How to make vinegar fruit wash to prolong the life of your berries. A simple meal prep trick that will help your berries last for longer, with step by step photos showing you exactly how to do it!
I have a love/hate relationship with fresh berries.
LOVE- that beautiful juicy fresh berry...so much flavor and the best texture!
HATE- blink and they've gone bad. Nothing worse than going into your fridge and finding a box full of moldy, squishy berries, right?
Well, friends, I have a little trick that helps prolong the life of your berries, and you probably already have it in your kitchen: white vinegar.
Yes, you read that right! Give your berries a quick dunk in a dilute white vinegar mixture, and you are helping kill off those pesky mold spores.
Following the tips I share below, you can use berries in your meal preps, or just keep them for longer in the fridge! Hurray!
How to Make Vinegar Fruit Wash
Step ONE
Fill a large bowl with 1 part white vinegar to 4 cups water. You may want to double this, depending on how many berries you are washing.
Step TWO
Add your berries, immersing them under the water. If you have a lot of berries, you can work in shifts. Let them soak for 5 minutes.
Step THREE
Scoop your berries out and transfer to a colander. If I am doing a lot of berries, I will re-use the vinegar wash for multiple batches and use a slotted spoon to scoop them out and transfer to colander.
Rinse gently under cold water.
Step FOUR
Spread out on a towel and allow to air dry. This part is IMPORTANT! Removing as much water as possible is crucial in helping your berries last longer in the fridge.
Step FIVE
Transfer to a storage container. I recommend placing a piece of paper towel in the bottom of a meal prep container, or you can use a special produce conserving container like these Produce Savers from Rubbermaid or these Produce Keepers from OXO.
Using these steps, I have successfully used berries in 4-day meal preps.
Tips for Washing Fruit with Vinegar
- Be sure that you are starting with very fresh (not overripe) berries.
- If you have a mixture of small and large berries, soak them separately (aka: ignore what I did in the above photograph!). Large berries may risk squishing and damaging the smaller berries when you rinse them.
- if you have a large quanity of berries, consider freezing some! Find instructions for freezing Blueberries, Strawberries and Blackberries here.
Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!
How to Make Vinegar Fruit Wash
Ingredients
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 4 cups water
- 1 lb berries
Instructions
- Combine the vinegar and water in a large bowl.
- Add the berries. Soak for 5 minutes.
- Scoop out the berries and rinse under cold water in a colander.
- Spread out on a towel and allow to air dry.
- Store in a meal prep container lined with paper towel or in produce storage containers.
Nutrition Information
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Hi, I'm Annie. With a Bachelor of Science degree, a minor in nutrition and nearly 20 year of both classical training, and self-taught experience, I've spent my career proving that home cooking can be practical, delicious and inspiring. What started in 2013 as one food blog has grown into a full-time business. Today, my husband Clayton and I run five food websites that connect with millions of home cooks every month.
When I'm not in the kitchen or behind the camera, I'm using fueling my love of travel, or chasing down new ideas that keep food fun and fresh.
Wanda Burke says
Love this
Deana says
Excellent idea
Tammie says
I just bought strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries. I'm going to give this a try. I'm so tired of seeing my berries go to waste if I don't catch them in time to freeze them. The only downside to freezing berries? They can not be used the way fresh berries are used. I've frozen plenty of them but once they defrost they're very mushy. In other words it's not like I could use them on top of a Pavlova or in a Trifle. It's either make a jam filling for a cake or frosting or use them in smoothies which I don't drink, lol. Anyhoo I'll give it a try and see how it goes. Thanks! Bookmarking for tomorrow...
Dave says
Have you tried putting the berries in a mason jar and sealing
With a FoodSaver? Or would that create too much pressure for the fruit?
Denise says
Hi Dave, I have not tried that as I am avoiding plastic waste whenever possible. However as a little update on this post, I have started washing with 1 tablespoon baking soda in place of vinegar and find that it works great and the fruit ends up less tender after washing.
Alex says
I'm new to all of this and my partner said we should try it. I love the mixture. How soon would you serve the fruits? In other words, would you use this wash to serve the fruits right after, or just use this mixture for the purposes of storing the fruits?
Denise says
Hi Alex! I need to update this post. I've actually moved to a baking soda wash now. I do 1 tablespoon baking soda to 12 cups water. It really depends on the type of fruit. Grapes and most veggies are good to wash ahead, but I've found through experimentation that berries are actually best left unwashed until just before serving. Apologies for this outdated post, and I hope my reply is helpful!
Lauren says
How long do you have to soak them for in the 1 tbsp baking soda to 12 cup water. Does this work for all fruits and vegetables?
Denise Bustard says
Hi Lauren! I soak for 10 minutes, then rinse. I do this for non-organic fruit and veggies 🙂
Lane Onson says
HI Denise,
What happens when you soak fruit too long in the solution?
Denise says
Hi Lane! I am actually moving away from a vinegar wash and instead use a baking soda wash. I am planning on writing a post on it soon! I find that the vinegar wash can damage the fruit ever so slightly, making them a bit more mushy. Whereas baking soda does not harm the fruit and does an excellent job on removing pesticides! Here's a great article on it: https://foodrevolution.org/blog/how-to-wash-vegetables-fruits/
Arlene Franks says
Can you reuse the solution??
Denise says
Hi Arlene! Yes, you can re-use it for several batches of berries. I scoop them out with a slotted spoon (will update the instructions to make that more clear), then re-use for a few batches, but I do toss the vinegar/water solution after I'm done for the day.
Arlene Franks says
THANK YOU...hugs
Brittany Audra @ Audra's Appetite says
This is too perfect: my neighbor just gave me a massive container of freshly picked strawberries from his garden today!! Such a useful tip.
Denise says
Thanks Brittany! Hope it helps you enjoy your berries for longer!