Strawberries can only be stored for up to 7 days under optimum conditions, and that shelf life also depends on how ripe the fruit was when purchased or picked.Like any other fresh fruit or vegetable, strawberries can be contaminated with bacteria from soil, water, and animal sources. Contamination from human sources may occur during or after harvest, right up to the point of eating. Contaminated produce has been known to cause food borne illness. Food poisoning outbreaks with other types of produce have occurred when poorly washed utensils or cutting boards were used to prepare fresh fruits or vegetables. For this reason, it is important that you wash your hands with soap and water before and after preparing produce, and use clean equipment, utensils, and cutting surfaces.Strawberries should be washed just before eating or preserving. To wash, rinse strawberries thoroughly under cool running water, drain in a clean strainer, and pat dry with a clean paper towel. For maximum cleaning, gently rub each berry under the running water. Washing strawberries in a sink filled with water is not recommended since the standing water can spread contamination from one berry to another. The use of soap or detergent is not recommended or approved for washing fruits and vegetables because the produce can absorb detergent residues.Select firm, fully ripe, red berries, preferably with a slightly tart flavor. Wash and sort berries according to the method described under “Washing Strawberries” above, black plastic plantint pots and remove the caps. You will need about ²/³ quart of fresh strawberries to prepare a pint of frozen berries.

For approximate equivalents between U.S. and metric systems of measurement, a conversion table is provided at the end of this publication. Strawberries may be frozen whole, sliced, crushed, or puréed, depending on their intended use in recipes. Large strawberries give a better product when sliced or crushed before freezing. Frozen strawberries can be substituted for fresh berries in recipes, but thawed whole berries will have a much softer texture than the fresh fruit. Frozen whole strawberries are best served with a few ice crystals still remaining — if thawed completely, the berries will be mushy. Syrup and sugar packs produce higher quality frozen strawberries, with a better flavor and texture, than berries packed without sweetening.Before you close the containers, make sure sealing edges are free of moisture or food. Leave sufficient head space in rigid containers to allow for expansion of food as it freezes . Placing a small piece of crumpled waxed or parchment paper between the fruit and the lid of liquid-packed strawberries will help keep the berries submerged. Do not use aluminum foil because it will partly disintegrate as it reacts with the acids in the fruit. Seal each container tightly. Label containers plainly— include name of food, date, and type of pack. Freeze packaged strawberries as quickly as possible at 0°F or below. For quickest freezing, place containers in single layers in the freezer. Freeze no more than 2 to 3 pounds of fresh food per cubic foot of freezer space at one time—a larger amount will raise the temperature in the freezer and lengthen the freezing time. The fruit should be thoroughly frozen within 24 hours and then you can rearrange the containers to store them more closely together. Most fruits maintain high quality for 8 to 12 months at 0°F or below. Unsweetened strawberries lose quality faster than those packed in sugar or syrup. Fruits stored longer will lose quality but will continue to be safe to eat.The secret to dehydrating strawberries successfully is to control the temperature and air circulation. If you use too low a temperature , the berries will dry too slowly, giving mold a chance to grow.

At temperatures of 170°F or more, the berries cook or harden on the outside and the inside remains moist and can spoil later. Set the dehydrator temperature at 135° to 140°F , the optimum drying temperature range. If your dehydrator does not have a thermostat, place an accurate, easy-to-read thermometer on the bottom tray. Arrange the prepared strawberries on the drying trays, cut-side up and in a single layer. The pieces should not touch or overlap. Leave 1 to 2 inches between trays in the dehydrator. It may be necessary to turn the berries and rotate the racks’ positions up and down the stack during the drying process. Continue dehydrating until the berries test dry, as described below under “Testing for dryness.” Food dries much more quickly and scorches easily toward the end of the drying time, so watch it closely and remove individual strawberry pieces as they dry. The amount of time it takes to dry strawberries depends on their initial moisture content, the volume being dried, the size and thickness of the pieces, the air’s humidity during the drying process, and the dehydrator’s efficiency. The estimated time for drying sliced strawberries is 7 to 15 hours, and for whole berries from 24 to 36 hours, depending on the size of the pieces and the individual dehydrator used.To test for dryness, remove several strawberry pieces from the dehydrator. After they have cooled, cut the pieces in half. There should be no visible moisture, and you should not be able to squeeze any moisture from the pieces. Some strawberries may remain pliable, but they should not be sticky or tacky. If you fold a piece in half, it should not stick to itself. After drying, cool the fruit for 30 to 60 minutes before packaging. Avoid packaging warm fruit, since that could lead to sweating and moisture buildup.

You should also avoid long delays before you package because the strawberries may have an opportunity to reabsorb moisture from the air.Since strawberries are generally eaten without being rehydrated, they should not be dried to the point of brittleness. The water content of home-dried strawberries should be about 20 percent. When you take the berries from the dehydrator, the pieces may not have the same moisture level because of their size or where they were located in the dehydrator. Conditioning is the process used to make sure that all pieces are equally moist. This reduces the risk of mold growth. To condition the strawberries, pack the dried, cooled fruit loosely in clean plastic or glass jars. Seal the containers and allow them to stand for 7 to 10 days. Excess moisture in some pieces will be absorbed by the drier pieces. Shake the jars daily to separate the berries, checking for any water condensation. If condensation develops in a jar, return the fruit to the dehydrator for further drying. After conditioning, package and store the fruit.Dehydrated berries require very little storage space. Completely dried strawberries can be stored in sealed plastic bags or airtight jars and cans. Pack the strawberries tightly in the bag or container, removing as much air as possible. If you use metal containers, place the fruit in a plastic bag first in order to prevent reaction with the metal. The dried fruit should be stored in a dark, cool place. The berries’ color, flavor, aroma, and nutritive value will start to decrease after about a year. For longer storage, you can keep well-wrapped dried strawberries in the freezer. For best flavor and quality, drainage pot use within 2 years of frozen storage. Check dried strawberries occasionally during storage to make sure the product is still dry. Glass containers are excellent for storage because any moisture that collects on the inside is easily seen. Strawberries that are affected by moisture but not spoiled should be used immediately or redried and repackaged. Moldy strawberries should be discarded.Fruit leathers are homemade dried fruit rolls. Fruit leathers are made by pouring puréed fruit onto a flat surface and drying. When dried, the product is pulled from the surface and rolled. The fruit roll is shiny and has the texture of leather. Select ripe or slightly overripe but not spoiled strawberries. Wash the fruit as recommended above, and remove caps. Cut berries into slices or chunks. To make a mixed-fruit leather you can cut up kiwi or other fruits to add to the strawberries. Use 2 cups of prepared fruit for each 13 by 15 inch fruit leather. Preheating the berries before puréeing is recommended—it helps to destroy bacteria and molds that may be present on the fruit, preserves the natural color of the berries, and speeds up the drying process. Place prepared berries in a microwaveable casserole dish, cover, and microwave on full power for 6 to 8 minutes per 2 cups of fruit, stirring every 2 minutes until the fruit is soft and has reached 160°F. Alternatively, place prepared berries in the top of a double boiler, cover, and steam over boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes. Purée the heated fruit until smooth. Strain to remove seeds, if desired. To prevent darkening of the fruit leather during drying, you can add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice or ¼ teaspoon of ascorbic acid for each 2 cups of fruit. Optional: to sweeten, you can add 1 to 2 tablespoons of corn syrup, honey, or sugar for each 2 cups of fruit. Corn syrup or honey will not crystallize so these sweeteners are best for leathers that will be stored for longer than a few months. Sugar is fine as a sweetener for making leathers that will be used immediately or within a few months. If you prefer to add artificial sweeteners to reduce the tartness of the fruit purée, use a sucralose sweetener . Saccharin-based sweeteners may turn slightly bitter if added to the fruit and then heated, and aspartame sweeteners may lose sweetness during drying. For oven or sun drying of fruit leathers, line cookie sheets with plastic wrap. In a dehydrator use plastic wrap on the trays, or use specially designed plastic sheets available for dehydrators. Pour purée onto the trays or sheets and spread out to a thickness of ¹/8 to ¼ inch in the center; the edges can be slightly thicker since they will dry faster.

Dry the fruit leather at 140°F for about 4 to 8 hours in a dehydrator, up to 18 hours in the oven, or up to 1 to 2 days in the sun. Properly dried fruit leather is ready if no indentation remains when you touch the center of the leather with your finger, and it peels away easily from the wrap. Peel leather from the plastic wrap while still warm. Cool, roll loosely in clean plastic wrap, and store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.Commercially prepared powdered or liquid pectin can be added to fresh strawberry fruit and juices, as well as commercially canned or frozen juice, to make strawberry jams and jellies. The order of combining ingredients depends on the type of pectin used. Powdered and liquid pectin are not interchangeable in recipes. Complete directions for a variety of fruits and fruit combinations are provided with packaged pectins. For best results, follow the pectin manufacturer’s recipes and directions. For the best quality jam, use pectin before the expiration date stamped on the side of the box. Older pectin may result in poor gels. Sugar is essential for gel formation when you use regular pectin in jam and jelly recipes. However, specially modified pectins are now readily available that can be used to make freezer jams and jam-like fruit spreads with less sugar, with artificial sweeteners, or with no sweeteners. If you want to make a low- or no-sugar product, follow the directions on the modified-pectin package exactly because any variations in quantities or the order in which you add the ingredients could result in product failure. These types of pectins are labeled “no-sugar needed” or “for less or no sugar.” Pectin specifically intended for freezer jam is also available , and it requires significantly less sugar than traditional jams and freezer jams made with regular pectin. The sweetener Splenda can be used instead of sugar in these recipes. All strawberry jams and jellies should be safely processed using a boiling water bath canner, following the process times recommended in table 2. To prevent spoilage, freezer jams must be stored in the freezer, or in the refrigerator once a jar is opened. Since strawberries are high-acid foods, they do not have the potential to develop botulism but they can spoil due to mold growth. Moldy jam or jelly should be discarded.