How to Store and Freeze Fresh Strawberries
Strawberry season is here! Let me show you how to store and freeze fresh strawberries so you can enjoy them year round.
Picking strawberries
What’s better than a just picked strawberry warmed from the springtime sunshine? Not much y’all. No wonder animals love eating strait from our gardens. It’s as fresh as it gets! Since we’ve moved from North Carolina to Georgia, we’ve made it a yearly tradition to pick fresh strawberries in early May. We try to go early in the day before temperatures get too hot and kids get too whiny. We typically purchase two or three baskets and enjoy strolling up and down the rows looking for the juiciest berries, snacking on one or two as we go. Once we’ve picked all that we can carry, we reward our hard work with fresh homemade ice cream at the farm store.
The BEST way to store fresh berries
Once we’re home with all of our berries it’s best to quickly decide how we’ll use them. Strawberries tend to look and taste their best within the first day of picking. The BEST way I’ve found to store fresh strawberries in the fridge is to give them a 2 minute soak in a bath of water and 1/4 cup vinegar. Allow them to dry completely. This will take a few hours. Then place a piece of a paper towel in the bottom of a glass canning jar. Fill the jar with strawberries and top it with a lid. Store them in your fridge for up to 3 weeks. I pinky promise this works! Amy from The Cross Legacy is the genius behind this method.
How to freeze fresh strawberries
Freezing strawberries sounds simple enough but there are some tried and true tips for ensuring that fresh strawberry taste strait out of the freezer. This method only takes a few minutes and you won’t need anything in addition to your berries.
- Wash your berries. I just rinse mine under cool water because we pick from a farm where the berries are not sprayed with pesticides.
- Pat dry. I tend to lay them flat on a few paper towels and gently pat them dry. I’ve use a kitchen towel in the past but the berry juice stained my towel so I switched to paper towels.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Slice off the tops of your berries and cut them in half or you can freeze them whole.
- Place the strawberries on your cookie sheet.
- Freeze overnight.
- Once they’re frozen solid, place them in a freezer safe bag or container and they will keep for 6 months or more.
Tips for freezing strawberries
Freeze your fresh strawberries as soon as possible.
Use quality freezer bags or storage containers to maintain freshness.
The berries are easier to handle from the freezer if they’re not in clumps so be sure to space them on your cookie sheet before freezing them.
Ways to use frozen strawberries
- Use them in smoothies
- Thaw for about 15 minutes and add them to a bowl of yogurt or açaí bowl
- Place frozen strawberries in a bowl and sprinkle with sugar. Allow them to thaw in on the counter or overnight in the fridge for a yummy dessert or ice cream topping. (This one’s our favorite!)
