Stop rinsing strawberries in plain water – this cheap kitchen staple keeps them fresh for two weeks

Step-by-step guidance shows how to sort, briefly bathe, dry and store strawberries so they can stay fresh for far longer than usual. Food scientists and Shari Fitzpatrick explain why supermarket strawberries spoil in days and how a simple kitchen-ingredient wash changes their fridge lifespan. When strawberries stay packed tightly together, small leaks of juice and condensation build up between them. The everyday ingredient that helps strawberries stay freshThe trick many grandmothers used, and that home cooks are reviving, is to wash strawberries briefly in water mixed with a small amount of white vinegar. Kept like this on kitchen paper in a closed jar in the veg drawer, strawberries usually stay flawless for well over a week.