Whole strawberries will resist spoilage longer than cut-up strawberry pieces. Keep the whole basket just like you found them at the grocery store or farmers' market, and leave their green-leaf tops intact.
Just know that once strawberries are washed and cut, they will deteriorate more quickly than whole, unwashed berries, and generally only last three to four days in the refrigerator.
Once they've been cut into, strawberries should always be stored in an airtight container to keep the flesh from drying out and bacteria from growing. Berries don't last nearly as long once sliced so it's best to keep them whole as long as possible.
Leave the Stems on Your Strawberries
Keep those little, frilly green stems on your fresh strawberries when storing in the refrigerator. Having the stems intact will protect the interior of your berries and prolong their shelf life.
The crisper drawer does what it's supposed to do: it prevents moisture from building up on the strawberries, so they stay fresh. Spacing the berries out in a single layer on absorbent paper towels was also key to keeping the berries dry.
Arrange freshly picked strawberries in a single layer on a shallow plate or pie plate lined with paper towels. Cover or fit into a large plastic sealable bag and then seal the bag and refrigerate. Stored this way, strawberries should last at least five-seven days. The strawberries should stay dry and cold.
The airtight nature of the jar seems to keep the strawberries fresher for slightly longer.
Store berries in paper towel-lined sealable container, with layers of paper towels between each layer of berries. Keep the lid slightly open to allow excess moisture to escape. Place in the refrigerator to store.
Cut Stems + Airtight Container, fresh for up to 1 week
Cutting the stems off a strawberry and placing them in a container is the most common way to store strawberries. For this method, you don't need to wash the berries until you're ready to use them.
If they are left out for more than 2 hours, throw them away.
The primary rule about washing strawberries is simple: wash strawberries when, and only when, you're ready to eat or cook with them. Washing strawberries ahead of time only introduces moisture that wasn't there before and will make them go bad much faster.
Why do berries go bad so fast? It comes down to moisture… and mold. Berries tend to be quite porous, water-rich and delicately skinned, meaning they soak up excess moisture in their environment very easily. They also pretty much all carry mold spores, which grow rapidly when moisture is plentiful.
Unlike whole berries, once strawberries have been cut or hulled, they should be stored in an airtight container to protect the exposed flesh from mold and bacterial development, significantly reducing shelf life.
To maximize the shelf life of cut strawberries, wrap tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, or place in covered container or resealable plastic bag and refrigerate. How long do cut strawberries last in the fridge? Properly stored, cut strawberries will last for about 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Gravity. Yep, it's so simple, it's shocking. As the ripening berry hangs by the cap on its stem, gravity pulls naturally occurring sugars down into the tip. This makes the strawberry tip the sweetest, choicest part.
Infusing your water with the leafy tops of strawberries adds flavor, and helps to use up those excess pieces that are headed to the compost bin. This works especially well if you've cut off too much of that precious strawberry meat. To make, place your cleaned strawberry tops into a lidded container and top with water.
As for the berries you're not eating, be sure to store them in the fridge in a container that can breathe. That means no air-tight plastic or glass containers—though if that's all you have on hand, just leave the lid slightly ajar.
Line a fresh sheet of paper towels on top of the berries and place the lid on the container. Store your berries in the fridge, and they should stay good for up to two weeks!
Wash berries when you're ready to eat them.
Berries readily absorb excess water. If you wash them and then stick them in the refrigerator, they could get moldy or mushy. Keep berries fresh and avoid mold spores by keeping them dry until you're ready to use them.
My tests proved that the best way to store fresh strawberries to make them last longer was to place unwashed strawberries in a glass storage container with a tight fitting lid and refrigerate them.
Strawberry Storing Tips:
Do not remove the stem, and do not wash the strawberries before storing them. Use a clean glass jar that's been washed and dried thoroughly. It needs to have a tight-fitting lid.
Never fear: vinegar can help rinse off pesticide residue as well as dirt or bacteria. Pour three cups of cold water and a cup of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar into a bowl, then submerge your strawberries for five to 20 minutes.
Quickly remove and discard any berries that are moldy or are touching moldy berries, wash the rest well, and then dry them before storing to prevent new mold. And if more than a quarter of the berries in your container are moldy, discard the whole batch.
To store strawberries in Tupperware, simply remove them from their original container and place them in a large, open Tupperware container. Line the container with paper towels to absorb any excess moisture from the strawberries. Don't crowd the container; leave room so the strawberries comfortably fit.
Ensure the strawberries are spaces in a single layer so they dry evenly. Let them dry for 5 more minutes before cutting. You can store strawberries whole, cut in half, or sliced when stored in mason jars. Once your strawberries are washed, cut, and dried, it is time to put them in their glass jar home for the fridge!