One of the greatest summertime gifts is a strawberry! They are ideal for utilizing in your favorite strawberry dishes because they are brimming with delicious sweetness. You can go for an impressive strawberry dessert or keep things simple with Ree Drummond’s delicious strawberries sprinkled with mint. You may even incorporate them into your preferred summertime concoctions, like strawberry lemonade! However, you must first learn how to clean strawberries before you can savor a pint of fresh berries.

There are a few easy ways to clean strawberries so they’re safe to eat, and they just need a few pantry staples and a little more than water.

Indeed! Whenever possible, I advise purchasing organic strawberries because they aren’t cultivated using pesticides. When comparing organic and non-organic products, berries are a must for me, but you don’t really need to buy everything organic. But you should still wash them because dirt and bacteria can get into even organic berries!

Strawberries are one of those things on the notorious “dirty dozen” list that everyone knows needs to be cleaned. Berries are not as protected from the weather, pesticides, processing, packaging, and handling as other fruits like citrus and bananas. Fortunately, cleaning strawberries is an easy task. Here are several cleaning techniques you love, along with some advice on how to savor this tart, luscious fruit while it’s still fresh.

How to Clean Strawberries:

It is always advisable to wash strawberries before using them for cooking or snacking, regardless of whether you bought them at the grocery store or from a farmers’ market. In addition to pesticide residue on the fruit’s exterior, fresh, unwashed berries (or any other fresh produce) may have dirt, bacteria, or even microscopic insects living on or within. These factors could cause food-borne illnesses. These are some tried-and-true techniques for cleaning a strawberry box.

How to Clean Strawberries with Baking Soda:

Baking soda is another traditional cleaning product that you can use in place of vinegar. According to one study, bleach or tap water were less successful than baking soda at eliminating surface pesticides.

Using baking soda, wash strawberries:

1. Take a colander and rinse the berries. To remove any dirt, lightly wash each berry with cold tap water and give them a hand scrub.
2. Add two cups of water to one teaspoon of baking soda. Let the berries soak in water for five minutes after dipping them in.
3. When this amount of time has passed, put the strawberries in a colander and give them a few minutes’ worth of rinses under cold running water. The berries should be dried before being consumed or cooked.

How To Clean Strawberries With Vinegar:

A vital ingredient for cooking and cleaning is vinegar. Everything, including the microwave and dishwasher, can be spotlessly clean with it. Additionally, it can remove toxins and pesticides from berry skins and gently clean delicate crops like strawberries.

Using vinegar to clean strawberries:

1. To get rid of big bits of dirt, rinse the berries in a colander under running water from the faucet.
2. Fill a big bowl or bucket with one cup of distilled white vinegar and four cups of water. Dip the berries several times into the water-vinegar bath, slowly swirling the water with your hand as you do so.
3. Give the berries five to ten minutes to steep in the vinegar mixture. It’s possible to observe worms in the water, tiny spiders, or black specks that are most likely fly larvae. It’s typical. The vinegar bath is an excellent method of getting rid of the little insects that live in your strawberries, just like the salt water bath that is explained below.
4. Strawberries should be rinsed with cold water and placed in a colander after 5 to 10 minutes. The last rinse will get rid of any vinegar residue on the skin, and the berries won’t have time to take in the taste of the vinegar. After entirely dry, consume or prepare right away.

How To Clean Strawberries with Salt:

Sometimes, worms, flies, and spiders can make little homes out of strawberries. Insects are there, and they grow in the dirt. It occurs. Soak the strawberries in a solution of salt water before consuming the fruit, so instead of being repulsed by them, send these little, spooky crawlers an eviction notice.

1. Mix a solution of three teaspoons of salt and three cups of warm water (or use a ratio of one teaspoon to one cup of water as much as you need). Let the water cool completely.
2. Soak the berries in cooled water for five minutes.
3. Once this time has elapsed, move the strawberries into a colander. Rinse the berries in cold tap water for several minutes. Dry completely. The salt dilutes in the water so the berries don’t absorb any salinity during the brief soaking. The final rinse will remove any traces of salt on the skin of the berries.

How to Clean Strawberries with Water:

The simplest and most efficient technique to remove bacteria and processing residue from strawberries is to wash them with tap water. To begin, give your hands a 20-second soap and water wash (you should always start with clean hands!). Next, hold the strawberries or put them in a colander and rinse them under running water, giving them a gentle scrape. Using a fresh paper towel, dry.

How to Store Strawberries:

Strawberries should be refrigerated at 40°F or below. To be sure you’re at the proper temperature, the FDA advises using a refrigerator thermometer. Strawberry deterioration is accelerated by moisture retention, therefore use a container with a vented lid or leave the lid open. Fresh strawberries can also be frozen for use in baked goods at a later time.