If you wash them all ahead of time and store them, they can get soggy. I store them unwashed and wash them only as needed. I generally only wash the berries that I’m going to eat or cook with right away. Cleaningįresh strawberries, even just picked organic berries, should be gently washed under cold running water. Freeze until almost hard and carefully place them in an airtight container or plastic bag, label the bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. Remove the stem end and cut in half and place on a cookie sheet. Strawberries can also be frozen to enjoy later in the year. Puree them for a strawberry puree layer in a cake or topping a muffin or toast. Place them in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator. However, if you don’t plan on eating them or cooking with them within 48 hours, you want to store them in an airtight container lined with a paper towel to absorb the fresh fruit’s moisture. I refuse to refrigerate them because the cold air of the refrigerator really plays with the texture of a fresh berry. They are so juicy and fragile that they really should be consumed within two, maybe three, days, depending on the weather. They topped our morning yogurt and were very often the last thing we ate before bed. There were smoothies and chocolate-dipped strawberries and much snacking. Over the next few days, there was a strawberry vanilla cake, strawberry muffins, strawberry-almond crumble and strawberry galette. When I got home my husband grabbed a few and simply muttered, “Wow! Nice work!” Within an hour, I had picked more than ten pounds of berries. There were plenty of perfectly ripe, fully red, fully sweet berries to pick. The sun heated up and you could smell the straw surrounding the plants as the fields warmed up. It was a woman-powered strawberry appreciation hour. It was a group of happy mothers who had planted their toddlers in the fields next to a fully-ripe plant to eat to their heart's content while they went off picking. In all honesty, I was the only one there without a toddler or infant strapped to my back. There weren’t many people out this early. I got in the car and, coffee in hand, was in the strawberry fields before 9:15 a.m. I grabbed my most beat-up jeans and least favorite t-shirt (picking strawberries means eating strawberries, and when it’s June, it means lots of dripping sweet red juice all over said least favorite t-shirt!). We’ll be open until noon for pick-your-own. I called my nearby farm and heard the recording I wait for all year: “Strawberries are here and the picking is perfect. “Be sure to check to see if PYO (Pick Your Own) strawberry season has begun.” These are the kind of alerts a food writer posts to remind herself that a local fruit might finally be in season. Facebook Email Strawberries in a strawberry field.
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