The Best Type Of Packaging For Strawberries (And Why)

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Fresh fruit like strawberries can be healthy treats that taste great by themselves and when baked into desserts. Keeping them fresh, though, may soon feel like a constant battle with time and rot. Unless you're buying them as one of the best types of frozen fruit, strawberries only last about a week at best ... and that's if you store them correctly. The right conditions are key to keeping strawberries fresh and mold-free for as long as possible.

The best packaging for strawberries is any kind with proper airflow. This circulation is vital for keeping fruit fresh, since a lack of air leads to increased moisture and mold growth. Strawberries also produce small amounts of ethylene gas as part of the ripening process, which means that a too-tight environment can cause them to spoil faster. While strawberries are non-climacteric (meaning they don't produce as much ethylene as climacteric fruits like apples or bananas), they are still sensitive to ethylene, so airflow remains vital. However, don't completely expose them to the air, as some have found that dries the fruit out too fast.

Typically, strawberries come from the grocery store in containers that allow airflow, but since plastic can easily trap moisture and mold spores, you may find that it's better to move them to a new container. At the very least, wash and dry the original container thoroughly. You can find containers specifically designed for storing fresh berries, like the OXO berry keeper, though they're not strictly necessary.

To help keep your strawberries fresh, regardless of their container, store them in a single layer if possible. Crowding makes it easier for moisture to build up between the fruits and for mold to spread from infected strawberries to fresh ones. Watch out for warning signs when buying fresh produce, and certainly don't buy any containers with visible mold. When you get home, sort the strawberries and discard any spoiled ones you missed.

Do not store strawberries with other fruits that produce a lot of ethylene gas. You wouldn't want to bite into a mushy, spoiled strawberry any more than you would a moldy one, and if you store strawberries in close proximity to ethylene producers, that can come even faster. Some of the biggest offenders when it comes to ethylene production are apples, pears, bananas, avocados, and stone fruits like peaches. To be safe, store strawberries alone.

When you bring a new carton of strawberries home from the grocery store, wash them in hot water to destroy bacteria and mold spores (some people prefer to use a mild vinegar solution). Dry them thoroughly using a salad spinner or similar device. For extra insurance, pat them dry with a paper towel, then store them in your chosen container. One of the best ways to store fresh berries of all sorts is to line the container with paper towels, which will absorb moisture that builds up over time.