Here are some tips on how to extend the "life" of your strawberries so they stay flavorful and crisp even days after purchase. Plus, we’ll show you how to freeze them so you can enjoy fresh, beautiful berries from your freezer months after strawberry season!
How to Keep Strawberries Fresh Longer
To keep your berries fresh for longer, gently pat them dry with paper towels and store them in a container in the fridge, says Dan Gay, chef at The Beach Rose Cafe in Charlestown. This way, they can stay fresh for an extra day or two.
Looking for another trick to extend your strawberries’ shelf life? Try this method:
- Wash the strawberries in a mix of one part vinegar to three parts water.
- Rinse thoroughly with water.
- Dry the berries and store them in an airtight container lined with paper towels to prevent softening.
How to Freeze Strawberries
“Strawberries freeze really well and can be used straight from the freezer in lots of great recipes,” says Gay.
There are several ways to freeze strawberries. Our favorite is freezing them whole or halved. Since strawberries have high water content, they tend to get soggy when thawed. To minimize ice crystal formation—which breaks down the berry’s texture and causes softening—quick freezing is best.
Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack, author of Muy Bueno, recommends freezing strawberries like this:
- Rinse the berries.
- Gently pat dry with paper towels. Remove the stems. Cut larger berries in half.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the strawberries cut side down, leaving space between each berry.
- Freeze uncovered for about six hours until solid.
- Transfer the frozen strawberries to a freezer bag or container and store in the freezer.
Using parchment paper and spacing the berries prevents them from sticking to the tray or each other. Stored this way, they’ll keep for several months in the freezer, though after that they gradually lose flavor.
Frozen strawberries are perfect for all kinds of drinks—from smoothies and shakes to strawberry horchata and berry-tequila-rose sangria. That’s no coincidence: “When frozen strawberries thaw, their texture isn’t the same as fresh. Plan to use them in recipes where you’ll blend or cook them,” says Gay.
