Make Your Strawberries Last Longer
Got fresh fruit?
Do your strawberries start turning bad soon after you take them home from the store? Extend their life with this simple tip so you can enjoy fresh strawberries in the fridge for days and sometimes even a week or two! This is a tip that I’ve been trying since a friend shared it with me and it actually works!
Directions:
Use a large bowl to make a diluted vinegar wash of 1 part white vinegar to 5 parts water and soak your berries in the solution for a few minutes. The vinegar will remove any bacteria and mold spores – which is what typically causes strawberries to go bad so quickly. In fact, see the photo above of what the water looks like after you rinse the strawberries. Yikes!
Be sure to dry strawberries thoroughly!
Place strawberries in a salad spinner on top of a couple paper towels and carefully dry them or let air dry in a colander. After dry, store strawberries in the fridge on top of a paper towel.
Do the strawberries taste like vinegar?
No, they don’t! I promise!
Although I haven’t personally tried this method with other berries, I hear it works for raspberries and blackberries too!
Put your fresh berries to good use with our delicious dessert recipes.
Thanks for the tip! My strawberries always go bad immediately. I can’t wait to try this.
I wash all my produce in vinegar water and I love it. It’s the best way to clean fruits and vegetables and they stay fresh longer.
Great idea!! Thanks Andrea 😀
Thanks all for the tips!!! My berries always go bad fast.
Sure! Thanks for reading. 😀
Thanks for the tip!
Thanks I am gonna try this next time.
This really works! I do this with grapes as well and they taste great afterwards, not like vinegar at all.
Great idea for grapes too!
This is what I do. We just wen strawberry picking last Saturday and picked 12lbs for $20. I have made strawberry sorbet and muffins with some of the strawberries, eaten a bunch, frozen some for smoothies, and the ones left are still good.
Id love that muffin recipe! Please and thanks!
Vinegar helps remove some of the pesticides, too. Good idea;)
i agree i do this as well with all berries and grapes,,,,,,,no vinegar taste and they last so much longer and i like knowing i am using a natural product to clean them with
Yes – love that too! 😀
Great tip! I’ll try it soon!
Just did this tonight. The strawberries taste amazing, not like vinegar at all, and they seem to get much cleaner than rinsing with just water.
I agree! Thanks for stopping by 😀
Thanks for the tip. Trying this today!
awesome tip! I’m trying this tonight…. I just bought a huge container, so I am really hoping this will help! thank you!
Vinegar works wonders to clean up even blueberries
Yes I have been doing this for several years on most fruits and veggies, including raspberries and blackberries. The key is to dry thoroughly before storing in frig. I lay mine out on paper towels to air dry. They will not dry completely in a colander. I also dump a vinegar rinse over my melons before cutting.
Great ideas- thanks Joy!
I do this especially for farmer’s market berries that were picked at peak of freshness. They seem to mold after only one night if I don’t wash them well. Makes you question why the supermarket ones take longer to mold.
Yes! I picked some from from an organic farm the other day. They were beautiful but less than 24 hours later they looked terrible lol I was like what’s the deal with grocery store ones ?!? Lol
Thx 4 this tip!!!. Ive never heard of this. I jst love ur tips, ideas, and ur recipes.. and all of ur hard work.
Thanks so much!!! <3
They tasted “cleaner” than just washing with water. It helps remove pesticides. I also did it to the Celery and all veggies to make the Green Juice.
I don’t use vinegar. I use water to rinse and cut the strawberries the day I get it and place in an air tight container and it usually lasts over a week.
It might sound dumb but what is 1 part vinegar? How much vinegar do I need? Thanks in advance.
it means if u use 1 cup vinegar u would then use 5 cups water
It’s a ratio of 1:5, so 1 TBSP vinegar to 5 TBSP water or 1 cup vinegar: 5 cups water as the other poster mentioned. For a pound of strawberries 1/2c vinegar and 2.5c water would probably be good. But I usually just eyeball it with this, the exact amount doesn’t matter too much. HTH 🙂
Thanks for asking I was wondering the same thing lol!
I wash the strawberries, dry them cut them, add some sugar and lemon juice, they last longer and make a very delicious juice! But I’ll try this tip tonight! Thank you
How funny it posted today. I tried this method 2 weeks ago through neighbors and actually worked. I just shared that with my friend early today. This works great. I can vouched this worked.
Great- thanks Kimmy!
Has anyone ever heard of putting cut up cantaloupe in a jar and cover it with water? My mom use to do this and the melon stayed fresh for a really long time.
Thank you! This sounds awesome I love vinegar. There are endless uses for it! H2S is the best!
Awesome! I can’t wait to try this. I always buy in small quantities and have to make multiple trips to the store or farmer’s market since they go bad so quickly!
Yes! We do this with all berries
Thanks so much! I need to start doing this asap
Does apple cider vinegar work? I never have white vinegar – but I always have apple cider vinegar on hand for my hair!
Yes! ACV works perfect! That’s what I always use 😀
Good to know! Thanks Jen 😀
This works super well, I have been doing it this way for a few years now and it makes such a difference. I use apple cider vinegar and usually rinse with plain water after, then dry them off VERY well (I hull and then dry each berry individually with paper towels). Getting rid of all the excess moisture is key before storing in an airtight container.
We went strawberry picking 11 days back to a farm. We picked around 15lb of strawberry and I had used the cardboard boxes provided by the farmer. I used the same box to store them in my refrigerator. I did not wash them and to my utter surprise they are still fresh.
Then store in green bags. I love them. They absorb the gas that ripens fruit.
Thank you!!!!!!!
After grocery shopping, I put all my veggies and fruit in the sink together and rinse then soak in cold water while I put other groceries away. Do you think if I add vinegar to the water and follow the same steps as above that they will all be good and clean and last longer?
Yes, I do like you except I add vinegar. Lay it all out on a towel to dry. Lasts way longer and you’ll be amazed at what comes off in your sink! I put everything together – carrots, berries, tomatoes, lettuce leaves, celery stalks, etc…
I have use the vinegar tip for years but i use a different recipe. I use 1 part of vinegar and 9 parts of water. I swish the strawberries a few at a time in the vinegar mixture bowl and then swish them in a plain bowl of water. I then dry them on paper towels. It doesn’t work for raspberries because they break down. It works really great for blueberries and blackberries also. The berries last a long time, try it you’ll like the process.
Thanks so much! I have switched to either vinegar or borax for all of my cleaning so this will be an awesome addition–especially if I’m composting less produce that has spoiled!!
Does temperature of the water make a difference?
I tried this vinegar solution on my strawberries & it worked great! I also did my raspberries & blackberries like this & the raspberries didn’t do good at all & the blackberries did great!!! I have a question to see if anyone has any suggestions on how to keep bananas from ripening so fast & then they seem to go soft & get all blemished! I buy them when they’re still in a greenish color in hopes to have them longer especially in summer they just don’t stay firm & then I won’t eat them.
I’d really appreciate it if anyone has any suggestions. I’m supposed to eat them but I won’t buy because of this!
As soon as the bananas ripen I put them in the fridge. Even though they look terrible with brown spots,open them up and they are still perfect for a week!
Debbie, I do the same thing. The skin turns blackish but the inside is good. If they start getting soft, I put them in the freezer, skin and all. When I have enough, I make banana bread out of the frozen ripe bananas. No waste and the grandkids love banana bread/cake/cupcakes/ etc
I put in the fridge when they start yellow. Also if already brown and ripe I put in the freezer. Really good for smoothie..mix it with other fruit. So with frozen bananas u dont need ice cube.
After you bring your bananas home green, let them ripen a bit and then pull them apart. Wrap the individual stem ends in cut pieces of aluminum foil and put them in the refrigerator. They will last much longer. It is the gas from the fruit stems that ripen them. They will turn brown but it does not affect the taste.
Hardest thing is to remember they are in the fridge.
I use vinegar for all my fruit. I also use it in my laundry to remove the sour smell from clothes.
Yes I do too! It works great for clothes accidentally left in the washer, which happens to me often! Lol
To prevent wet clothes from staying in the washer too long I leave the light on in my laundry room until I place the clothes in the dryer (the light reminds me that something is in the washer). My dryer has a wrinkle guard button on it, so that prevents my clothes from staying in the dryer too long. HTH
LOL – I use the light trick too! Only prob. I have is getting my husband to leave the light on 🙂
(thought I was the only one who used the silly trick – glad to know you are out there, too, D Lynn 🙂 )
When you’re done rinsing and they are dry can you then store them in a container?
I put paper towel in container, pull fruit out of water & vinegar mix and put in container than right to fridge
I have used the vinegar wash for all my produce for a couple years. I even do apples. I keep vinegar in a spray bottle for a quck wash on one item such as a pepper or apple. Never a vinegar taste.
Thanks for sharing!
I am going to try this. I have almost given up on buying strawberries. I have tried putting them in several different places in the fridge but nothing works. I hope this trick will.
This actually does work! And the best thing…after the vinegar dries there’s no vinegar taste or smell! Vinegar also deodorizer clothes in the wash too. 😉
Yes I agree! I use vinegar in the washer too!
Do you put in container after drying on paper towel or just leave on paper towel in fridge when using this method?
Yes you can either use the same container they came in or a different one.
Would this work for raspberries also?
No…they tend to get mushy after being in water
As for the 1 to 5 ratio of vinegar to water, I am certain that it works with far less vinegar. I don’t even measure. I just add some to the water. I have been using this tip for at least a year, and it always works for me. I am amazed how long my strawberries last.
Been doing this for awhile with my grapes and strawberries. No so much for raspberries or blackberrys as they will get mushy. You will notice in the water color change and small bugs and others discusting things. Than I place them in a container with paper towels in the fridge, they last so much longer this way. Once you do it and see what is in sink you won’t stop.
Can this process also be used on other berries such as raspberries?
Yes many readers have commented that it works for raspberries also.
Sounds like a great idea…except for the part about putting the berries in a salad spinner! that would crush them for sure! Don’t know why that’s suggested, but I wouldn’t do that.
Use my spinner all the time. Never crushed my berries, just removed the water
They suggest storing them open on paper towel. I’m thinking that would lend them to dry out if they’re not covered. Anyone?
No need to rinse them in a vinegar solution. Just take off the plastic wrap, throw it away. Line the berry container with paper towel, put the berries in. Lightly cover the top of the container with another paper towel. No other cover is needed. Put in frig. Do not wash until you are ready to take the tops off the berries & cut up…serve & enjoy! Works well for me every time!