This is an older guide but I wondered if an HO’s have found a solid method that results in fresh strawberries lasting without spoiling quickly.
All summer strawberries seemed to get watery fast.
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Absolutely. Don’t buy too many at once. And eat them soon after purchase. Works every time.
FWIW, we never wash fruit until it’s time to eat them
Long lasting strawberries tend to be those bred for the purpose for supermarket shelf life and not for flavour. Best avoided if possible (not easy with the market dominance of supermarkets - we no longer have a greengrocer in the village, or the next one.
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You made me laugh-that IS our method! The shelf like is so so short!
Thankfully, customer reaction must have had some effect. it’s a couple of years or so since I last saw the dreaded Elsanta strawberries at the supermarket. Bred for shelf life they had little flavour., so good to see the back of them.
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Really disappointed, bruised, watery, no flavor strawberries with fewer exceptions this season than last by me. Blackberries were wonderful.
Blackberries have been excellent this year. As have raspberries. Must be the cold, wet summer suits them.
Tomorrow, we’re off to one of the best outdoor markets in the region, in the town of Bury (in the north of the metro area). Fruit and veg are always top notch. I see a late season summer pudding in my future or may be an autumn pudding version, using plums or damsons. But, whatever, it’ll be a good foody day out.
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Sounds fantastic! Enjoy!
I buy, preserve and eat many pounds of strawbs a year. All of them are local and seasonal - no supermarket berries in plastic clamshells ever. Some I pick myself in the field, some I buy at the farmers market or from a farm directly.
I keep them cool on the drive home, and process them immediately when I get home.
I quickly submerge them in cool water, drain and thoroughly dry them (combo of air drying and v gentle paper towel usage). Then I stow them in a container, no more than 2 or 3 deep, in between layers of paper towels, and I always cover the top layer of berries so that condensation doesn’t drip down from the inside lid of the container. Into the fridge they go. Glass is better than plastic but I don’t have sufficient numbers of flat glass containers currently to accommodate my berry obsession.
Sometimes I switch out the top layer of paper towels every day so they are dry.
How long they last is still variable. If I pick perfectly ripe, absolutely ready and perfect berries in the field, they don’t last as long as those that are slightly less ripe.
Having read that article, I’ll def experiment with warmer water next season.
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I’ve done exactly what you outlined whether fresh picked or store bought and within a day or two had to use the berries either in baking or drinks and way too many still molded.
I noted the hot water method, never tried it…
Wow.
That never happens to me and I live in a pretty humid area but maybe it’s way hotter/more humid by you?
NJ-def a hot summer. I picked strawberries in 90 degrees and had a cooler in my truck heading back. Same issues. It’s frustrating.
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Here in MA we also had hot weather during strawberry season. A farmer explained to me that too-hot weather turns strawberries to mush in the field. So she didn’t offer a pick your own option this year, just quickly harvested what they could.
I now plan to try that warm water washing method next summer. Need to make those precious strawberries last longer in the fridge.
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I’ve started washing berries as needed, pre washing them, for me, always leads to mold.
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Yep Peter, I find the same is preferred but too many mold before I get to that point. Maybe the hot water method will work.
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I’ll be honest, I only buy blueberries now because like you, all the others start to bloom in no time. Blueberries aren’t immune to fuzz, but I find that they last a lot longer.
Blackberries too. Raspberries I use before they get a second to spoil on me 
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The hot water wash sounds like the right solution for the fuzzy berry family, or eat them immediately 
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Raspberries are prob the most perishable of the berries I buy; when I pick them I very strictly avoid the totally-ripe ones, especially if it’s hot out. Those really will disintegrate on the way home!
i’m surrounded by strawberry growers so they are available for a very long season around here. my preferred method is to get them in a dilute vinegar solution (3:1), soak them for 10-15 minutes. rinse thoroughly, then air dry completely. i then pack them individually in 18 count egg cartons. kind of looks like this
buying berries on the larger side makes this less tedious. they last in pristine form for 4-6 days in the fridge (although usually they don’t last past day 3 due to consumption).
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