Whats the best way to keep strawberries

[Conifer]

Hi,

This isn't really a gardening question (although we do have a garden ), but I was hoping for advice. My kids and I go strawberry picking this time of year and we LOVE fresh strawberries. Unfortunately our berries go bad after a day or two if we don't eat them all. Our solution (so far) has been to not pick a lot and go back several times. I am wondering what the best way is to keep them when we get home. Right now I rinse them and stick them in an air tight container in the fridge...should I hull them or will that make them go bad faster? Should I not rinse them? Also, I have been thinking about bringing a cooler in the car when we pick. After we pick we usually enjoy an icecream cone and pet the farm animals and I think that maybe the berries sitting in the hot car for an hour might make them worse. Any thoughts?

Thanks

[dharmama]

one thing that i do that seems to help extend the life of strawberries (and blueberries) is storing them in a colander (sp?) on my counter after rinsing them.

i saw some beautiful berry bowls at the farmers' market once and the potter explained that allowing air to move through the bowl helps to keep the berries from going bad.

i didn't have the money to buy a bowl (they were so beautiful though!!) but created my own at home with a little colander sitting on a plate.

i do think bringing a cooler when you pick -- or visiting the animals and having ice cream before you pick might help!

we picked 18 pounds of strawberries last week. we ate a bunch. froze a bunch and made jam for the first time, which was a fun adventure!

we stopped on the way home to play at a playground and i took the berries out of my car and put them in the shade.

they still got a little cooked but it wasn't such a big deal because we were making most of them into jam anyway.

[lmonter]

1. Take a cooler with ice packs. Chill those strawberries asap. That'll help cut down on molding on the drive home. Btdt. Then get the strawberries in a fridge as soon as you get home.

2. Do not rinse the strawberries until you plan to use them. Cutting them up to eat, prepping for jam or popsicles, whatever.

3. If you do rinse and cut your strawberries for use the next day or two, put a paper towel in the container with them. Helps soak up the juices so they're not as prone to just going all mush on you. If you can crack open the container for a few minutes a day so they can breathe (ethylene gases I want to say? can build up, leading to more rapid decay?), all the better.

4. It's just the nature of the beast with fresh, fresh food. It doesn't have a shelf life. Especially if your strawberry farm is like mine and grows strawberries that are very, very yummy but cannot handle a week of shipping.


But that's just my experience... my strawberry farm is about an hour away, so I *really* have to plan, and it's not feasible to just go every few days just because. So when I go, we've come back with 11.5lbs and 17lbs so far. I'm hoping to get there kid-free once or twice to just go whole hog and maybe come back with 40-50lbs to finish off all I need to stock up for the year. Especially if I can talk a friend of two into coming with me without kids as well - talk about a quick trip.

[tankgirl73]

I think the cooler would certainly help.

First day or two back, they should be okay to eat straight up. After that, I mash them up with some sugar and just use that on some sweet biscuits or cake and whipped cream for shortcake. Of course making jam is always a possibility. Or, if you're not in the mood for that, just freeze them whole and store for later. If you take several smaller trips, then you'll have fresh ones to eat on hand, and be storing up more for the off-season at the same time.

[ElliesMomma]

definitely pet the animals and eat the ice cream *before* picking the strawberries. yes, don't leave them in a hot car and expect them not to deteriorate. treat them like fragile fresh produce that they are.

i say, let the kids absolutely gorge on the fresh strawberries, and you do it too. it's a once a year treat, and if you repeat it several times in a season, all the better. that's the thing about fresh produce -- it doesn't last.

take pictures of your glouteny (sp) -- your bountiful picking, the kids eating the strawberries, their hands all covered in red. (oh yeah, also dress them in already stained old clothes, nothing that matters if it drips on.)

then later this year, look back and remember, and gear up your appetite for strawberries again next year.

enjoy!!

[zinemama]

Do not rinse! Only rinse before using. But yes, strawberries really don't keep. Unless you freeze them for the winter (that's what we do) or make jam.

[mama_daba]

what everyone else said but also if you end up with to many to eat all at once you can also wash, cut and freeze them for smoothies!

[Owen'nZoe]

Like others, we just enjoy ours when they are fresh. We usually skip dinner on strawberry picking day in favor of a big bowl of strawberries with fresh cream.

Then, the extras I slice and dehydrate, freeze, or turn into jam. I hide the dried strawberries as well as I can, but someone (usually Dh ) always finds them, and they are gone by the end of summer. The frozen ones last us part way through the winter. The jam will last the whole year, but (shh! - don't tell!) only because I lie to friends who ask for another jar, telling them I'm all out.

[Aeress]

I also have good luck with not rinsing them, putting them whole in a canning jar and storing in the fridge. The generally keep about 4days using that method.