HOW TO MAKE YOUR FRESH STRAWBERRIES LAST LONGER

Once again I have found a terrific tip from Pinterest. My all-time favorite is making bananas last longer (SEE TIP HERE), but this one for strawberries is going to prove just as valuable.

Living in CA for 21 years, we got used to buying strawberries fresh from the fields nearby. It is nice to know that we can buy them just as easily in the groceries stores here in MO. I especially like to buy them when they are on special for 99 cents a pint package. The problem is I want to buy too many. That's not a problem when I am MAKING my strawberry JAM, but if I'm not, I can't eat them fast enough.

Well, as I was saying, I saw this TIP on Pinterest from My Frugal Adventures and decided to give it a try when Aldi had their strawberries on for 99 cents/pint and they looked so good and were so big.

I decided I didn't want to mix up as much mixture as given so I just used the ratio 10:1 water to vinegar and reduced my amount.You can do this also. Measure out the amount of vinegar you want to use and then measure 10 times that amount of water. I measured out 1/2 cup of vinegar and then measured 5 cups of water.

Then I washed a few strawberries and then dropped them into the bowl of vinegar/water. I left them there for a couple of minutes. I stirred them a couple of times to make sure they were being coated completely.

Then I dipped them out with a slotted spoon, allowing the excess water to drip a little

and then spread them on a towel.

I continued until I had covered the towel. I also washed and dried the plastic containers the strawberries came in, and then folded a paper towel and lined the bottom.

One site (I checked out several different sites again trying to find it so I could give her credit, but couldn't find it.) I visited said the secret was making sure the strawberries were completely dry before putting them away to store, so I ended up changing out the towel once and then even covering the berries with another towel.

I probably allowed a couple of hours for the berries to completely dry. Then I returned them to the containers (had to eat a couple because I couldn't get them all back in)....you don't taste the vinegar at all.

I stored them in the fruit basket in my refrigerator. Three days later I took a picture of them.

And even a good week later








I really couldn't believe it. I still had them two weeks later but have to admit one or two had started molding, but this was two weeks after I had washed them. (I bought four pints when I bought them.)

I am so glad to have learned this tip and know I will be making use of it every time I buy strawberries again.....since I tend to overbuy. I haven't tried it but I also read it works with other berries too. I have blackberry bushes I planted that I am hoping to get some blackberries from this year, and will probably be trying the tip with them too, especially if I have a "bumper" crop (which I hope I do.)