I Tried The 'Correct' Way To Eat Strawberries And I Regret To Inform You We're All Doing It Wrong

Before I start, let me make one thing clear: I do not enjoy a pointless “proper” extra step when it comes to my food.

For instance, I am alright eating chocolate digestives the “wrong way” (according to McVitie’s). I will go choccie-up like a non-industry normie, thanks very much. 

But sometimes, much to my annoyance, the pros are onto something.

Brie, for instance, loses its unpleasant ammonia tang after being brought to room temperature. Leaving it out for half an hour actually is worth your while. 

And even though I do think fridge-cold strawberries are beautiful as is, berry producers Driscoll’s said those should come out of their chilly home long before you eat them, too.

So, I tried the tip this afternoon – and I’m so sorry, but they’re completely right.

How long should you leave strawberries out of the fridge before you eat them?

Per the berry company, you can refrigerate strawberries in their original container for up to five days if you keep them dry.

But they “taste best at room temperature, so remove them an hour or two before you plan on eating them,” the company claims. 

You should also rinse them just before eating them to get rid of any germs without risking making them soggy. 

I’ll be honest; I thought the advice was a little too fussy for my liking. But Driscoll’s isn’t alone in recommending the method. 

Southern Living go by a 30-minute warm-up rule.

BBC Good Food, meanwhile, puts it at an hour. 

Even Worcestershire County Council weighed in, suggesting we “remove them from the fridge and bring to room temperature before eating”. 

So, I thought I’d bring my punnet of this year’s beautifully sweet harvest out of my fridge an hour before my usual post-lunch snack to see for myself. 

It does make a difference

I get it; I have been diving straight into the fruit the second I remove it from the fridge all week. 

But, sorry to say, the inconvenience of bringing them to room temperature really does transform their flavour (not least because that wonderful fragrance is so much more noticeable). 

This may be because, as America’s Test Kitchen (ATK) shares, strawberries don’t actually have that much sugar; the smell is a big part of why we perceive them as sweet. 

“Just a little bit of heat is enough to coax [the smell] out of the fruit and into the air,” Dan Souza shared in an ATK video, adding that cold temperatures suppress sweet flavours.

No wonder the ones I’d left out had more of that signature scent and mouth-wateringly sweet flavour, too – it was a night and day difference. 

Personally, I’m never going back. And even if you don’t adopt the habit every single time you crave the berry, I recommend trying it at least once.