Strawberries are undeniably delicious. They taste like summertime and happiness on their own, but they are also a dream in a dessert. Chocolate-covered strawberries, strawberry shortcake, strawberry cheesecake, strawberry jam, and strawberry rhubarb pie are among many of the classic strawberry-flavored confections. You may imagine all these sweets when you are shopping and you add a load of undeniably juicy, red strawberries to the cart.
However, when you get home, life gets busy and the strawberries lie forgotten in the fridge. Suddenly, you remember them but it’s too late. They have already become moldy and you have to throw them out. What a waste!
Fortunately, there is a way to improve the shelf life of berries. And don’t worry. The hack takes only a few minutes to complete. After all, if there’s no time for baking strawberry muffins or compote, there’s no time for a long, complicated process. Instead, you need two simple ingredients and you will have fresh strawberries for the munching for weeks afterward.
Read: 11 Foods That Stay Good After Their Expiration Date
Here’s the Trick to Keep Strawberries Fresh
You will need:
- Medium-sized bowl
- Water
- White vinegar
Directions:
- Place the strawberries into the bowl.
- With a ratio of one-part vinegar to five parts water, cover the top of the strawberries.
- Let rest for a few minutes. The vinegar solution will remove bacteria and mold spores that cause strawberries to go bad so fast. This is a more thorough cleaning solution than just rinsing them with water. You’ll probably notice some dirt and grime at the bottom of the bowl, but that’s a sign the vinegar is working.
- Remove the strawberries from the vinegar solution and dry them as much as possible. The remaining dampness could cause them to easily mold again. You can use a salad spinner or pat them with paper towels.
- Store the strawberries spread out on a paper towel in the fridge. Do not place them back into their container. [1]
No, the strawberries won’t taste like vinegar afterward, not at all. Also, this hack works with other kinds of berries, like raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries.
The best part about this procedure is long-lasting, fresh, sweet, red strawberries. No more panicking about the produce lost in the back of the fridge; the strawberries will stay delicious.
Read: The Shelf Life of 32 Foods in Your Pantry
Health Benefits of Strawberries
When they are not baked with a sugary batter or dipped into chocolate fondue, strawberries are powerhouses of vitamins and nutrients like vitamin C, manganese, folate, and potassium.
They consist of mainly water, which makes them relatively low in carbohydrates and calories. Additionally, these carbs come from simple sugars, but they also have 2 grams of fiber per 100 grams of strawberries (about 26% of their carb content). They are low on the glycemic index, which means they do not cause large spikes in blood sugar levels; this makes them safe for people with diabetes. [3]
Not only that, strawberries have been associated with reducing the risk or symptoms of many chronic diseases including heart disorders. This is because strawberries have been found to:
- reduce inflammation
- improve blood antioxidant status
- aid vascular function
- better your blood lipid profile
- decrease oxidative stress
- reduce the harmful oxidation of LDL (bad) cholesterol [4]
Studies that included observing thousands of people found a connection between consuming berries and lowering the risk of heart-related deaths. [5] [6]
Strawberry Recipes to Enjoy
Now that your strawberries are keeping fresh, you have a larger window of opportunity to make delicious treats with them. Here are several you can try:
- “Mom Shares Trick To Keeping Strawberries Fresh In The Fridge For Weeks.” Tip Hero.
- “Strawberries, raw.”
- “Strawberries, fresh, raw.” Glycemic Index.
- “Berries: emerging impact on cardiovascular health.” Arpita Basu, Michael Rhone, Timothy J Lyons. Nutr Rev. March 2010.
- “Low intake of fruits, berries and vegetables is associated with excess mortality in men: the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor (KIHD) Study.” Tiina H Rissanen, Sari Voutilainen, Jyrki K Virtanen, Birgitta Venho, Meri Vanharanta, Jaakko Mursu, Jukka T Salonen. J Nutr. January 2003.
- “Strawberry intake, lipids, C-reactive protein, and the risk of cardiovascular disease in women.” Howard D Sesso, J Michael Gaziano, David J A Jenkins, Julie E Buring. K m Coll Nutr. August 2007.