Strawberry is par excellence, the iconic fruit of desserts. Who has not ever tried a sweet made with strawberries? But although the strawberry is highly appreciated in confectionery and gastronomy in general, it is a delicate fruit to handle and preserve, as it loses and spoils easily. For this reason, we sometimes think twice about buying a lot of strawberries.
So if strawberries are your favorites and you want to enjoy them at any time of the year, you will love this article. In RecetaGratis we will reveal the artisan secrets so that you know how to preserve strawberries and keep them fresh for as long as possible. An unmissable item!
How to keep strawberries fresh
Although gastronomy professionals preferably recommend using fresh strawberries, we cannot always prepare or consume them on the same day. If we want to preserve strawberries (either for a short or long time), the most important thing is to take into account the four factors that accelerate the aging of this food: heat, handling, transport, and humidity. If we control these four aspects, we can manipulate the duration of the strawberries. Keep reading: How to tell if pineapple is bad?
If you want to keep strawberries fresh for a period of 8 days or a little longer, you can learn how to refrigerate strawberries correctly in the steps detailed below:
- Cover the inside of a large container with absorbent paper. Make sure it covers all the walls of the container.
- Review and select the best strawberries. Separate those that are in poor condition or very battered. These can be left to use that same day in a smoothie or jam.
- Do not wash the strawberries that you are going to reserve, do not cut the stem, as they are better-preserved whole.
- If they are damp, dry each strawberry with absorbent paper, being careful not to bruise it.
- Place the strawberries in the container. Let them have space between them and do not pile them up. If necessary, find another container to store the ones that do not fit.
- Cover them with two sheets of absorbent paper or a paper towel.
- Put the lid on the container without closing it completely so that the air circulates. Put it in the fridge.
- When you use each strawberry, wash it very well. You can do this with a solution of water and vinegar, but do not remove the leaves or the stem when cleaning them.
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How to freeze strawberries
To keep strawberries for about 6 months, the idea is to freeze them. However, the home result is not the same as the industrial one, since the industrial method uses a thermal cold shock (freezes the fruit from the outside to the inside, quickly), which preserves the nutrients and organoleptic qualities of the fruit.
Either way, if you need to freeze the strawberries, you can do it by hand. Although not optimal, the result will be acceptable. You can use two different methods to achieve this:
- Separate the firm strawberries from the battered ones. Reserve both separately and use the battered ones for the same day. Handle the strawberries carefully and touch them as little as possible.
- Do not wash the strawberries that you will freeze, do not cut the stem either. Dry them to remove traces of moisture.
- Cover a tray with aluminum foil and place the strawberries on top, well separated and without crowding them.
- Cover the tray with aluminum foil so that it is tightly closed. Put it in the freezer for 1 to 4 hours until the strawberries are frozen.
- When frozen, put the strawberries in a special freezer bag and seal them.
- Label the bag with the date you put it in the freezer.
- Put the bag in the freezer and you can keep the strawberries for 6 months.
- When you go to use them, wash them with a solution of vinegar and salt or with bleach.
The second method is just to add a splash of vinegar to each strawberry before putting them to freeze to help maintain their properties.
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How to defrost strawberries
Just as it is important to know how to freeze strawberries correctly, it is also important to know how to defrost them. If you do it incorrectly you will have lost all the work, since they can lose their organoleptic properties. Don’t worry, defrosting strawberries is very easy, just follow these steps:
- Transfer the strawberries from the freezer to the refrigerator. Wait until they thaw little by little (in an hour or more). Thus, the loss of properties is reduced.
- Wash the strawberries very well, although handling them delicately. Keep the stem while you clean them.
- Remove the stem and leaves from the strawberries. Cut them to your liking and use them in the chosen recipe.
- Eat the strawberries right away or later After thawing a fruit, its aging process speeds up, so you’d better eat it as soon as possible.
Once you have your strawberries thawed, take the opportunity to prepare recipes such as these strawberry muffins , these strawberries with chocolate or this delicious strawberry mousse .