Old-fashioned Mason Jars Keep Strawberries Fresh

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When the strawberries are coming in fast and thick, as they soon will be, those of us who get a CSA box often get more than one basket of berries. If you’re like me, you like to slowly savor them, adding a few to cereal or yogurt and nibbling a bit here and there. Doing this runs you the risk of having to throw out strawberries that have gone moldy, and there really isn’t anything more heartbreaking.

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Here’s a trick almost nobody knows about that I found a couple years ago on Chowhound, and I’m happy to report that it works. People have reported keeping berries fresh for two weeks this way. For me, a week is plenty of time and this method has never failed me. Simply put your dry, unwashed strawberries in a glass mason jar and refrigerate. I’m not sure of the science, but I think it works because the strawberries are in an airtight environment so they don’t respirate and begin to decay.

Images: *clairity*, Vanessa Barrington

Vanessa Barrington

Vanessa Barrington is a San Francisco based writer and communications consultant specializing in environmental, social, and political issues in the food system.