinegar soak, I figured it was easier to just throw everything in.

Plus, then I’ll know I won’t have dirty strawberries on my cutting board when I cut the stems off!

How to keep strawberries fresh

Washing strawberries with vinegar

Here’s what you need to wash strawberries to make them last longer:

• Strawberries (1 pound or more)
• A large bowl
• Water
• Vinegar
• Colander
• A food storage container like these Rubbermaid ones– A 5-cup container typically holds 1 pound

First, fill the bowl with a 10:1 ratio water to vinegar. So if you use 1 cup of vinegar, put in 10 cups of water; I usually just eyeball it and it turns out fine.

Add the strawberries, making sure they’re mostly covered by the water, and let them sit for about 10 minutes.

Pour the strawberries into the colander, rinsing off the excess vinegar, then place them on the towel on your kitchen counter, spacing them apart so they dry faster.

In my experience, putting wet strawberries in the fridge seems to make them go bad faster.

I let them sit for a couple hours, gently patting them dry when I’m ready to put them away. I put them in a regular Rubbermaid storage container with the lid tightly sealed.

How long do strawberries last in the fridge?

Doing all this, I’ve found my strawberries to last all week in the fridge (if we don’t eat them all by then), which is awesome.

It cuts back on waste, which saves us money, and I hate essentially throwing away money.

I do the same thing with blueberries too, and they seem to last just about as long as strawberries.

What can be made from strawberries?

If you find yourself with way too many strawberries (Easy to do in Summer), you can make some of these super easy recipes:

• Strawberries and Cream Stacked Pancakes
• Smoothies (Slice strawberries in half and freeze so you don’t have to use ice!)
• No Bake Strawberry Cheesecakes
• Top yogurt or oatmeal with strawberries
• Strawberry Bread

Do you use this method of cleaning, or do you do something different? Let me know what works for you!

S