Using and storing your strawberries

You’ve just picked some beautiful farm fresh strawberries and gobbled up as many of these delicious morsals that your belly can hold. Now, what to do with the rest of them? Strawberries can go from gorgeous to overripe quicker than hoped, especially when not cared for after picking or not being stored correctly. These simple tips for storing strawberries under optimum conditions guarantee the best flavour and the least waste:

Once picked
* Try to keep your treasures out of the sun, and find a shady cool spot in your car for the travels home.
* Don’t wash the strawberries until you’re ready to eat them or use them! Strawberries are like small red sponges, ready to soak up all the water they can come into contact with. And once they’ve soaked up that water, they are quick to turn.

* If you bring a haul of strawberries home and want them to be available for snacking, give each portion a QUICK rinse and pat dry as they’re going to be eaten: they’ll taste better and last longer!

Step 2
*If you plan on eating or cooking with the berries within a day and it’s not too terribly hot in your kitchen, you can leave the strawberries out at room temperature. Just give them a QUICK rinse, and eat them up. Strawberries have the most optimum flavour when eaten fresh picked, or at room temperature, and are dry- when they hold onto water after washing this will dull their full flavour.

For overnight storage, however, you’re better off refrigerating them, in their punnet. Then pull out to get to room temperature again before you are ready to use them. If you want them to last for a few days look at step 3.

Step 3
*Line a shallow bowl or rimmed plate with a layer of paper towel or a clean kitchen towel, place the unwashed strawberries in more or less a single layer on the towels, cover, and chill the berries until you’re ready to use them. Stored this way, very fresh strawberries will keep for several days. The closer you can create this dry (the paper towels soaks up excess moisture) and un-pressed (single layer) situation, the better.

*Also, keep the hulls on and don’t cut them up until ready to use.

Again, don’t wash them until you’re going to use them!

Longer storage

*If you’re not planning on using the strawberries within a few days, you’re better off freezing them than trying to keep them all fresh and unblemished. Frozen strawberries are perfect for whirling in smoothies, turning into sauces, or baking up in pies, tarts, cakes, and other treats.

*Some recipes also prefer frozen strawberries when trying to keep its shape.

And the good news is, you don’t need heaps of berries to freeze them. Whenever you have strawberries about to be not at their best—usually just a couple in a punnet—you can hull them and pop them in a bag in the freezer. By the end of strawberry season, you’ll then have some ripe, ready-to-whirl strawberries around for a few smoothies or a quick refreshing snack on a warm day!