How to store strawberries in the refrigerator, the best ways and tips

Freshly picked strawberries from the garden are a treasure trove of vitamins and flavors. The peculiarity of this berry is that during long-term storage it quickly loses its quality. How best to store strawberries: in the refrigerator or in the freezer - this question worries gardeners who harvest large crops of berries. One of the storage options is a variety of strawberry processing.

Selection of a variety for long-term storage

Variety determines quality, this is called quality retention. This means that the culture is able to withstand long-term transportation and be stored for a certain period, subject to the basic rules. The following varieties have high keeping quality:

• festive chamomile;
• Queen Elizabeth;
• Symphony;
• Darselect.

Methods and conditions for storing strawberries

The average fruit weight is 20-40 grams. Fresh strawberry pulp is firm and firm. It is customary to store only fresh berries that are not affected by mold or rot.Spoiled fruits are harvested for processing or destruction.

Costs

In order to keep strawberries fresh as long as possible, it is recommended to pick them from the bushes in the morning, provided that the dew has already dried. Wet or damp strawberries tend to rot and should be left on a towel or towel to dry naturally.

Frozen

If you freeze the berries in the freezer correctly, then they will almost not lose their taste. After thawing, the whole fruit will be much softer than fresh fruit, but will retain its flavor and color.

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There are several options for freezing:

• whole and dried fruits are frozen on pallets, then the raw materials are poured into a container;
• cut the strawberries with a slicer, lay them out on a pallet, freeze them, then pour them together and put them in the freezer;
• strawberries are crushed with a blender, the resulting puree is poured into small plastic containers, covered with a lid and placed on top of each other.

Drying

Dried strawberries are added to tea and used for cooking. The fruits are dried using an oven or an electric dryer. To do this, simply cut the strawberries into slices and arrange them on a baking sheet away from each other.

After drying, only a small part of the pulp remains. This is because the culture is 90% water. After drying, the slices remain fragrant, healthy and tasty.

fruit leather

To prepare the fruit skins, the mashed potatoes are spread on a sheet of parchment paper in a thin, even layer and dried at a low temperature. After cooling, the skin of the fruit is cut into slices, sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Reference! The skin of the fruit tastes like strawberry marshmallow. This treat keeps well in parchment paper or aluminum foil.

In the fridge

Fresh fruit is refrigerated. There she can lie without loss of qualities from 2-3 days to 1 week.

During storage, it is recommended to additionally place the bottom of the container under the strawberries with a paper towel so that excess moisture is immediately absorbed. The towel is changed every day.

Attention! Do not store strawberries in a well-wrapped plastic bag. Condensation forms inside, which leads to an increase in the water content of the pulp and subsequent rotting.

Strawberry puree

Processing strawberries is one of the ways to harvest for the winter. Slightly damaged berries are suitable for making mashed potatoes, as well as fruits that have lost their shape due to low preservation. Mashed potatoes are prepared with sugar at the rate of 1 kilogram of sugar per 1 kilogram of raw materials.

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In sugar syrup

One of the favorite homemade treats is strawberry jam. To obtain a blank with whole strawberries, they are boiled in sugar syrup. For 1 kilogram of strawberries take 300 milliliters of water and 800 grams of sugar. Prepared strawberries are poured with sugar syrup, then put the pan on the stove and begin to boil.

The shelf life of such jam will increase if you boil the part 3 times, each time removing the jam from the heat to cool it completely.

Shelf life in the refrigerator and without

The harvested berries will stay fresh for 24-32 hours if you remove the container with the strawberries to a dark, cool place. Strawberries can be stored on the refrigerator shelf for 2-7 days.

Storage Tips

Strawberries are often grown alone in home gardens. In this case, the harvest can be controlled. Berries can be harvested gradually. The collection period is extended. When buying strawberries from the supplier, this is not possible. The entire volume of raw materials must be processed or removed for storage within a few hours, otherwise the fruits will become soft and watery.

How to choose fresh berries

Fresh strawberries can be selected for several reasons:

• the color of the berries should be rich and bright;
• the leaves that frame the stem should be green, without dry spots;
• there should be no juice released on the container under the berry;
• the pulp should be free of rot or mold.

Reference! An unripe berry with pale sides can ripen at home.

Break berries after buying or picking

After buying or picking, the strawberries are laid out one by one. Use a towel or towels to dry off. They remove excess moisture. Each fruit is examined, the degree of elasticity is determined. Soft berries are best used for processing.

Choice of containers

It is recommended to store fresh berries in open packages. The best option is to use containers made of wood or birch bark, where there is continuous ventilation.

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When to wash berries

The berries are washed just before use or preparation.Such a culture does not need to be exposed to water unnecessarily. Moisture quickly saturates the pulp, increasing wateriness and reducing palatability.

The vinegar

Vinegar washing is recommended when it is necessary to process a large batch of berries for short-term storage, some of which have spoiled. The vinegar solution prevents the spread of microorganisms that have accumulated on the surface of the fruit. If the bacteria are not destroyed, the rotting process will begin to spread over the entire surface of the berry, and will also affect neighboring fruits.

For the solution, take 3 parts lukewarm water and 1 part food vinegar. All the berries are dipped into the solution, then they carefully pull out one piece at a time. Each fruit is laid out on a paper towel and dried until the skin shines.

Attention! Berries in a vinegar solution can be stored for no more than 5-7 minutes.

Pectin syrup

One of the storage options is to pour pectin syrup.Pectin is a natural stabilizer, perfectly preserves the taste and appearance of the fruit.

The syrup is made from pectin, which can be purchased at grocery stores. Pectin comes in powder form and is diluted with water. The consistency of pectin syrup resembles jelly, the syrup has no taste. Strawberries are poured with the prepared cooled solution into glass jars, and then put away for storage. Before use, the berries are taken out, washed, dried.