It consists of some advantages, but this, perhaps, concerns only its taste. If we evaluate this berry according to the criterion of safety, then it loses in many respects to its other brothers. She is very capricious and requires a special approach for storage.

How to store fresh strawberries?

Fresh strawberries are very sensitive to changes in humidity and temperature. Therefore, if you have purchased or collected fresh strawberries from the garden and are going to use them during the day, then you should not put them in the refrigerator or basement, it is better to leave the berries at room conditions. For the same reason, it is not recommended to wash strawberries in advance; it is better to do this immediately before use.

How to store fresh strawberries in the refrigerator?

If you need to keep fresh strawberries for several days, then you need to put the berries in the refrigerator. To do this, we place them in a container or in a low tray. Ideally, if it is possible to spread the berries in one layer, without touching each other. This way they will last as long as possible. If this is not possible, it is better to put the berries in a colander. This will ensure maximum air access to them.

Be sure to sort the strawberries before placing them in the refrigerator. The storage of moldy berries is not allowed. Even the smallest hearth with mold on one berry can ruin the entire stock.

With a large volume of berries, you can sprinkle them with granulated sugar. In this case, it is necessary to sort out the strawberries, wash, peel the sepals and put them in a glass or enameled container, sprinkling each layer with granulated sugar. Such strawberries can be stored on the shelf of the refrigerator for two weeks.

How to store strawberries in the freezer?

The season for strawberries is not long, and to keep them fresh for several months, you can put the berries in the freezer. To do this, we must sort out the strawberries, get rid of spoiled and crushed specimens, and get rid of the rest sepals. Ideally, if the berries are harvested in their garden and completely clean. In this case, they can not be washed, but immediately placed in a container or put in a freezer bag and sent to the department. freezer.

If the strawberries are purchased or contain an admixture of sand or earth, be sure to wash and dry them, spreading them in one layer on a towel.

After that, we place it in one layer in the freezer and after the berries are slightly frozen, we put them in a bag or container and place them in the freezer for further storage.

Grown Peasant (farming) farm "Yaroslav-Agro" strawberries - natural, environmentally friendly, not treated with chemicals. Therefore, its shelf life is limited.

And it is all the more important to make sure that what you bought today can please you and your loved ones tomorrow morning at breakfast. Or wait until the next day, when you come home from work and start harvesting fragrant berries for the winter. And maybe - and the planned romantic evening ... then your script ...

Shelf life of fresh strawberries

Fresh strawberries are a perishable product!

The shelf life of fresh strawberries depends on the variety. You can see the approximate shelf life of strawberries varieties Alba (Alba), Vibrant, or Vibrant (Vibrant), Vima Zanta (Vima Zanta), Kimberly (Kimberly) and Honey, or Honoay (Honeoye).

Important! Fresh strawberries should be washed immediately before use. Otherwise, she will start up the juice and become covered with mold or ferment.

Important! Strawberries will retain their freshness longer if the sepals and stalks are not removed from them. So the berry will retain its integrity, and from the green parts they will continue to flow into the fruit, although not for a long time and in small quantities, nutrients and moisture.

Without additional refrigeration, fresh strawberries, depending on the variety, can be stored for up to 3 days.

Depending on the variety, strawberries can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 6 days.

Storing fresh strawberries without refrigeration

Immediately after buying the berries, carefully, trying not to crush or damage, sort through.

Separately set aside damaged, spoiled, lost sepals. Such berries must be washed, damaged areas removed and immediately used for their intended purpose: eat, prepare a fruit salad, sauce, jelly, cocktail or face mask.

Place the sorted fruits in no more than 3 layers in a basket or bowl lined with clean, dry paper or a clean, dry kitchen towel. Cover the top with cotton or linen napkin. Put the resulting design in a dark, well-ventilated place.

And enjoy the result!

Storing fresh strawberries in the refrigerator

The optimum storage temperature is between 0 and 5 degrees Celsius.

Important! A long shelf life of fresh strawberries can only be ensured if a constant temperature regime. Therefore, if you took out a container with fresh strawberries from the refrigerator, there is no point in putting it back. Condensation forms on the surface of the berries very quickly, which will lead to their premature decay.

For the same reason, a container with fresh strawberries must be placed away from the opening door of the refrigerator. To avoid condensation, do not put fresh strawberries close to the walls of the refrigerator.

Transfer dry, sorted strawberries to containers with holes for ventilation. The larger and juicier the berries, the fewer layers of strawberries should be in the container.

The best container for storing fresh strawberries in the fridge is a vented paper bag.

Strawberries absorb odors easily, so keep them away from strong-smelling foods.

Subject to the storage regime, fresh strawberries will retain their taste, aroma, density and even color.

In turn, in order for fresh strawberries to please you for as long as possible, Yaroslav-Agro KFH adheres to the following rules:

• we pick fresh strawberries early in the morning, at dawn, while the berries have not yet had time to warm up in the sun;
• we collect only fully ripened fruits that have gained maximum juiciness, sugar content and are able to reveal their best taste qualities;
• we harvest only in dry weather in order to protect the fruits from decay and premature spoilage;
• we collect berries from the bushes manually to prevent their damage and immediately sort out those unsuitable for use;
• we pick the berries from the bushes along with the stalks and sepals to increase the shelf life;

• the harvested crop is immediately sent from the field to the place of retail sale.

We all love summer for the abundance of fruits, vegetables and berries. Most of all I love strawberries. But, unfortunately, it does not please with its taste and aroma for so long. Of course, you can cook for the winter delicious jam. About the most best recipes strawberry jam I wrote in a previous article. But it is much more useful, and faster, to freeze the berry. It retains more vitamins and when cooking, we use less sugar, or we can do without it altogether.

Frozen berries can be used in different ways. These delicate juicy fruits are versatile: they are suitable as a filling for all types of desserts, pastries, yoghurts, as well as for decorating, for example, ice cream or alcoholic cocktails.

But not everything is as simple as it might seem at first glance. Freezing Victoria for the winter has its own characteristics and secrets. So, let's begin.

Strawberries can be frozen in three different ways:

• freeze whole berries
• freeze strawberries with sugar (if the berry is large, you can cut it into pieces)
• grind in a blender or mash with sugar

In order to choose the right freezing method, it is better to decide in advance which dishes the berry will go into. I do not like just defrosted Victoria, it is very watery. Most often, it goes to the preparation of fresh mashed potatoes (crushed with sugar) or compotes. Therefore, I often freeze sliced ​​\u200b\u200bin containers, sprinkled with sugar a little. In this form, it takes up less space than the whole.

It is important to follow some rules for freezing for the winter:

First, you need to choose only the best ripe berries: clean, without damage and wormholes.

Pay attention not to the leaves: if they have dried up or turned yellow, the berry was collected a long time ago.

The second important condition is the presence of a freezer, because the ideal temperature for storing frozen berries is -18-25 C. Under such conditions, the berries will lie until the next season. When stored in a conventional freezer, the shelf life is reduced to 3-4 months.

Third, capacity. After all, our task is to preserve the berries and at the same time arrange them compactly in the freezer. We will choose a container depending on the method of freezing. For whole berries and for sliced ​​\u200b\u200bstrawberries, plastic boxes of about the same size or zip bags (with a clasp) are best suited.

It is better to take containers square or rectangular, this saves space in the freezer.

Strawberry puree can be frozen in any container, even in small plastic bottles. It is more convenient, of course, to use rectangular containers.

Tip: If there are a lot of berries, you can use the containers as a form for freezing: place a plastic bag inside the container, cover with berries and freeze. Now the package with berries has a convenient shape, and the container can be used again.

Next, let's look at portions. It is important to think in advance how you will use the berries, because their re-freezing is unacceptable. Divide the berries so you can use a serving at a time based on your family's preferences. In any case, with a volume of more than 500-1000 grams, the berries will crush each other.

So, we took ripe and good berries. Now you need to sort them out, tear off the sepals and wash well.

To wash or not to wash the berries before freezing is a debatable issue. Most are inclined to believe that it is necessary in any case. I always wash it, because when defrosted, strawberries will give juice and then it will not be possible to wash it.

Do this in small portions in a colander, under a gentle stream of cool water or in a basin, changing the water several times. Only cold water, do not wash with hot water. After we throw it in a colander, and when it drains, transfer it to a cotton or paper towel.

It is important to remember that only dry berries can be frozen!

Now everything is ready, we begin to prepare it for freezing. It depends on the method we have chosen.

If you decide to freeze as a whole, put the berries on a tray or tray in one (!) Layer so that the berries do not touch, and place in the freezer.

It is better to set the quick freeze mode, if you have it. After a couple of hours, pour the already frozen berries into containers or bags.

According to the second method (in my opinion - the most convenient), we cut the berry into 2 - 4 parts, depending on the size. And put in a container, sprinkling with sugar. There are no strict proportions here, I add about a glass per liter container.

And the last way for these berries is grated with sugar. Prepared berries are placed in a blender and beat until smooth with the addition of sugar (the amount of sugar is about 300 grams per 1 kg of berries).

Instead of a blender, you can crush the berry with a pusher or even just mash it with a fork. I like this option better.

Pour ready-made puree into containers or zip bags.

We install our containers in the freezer in one layer, after a few hours everything will freeze.

Such strawberry puree can be prepared without a freezer, just roll it into jars.

For convenience, sign all containers - put the date of freezing and the name, for example - grated with sugar. Then it will be more convenient to find the right product.

Well, in the long winter we will eat this wonderful and fragrant berry. A few more words on how to unfreeze it. It is better to do it gradually. First, move the container from the freezer to the refrigerator for about 12 hours. I usually leave overnight. Then thaw at room temperature.

Spend just a little time in the summer - and then in the winter you can enjoy delicious and extremely healthy desserts.