I’m trying this new series of articles on Fridays called “Favorite Things Friday” where I will be sharing some of my favorite things, products, life tips, in hopes that you might find it useful in some way for your family. Please let me know in the comments if you would like to see more articles like this. I’m experimenting with this for the next few weeks.Ā If you would like to see more articles like this, I can keep this series going. Ā To go along with these Friday articles, I’ll also include a Giveaway!
My kids love strawberries and blueberries. One of the biggest frustrations I have with strawberries is that they rot so quickly in the fridge.Ā So much so that I started avoiding buying Organic Strawberries, since they tend to go bad even faster. Often, I’ll check back after 2-3 days of buying them, and the entire pack is moldy and needs to be thrown away. I hate wasting food! (Really, I hate wasting anything that I paid for with hard earned money.)
Let me document some tips and products I found helpful in helping to keep strawberries fresh for longer (and other produce too).
How to Keep Strawberries Fresh for Longer
Here are some tips that I’ve learned on how to keep strawberries last longer than the usual 2-3 days. The key to keeping strawberries fresh is to keep them stored clean and dry.
1. Wash Right Away with Vinegar
Once I get home from the grocery store, I wash the Strawberries before they go in the fridge. Mold spores on the fruits are what makes them go bad quickly.
I washĀ my strawberries with Apple Cider Vinegar and water mix. You can do this in a big bowl or a salad spinner. Leave it soaking for a few minutes. The vinegar solution helps to remove spores and bacteria on the fruit, thus extending their life.
I typically add about 2 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar to a bowl of water. But you can use regular Vinegar as well. Some people add more vinegar for their wash solution (ie. 1 cup vinegar for 3 cups of water), in which case you’ll have to rinse extra well.
2. Dry Your Strawberries
Drying your berries is the next important step. You can get ridĀ of excess water by spinning it a few times in a salad spinner. AND/OR drying it with a soft cloth or paper towel.
You can also air dry them in a colander, but with so many things going on, I’m afraid I’ll forget about the drying berries on the counter overnight (lol), so I don’t do this.
3. Storing Your Strawberries for Freshness
The quick and cheapest solution (what I used to use) for storage is to line the plastic containers (they came in) with paper towels and put the berries back in the containers.
And then a few months ago, there was a deal we posted on these Rubbermaid FreshWorks containers. I got a set to try and have been hooked ever since!Ā
There’s a little perforated tray in the bottom of the container to keep produce from soaking in any condensation and moisture. And the lid has little “holes” in it to allow air flow in and out of the container.
I’ve since purchased a few more of these from Target (with the food storage category coupon), and I use it with all my fruit that needs washing.
One tip I found to be helpful is to wash all your fruits and veggies in one sitting. Then dry and store. It’ll save you time in the long run instead of washing one item as you need it. Plus, it’s so much more convenient to use, without the additional friction of needing to wash fruits. In the mornings, I love pulling out my green and white containers of already washed fruits and packing my kid’s lunches. SO Nice!
Giveaway Time! Win a Set of FreshWorks for FREE
To make it fun, I’m gonna include a Giveaway to go with these Favorite Things Friday articles every Friday. Check back every Friday for more of my Favorite Things.
For today’s giveaway, I’m giving away the 3-Piece set of FreshWorks Produce Saver Food Storage Containers to 4 Readers. This giveaway starts on Friday 8/24 and will end on Monday 8/27. Winners will be announced on this blog only on Tuesday 8/28 before 12pm PST.Ā You’ll have 48 hours to claim your prize.
To enter in this giveaway: leave a comment below with a useful tip you use at home or something you recently learned or tell me about one of your favorite products. And tell me where you’re reading from (city and state). Let me know by leaving a comment on this post.
This post is NOT sponsored by anyone. I just really love this product and wanted to share my experience. All prizes are paid for by myself.
Ā Do You Have a Favorite Product or Life Tip? Want to be published in a future “Favorite Things Friday”? Shoot me an email with your write up and pictures. If I accept your submission and publish your tip, I’ll also send you a $50 Gift Card to the store of your choice. Send email to tina@FreeStuffFinder.com with subject “Favorite Things Friday Tip”.
Glendale Az – when storing leftover onion wrap the slab in a paper towel then ziploc keeps the onion snail from leaving the bag !!!
I always throw strawberries because they’re spoiled ā¹ļø
I also freeze fruit for smoothies later. I lay them out on a cooking sheet and put in the freezer. Once frozen then I just put inside a baggie. If you just stick fresh fruit in a baggie and freeze,they fuse and freeze into a big clump.
I’m from Arlington, TX. What a great tip for strawberries! I usually wash fruits with salt. My husband will soak apples in baking soda for a while then rinse it off. I love this apple cider vinegar idea! Again.. Thanks Tina!!
Hello! Thank you talking about these, Iāve been trying to find a solution to my fruit wasting so quickly. I use the paper towel method right now. Iām from Folsom, CA. And one of my favorite tips for cleaning for the home that I just discovered is the magic eraser. I had such trouble cleaning my shower and scrubbing it with various cleansers before I tried this. Itās so simple, but it works on so much.
Iām from Houaton, TX and I love using a vinegar and water aolution to clean i stead of using harah chemicals. It wirjs just as well and keeps your surfaces food safe.
I love smoothies. So I read on a smoothie blog that by putting a paper towel in your spinach container will help keep your smoothie fresher. I tried it and it WORKS!
Hi Iām from Richardson, TX! Iām a nursing student so I have very little free time so I typically do the grocery shopping for 2+ weeks at a time and itās hard to avoid having to go back to the store when the fruit rot so quickly! A tip I have is a way to save money on if you ever just run out of those swifter wet sweeper clothes, I just reused an old container from them and placed a stack of my normal paper towels in there with some fabulouso, antibacterial, and water! Considerably cheaper then the clothes, or great for when you run out and are in a pinch
I have white marble tile throughout my house that can get pretty dirty at times. Iāve noticed that the lines between the tiles are supposed to be white and not brown SOOO I use Clorox toilet bowl cleaner and put it in between the tiles, let it sit for 3 minutes and scrub/wipe away. My floors look brand new with this method! Brianna from Dallas Texas!
Hi I’ll m from Alabama. I have the same problem with fruit like strawberries too. I try to do the same things as you do. A tip I have is for saving leftover guacamole. 1st put it in a small bowl you do not want any air to get in. Then cover tightly with plastic wrap push down on top. No air. Then foil on top of that. It will stay fresh till the next day.