Among the top fruits that gloriously shout warmer days and are synonymous with summer days, the strawberry is right up there with the best. The floral and sweet aroma often evokes feelings of sunshine and care-free days but these wondrous fruits are not the cheapest around. And there’s nothing worse than buying yourself some perfectly ripe strawberries only to have them nearly immediately going bad, with no choice but to throw them out.

As such, many may wonder what is the best method for storing strawberries to ensure you get all their delicious delights without the waste. One person took this strawberry-storing conundrum to the test and tried a total of seven different methods with a surprising one coming out on top, scoring an impressive 9.5 out of 10, with not a single strawberry being discarded.

The foodie site The Kitchn looked at the most popular ways for storing strawberries to keep them extra fresh and delicious.

These included methods of rinsing them on paper towels, keeping them in their original carton, keeping them unrinsed on paper towels, hulled in a baking pan, a hot water bath, vinegar bath or stored in a glass jar.

While some storage ways focus on the container being used to store them in, others centred more on the processing and washing techniques attempting to extend strawberries shelf life.

To determine the best, all strawberries were purchased on the same day and placed in the fridge after being stored in different ways, with all fruits being checked each morning.

To be deemed spoiled, strawberries needed to become dark and soften, with a brown/burgundy colour appearing.

The number one best storage technique was found after each set of strawberries were tallied up by calculating which method had the most spoiled strawberries. And the most effective storing method turned out to be soaking the fruit in a vinegar solution before drying it in a salad spinner.

The expert gave this method an impressive 9.5 out of 10, with only 5% strawberries deemed spoiled, adding how “I didn’t have to discard a single one and the only noticeable spoilage was a few dark spots here and there”.

The expert added: “This is one of the most common methods I saw on the internet, and I was eager to give it a try.

“You dunk strawberries in a water bath made with 1 part white vinegar and 3 parts water, drain them, then dry them as thoroughly as possible with some further suggesting drying them in a salad spinner lined with paper towels for added insurance.”

“Once dried, you transfer the strawberries into a paper towel-lined container, loosely place the lid on (do not seal it), and pop them in the fridge.”

The strawberry storing expert added how the result of this method was that “by the end of the week practically none of the strawberries had gone bad. 

“And because the berries were thoroughly dried in a salad spinner, the paper towel was still practically completely dry even by day seven.”

The conclusion was despite this method being slightly more time consuming, it proved to be “definitely worth it with “fresh, vibrant, and firm strawberries the entire week”.