It’s a sad moment: realising those strawberries you splashed out on last week are now destined to break down in the compost bin, all because you forgot them at the back of the fridge.
When mould spores appear, there’s no doubt it’s time to face the music and toss those babies out, but when your strawbs look just a little weathered, it’s nice to know there’s a way to bring them back to life.
Brittany King, a Facebook user from Alaska, has shared her hack for saving mushy strawberries. Actually, it was her friend Lilly who let her in on the secret, but we’ve got to hand it to King for these before and after photos.
“When someone gives you life-changing advice, you have to share it!” she wrote in a post earlier this month. “If you soak your ‘kind of sad’ strawberries in ice water, they firm up and turn back to bright red.”
Accompanying a series of instructional photos, King explained that she soaked these berries for 20 minutes. In that time, the bruised spots and discoloured spots have been re-plumped, adding new freshness and improving texture. Even the green stalks show new signs of hydration.
King’s post has been met with a viral response from impressed strawberry lovers all around the world. Since May 7, her post has seen some 212k shares, has 52k reactions and hundreds of comments.
“So much wasted potential through all my years of life,” one user wrote with another adding, “Wow that’s awesome.”
The method of bringing new life to ageing produce via ice water is not a new concept. Kitchens have long used this tactic to resurrect wilted greens and save soggy lettuce, but it’s great to know the same application works for fruits, too.