Strawberry Picking Tips

It’s strawberry picking season and the berries this year have been amazing. So much so that I have already been to the strawberry fields twice! There is nothing like the flavor of a fresh berry that has literally just been picked from the ground. I am by no means a strawberry picking expert. However, I do have a few picking tips that may be helpful to you before you go.

My years of strawberry picking go way back to middle school, when one summer I had to wake up at 4am and catch a bus to the strawberry field. No joke! If I remember right, I made about $100 after 2 weeks of being hot, miserable, and sore. It was barely enough to buy a pair of Guess Jeans, even way back then. The good news is, I only had to do it once to learn that manual labor wasn’t for me! Although for years I couldn’t eat strawberry flavored foods, I never lost my love of fresh picked strawberries. With that said, here are a few tips I learned along the way that I hope will not only help you have the best experience picking berries but also inspire you to make your own strawberry picking memory.

Tip #1 – Save your berry containers throughout the year and take them with you. The containers will protect your berries and keep them from being smashed. They also make it so much easier to bring your fresh picked berries home. You can even stack them in a cooler and the great thing is, they still look like strawberries when you get home.

Tip #2 – Confirm with the farm that they are open for picking the day you want to go. Strawberry season is only about 2 weeks long but most farms are not open everyday for picking. Berries ripen on there own time schedule and farms never know how many pickers will show up from day to day or what the weather will do to the berries. So it’s not uncommon for strawberry fields to be closed during strawberry season while they wait for the next set of berries to ripen. Call ahead or check their website.

Tip #3 – Only pick red strawberries. Unlike other fruits, strawberries do not ripen after they are picked so pick them as red as possible. The size of the berries doesn’t effect the sweetness but the color does! Orange or green berries will never turn red or ripen after they are picked.

Tip #4 – Keep the green stem and leaves attached to the berry when you pick them. Without the greens attached they become mushy and spoil really fast. With the greens attached they will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator.

Tip #5 – Pick extra berries while you are in the field. It is hard to stop eating freshly picked strawberries and you can freeze the extras. They taste just as good frozen. It’s super easy to freeze fresh berries and they last up to 6 months in the freezer without losing any flavor or nutrients.

Tip #6 – Place containers of unwashed fresh picked berries in the refrigerator and they will keep for about a week. Don’t wash your berries until you are ready to eat or freeze them. Once you wash them they will need to be eaten immediately. Follow these instructions for freezing fresh berries…

To Freeze Fresh Berries:
Wash berries w/ leaves and stems and lay them out on a towel or cooling rack. Let the strawberries air dry for about an hour. Next, remove stems and leaves – simply pull them out. Don’t cut them and waste the top of the berry. Slice berries in half and lay in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Flash freeze (uncovered) for a 1-2 hours. Flash freezing the berries allows them to be frozen enough to prevent them from sticking together when you bag them for long term freezer storage. Making it easy to grab a handful of strawberries for making smoothies, milkshakes, strawberry ice cream, and more! After an hour or two of flash freezing, remove the cookie sheet from the freezer and place the berries in airtight containers or quart/gallon zip bags. Frozen berries keep for up to 6 months without losing any flavor or nutrients.

Strawberries are rich in vitamins and minerals and contain vitamin c, calcium, iron, potassium, folate, magnesium, and antioxidants just to name a few. They also are a great source of dietary fiber. They’re a real whole food with many health benefits. Try using frozen strawberries to make my amazing Kefir Fruit Smoothie. It’s delicious!

Remember to be creative with your food. It doesn’t have to be complicated and there is inspiration all around you. If you haven’t tried picking fresh strawberries, what are you waiting for? Do you have any other strawberry picking tips? I would love to hear them! Please share them below.

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