The sweet, juicy taste of a freshly picked strawberry is one of the simple pleasures of summer. If you’ve been strawberry picking and come home with baskets full of ripe, red berries, you likely want to enjoy them as soon as possible. But what if you can’t eat them all right away? Don’t worry – there are plenty of great options for storing, preserving, and using up your fresh strawberry harvest.
In this article I’ll share tips and ideas for making the most of your strawberries after picking including
- How to properly store fresh-picked strawberries
- Freezing strawberries for later use
- Turning strawberries into jams, sauces, and syrups
- Using strawberries in drinks, salads, desserts, and more
Follow these suggestions, and you’ll be prepared to fully enjoy those sweet berries before their freshness fades away
Storing Freshly Picked Strawberries
Put your just-picked strawberries in the right way as soon as you get home to make sure they stay at their best. Here are some storage tips:
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Wait to wash the berries until you’re ready to eat or cook them. Washing removes their natural protective coating.
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Leave the caps on until you are prepping the berries. The cap keeps each berry fresher.
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Use shallow containers so the berries aren’t stacked or crushed. Line the containers with paper towels to absorb excess moisture.
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Refrigerate the berries uncovered or loosely covered. Cold air circulation will help preserve freshness.
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Eat the berries within 3-5 days for maximum flavor and juice. Discard any moldy or damaged berries right away.
Proper refrigerated storage will keep fresh strawberries tasting great for several days. But for longer-term use, freezing is a great option.
Freezing Strawberries for Later Use
Freezing allows you to enjoy strawberry sweetness all year long. Here are some tips for freezing your fresh berry haul:
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Wash and dry the berries thoroughly before freezing. Clean berries freeze better.
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Hull the strawberries and slice them if desired before freezing. Frozen berries are hard to hull.
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Arrange the berries in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Then pack them into freezer bags or airtight containers.
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Add a bit of sugar (2 tbsp per 1 pint of berries) to help maintain texture and flavor.
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Seal the freezer containers tightly, removing as much air as possible. Label with contents and date.
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Use the frozen berries within 10-12 months for optimal flavor and texture.
Now you’ll have frozen strawberries ready whenever you want to make a smoothie, topping, or dessert!
Turning Strawberries Into Jams and Sauces
Making jams, compotes, and sauces with fresh strawberries is a simple way to use them up. Here are some tasty ideas:
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Strawberry jam – Cook mashed berries with sugar and lemon juice. Seal in sterilized jars.
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Strawberry sauce – Simmer berries with sugar and lime juice, then blend. Serve over ice cream and cakes.
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Balsamic strawberry compote – Simmer berries with balsamic vinegar and sugar until thickened. Enjoy over yogurt or grilled chicken.
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Strawberry coulis – Puree berries with powdered sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle over waffles or cheesecake.
The possibilities are endless! Homemade jam also makes a thoughtful gift.
Using Strawberries in Drinks, Desserts, and More
Of course, you can always eat juicy strawberries fresh and uncooked. But here are some other yummy ways to use them:
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Fruit salads – Toss berries into green, pasta, or layered fruit salads.
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Smoothies – Blend with yogurt and ice for a nutrition-packed breakfast or snack.
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Strawberry shortcake – The classic dessert, with biscuits, berries, and whipped cream.
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Strawberry lemonade or iced tea – Sweeten crushed berries into cold beverages.
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Strawberry tarts – Bake berries into mini phyllo shells for an elegant dessert.
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Pancakes and waffles – Top breakfast treats with sliced berries and syrup.
With so many options, you could enjoy strawberries for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks! Try new recipes until you’ve used up all those delicious fresh berries.
The next time you go strawberry picking, don’t be daunted by the bounty of berries you bring home. Follow these storage, freezing, and usage tips, and you’ll be prepared to fully enjoy your harvest of summer’s favorite fruit. Treat your tastebuds to strawberry spinach salads, homemade strawberry ice cream, gifted jars of strawberry jam, and much more. Let your fresh berries inspire you to create sweet summertime food memories that will last long after the season has passed.
Check Berries Regularly Until Ready to Use
Do a daily check to look for juicy, rotting, or molding berries. As mentioned above, rot and mold can spread quickly. It can also crop up quickly if a berry or two goes by while in storage. Give a look-through for bad berries each day until you are ready to use them. Throw away overripe berries that are getting soft or leaking juice, because they are already on their way out and will soak up your good berries.
Hold off on Hulling
Hulling, to a fresh strawberry, is essentially a wound to the berry. (Hulling means to remove the green top and stem—it is basically de-stemming). When we take off the hull, we cut off an appendage and make a wound. This can make the wound leak, which makes the berry start to lose its juices. This increases the chances of spoilage and starts the breakdown process for the berry.
Of course, the effects won’t be immediate, but hulling will start the process that leads, eventually, to deterioration. Hence, this is something that should not be done with fresh strawberries until right before you want to use or eat them.
Preparing Strawberry Plants For Next Years Crop
FAQ
Do freshly picked strawberries need to be refrigerated?
Strawberries taste best when they are cooked and eaten on the same day. If you need to keep them longer, put them in the fridge. Arrange the berries in a shallow container, separating out any damaged berries. Cover them loosely, and keep at 35 degrees for best results.
What do you do after picking strawberries?
Do not wash. Do not remove stems. Put berries directly in a plastic lidded container and put a paper towel or two on top before putting the lid on. Then store the container in the refrigerator UPSIDE DOWN. Replace the paper towel whenever you get some berries out.
What to do with strawberries after harvest?
Renovation is an important step in strawberry management that comes after harvest. Renovating allows the strawberry plants to grow vigorously and prepare new fruiting buds for next year. Steps in renovation include mowing, weed control, cultivation, fertilization and irrigation.
How to use freshly picked strawberries?
You can put it in a cake (makes great filling), on a shortcake, on ice cream, in ice cream, make milkshakes, use as the basis for a gelée for a composed dessert, glaze fresh berries later in the season, add to a custard. omg, so many possibilities.
What to do with fresh strawberries?
So I now present to you… my all-inclusive fresh strawberry recipe list. Now you’ll never struggle to figure out what to do with fresh picked strawberries. In the list below you’ll find: easy appetizers, summer salads, delicious baking recipes, fun homemade ice cream, and of course strawberry shortcake!!.
What can you drink with fresh strawberries?
Take it easy on the porch with a lemonade, smoothie, iced tea, or sangria. These tasty drinks with fresh strawberries will help you forget about your problems. We wish we could make all of these every single summer (and we might try). When many people think “fresh strawberries,” they think “fresh strawberry jam. ” What a great thought!.
Do you wash strawberries before preserving?
Rule number one of fresh strawberry handling–do not wash until you’re ready to use them. You should wait to wash your strawberries until you are ready to use them or getting them ready to freeze. Washing introduces the most water and moisture to your berries. Fresh strawberries easily soak up water from washing—they’re like little sponges.
How do you keep strawberries fresh for a long time?
While it’s common practice to keep berries in their original containers and not wash until eating, there is a trick that keeps them fresher for longer. After purchasing strawberries, wash the fruit in a water and vinegar bath. Washing the berries in this mixture will remove any bacteria and will put off molding longer.
What happens if you eat a fresh strawberry?
For fresh eating, the younger the better. Strawberry sugars start to break down after harvest, which results in a loss of flavor. The sugars in strawberries, which play a major role in their flavor, start to break down soon after picking. The sugars begin to convert into starch, and the flavor begins to get a bit blander.
How do you make strawberries last longer?
This article shares the best way to make your strawberries last longer. They say it’s by soaking them in a vineagar-water solution! After, rinse and use a salad spinner to make sure they are dry. 33 Recipes Using Fresh Strawberries… The absolute best summer pool party dish! This is a popular dish in Rome! It’s so simple and made with 3 ingredients.