If you love fresh strawberries but cringe at the idea of pesticide residue lurking on their surface, you’re not alone. Washing strawberries the right way can feel like a puzzle—plain tap water isn’t always enough, and vinegar, while popular, sometimes leaves an unwelcome taste. But what if there’s a better, gentler way to clean your berries that really works?
Let’s dive into the most effective technique for washing strawberries that removes those persistent pesticide traces without changing their sweet flavor or delicate texture. Plus, you’ll find tips on storing strawberries so they stay fresh longer and advice on other cleaning methods to try (or avoid).
How to wash strawberries with baking soda for pesticide removal
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Among various methods, using baking soda stands out as one of the best ways to get your strawberries truly clean. Unlike mere water, baking soda helps break down and lift off pesticide residue without leaving a strange aftertaste, which can happen when you use vinegar. It’s also gentle on the fruit, preserving its natural flavor and texture.
To try this method, simply dissolve about one teaspoon of baking soda in a bowl filled with several cups of cold water. Next, submerge your strawberries in the solution and let them soak for around five minutes. You can gently swirl the berries occasionally to help loosen dirt and any chemicals clinging to the surface.
After soaking, rinse your strawberries thoroughly under cold running water and pat them dry with a paper towel. This method is wonderfully simple—it requires just a bowl, baking soda, and clean water—and highly effective for conventionally grown strawberries, which often rank high on the “Dirty Dozen” list for pesticide contamination. Even if you prefer organic strawberries, soaking them in baking soda water can remove soil and bacteria picked up during handling.
Other strawberry cleaning methods and how to keep them fresh
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If you don’t have baking soda at hand, there are other cleaning methods worth considering—though they come with pros and cons depending on what you want to remove. For instance, rinsing with plain water won’t do much to eliminate pesticides but can help wash off dirt and insects.
Vinegar soaks are popular but tend to leave a sour taste and can sometimes be too harsh on the fruit’s delicate skin. Some suggest salt water or lemon juice rinses, but these might not be as effective in removing pesticides and can risk altering the strawberries’ flavor.
Once your strawberries are clean, storage becomes key to enjoying them at their best. It’s important to keep the berries dry and refrigerated. If you don’t plan to eat them immediately, store the strawberries unwashed in their original container or transfer them to a container lined with paper towels to absorb excess moisture. Leaving moisture on your berries speeds up spoilage, so washing only the amount you’ll consume soon is best.
Properly stored strawberries can last about 5 to 7 days. Always check for any bruised or moldy berries daily and discard them promptly. This prevents rot from spreading and keeps the rest of your delicious fruit fresh.
Why washing strawberries right matters for health and taste
I remember a time when I’d casually rinse strawberries under the faucet and dive right in, no second thought about possible residues. That smile faded when I learned about the chemicals these pretty fruits might carry. Baking soda washing became a game changer for me. Not only did it remove the worries about pesticides, but it also made eating strawberries more enjoyable—no lingering vinegar taste, just pure, fresh berry goodness.
Taking a few extra minutes to prep your strawberries with this easy method feels like a small win for health and peace of mind. Plus, it’s a reminder that a little care in the kitchen goes a long way toward savoring the foods we love without compromise.
Have you tried washing strawberries with baking soda before? Or do you stick to traditional methods like rinsing only with water or vinegar? Share your experiences below, and if you have other creative tips for keeping your fruit fresh and delicious, we’d love to hear them! Let’s make our kitchens a safer, tastier place together.
Yeah I’ve been eating strawberries without washing them first for years from a child, I am 72 now, we played in all sorts of muck and fields out in the fresh air every day with all our friends and we were as healthy as can be, kids today aren’t as lucky as we were in that way.
But do you have a lot of allergies or any mental illness? They say that people have developed more allergies and even ADHD from pesticides
We have experienced more than any other generation of our time. We learned so much and grew our knowledge more than any others.
And then you ruined it for all future generations
Yes, at almost 93, I agree with you about how lucky we were! But companies and farmers weren’t using so many different pesticides at that time either, so I am more careful about cleaning them. For a very short time during 1 (one) growing season, probably during the early or middle 1980s, I picked apples with those, (immigrants and lower income workers) who traveled our country to earn a living! What an eye opener! Only one of the things I became aware of was how discolored my hands became during that time and it didn’t wash off! The workers told me that it was from a pesticide called ‘no drop’ which owners said they didn’t use, but did, because it kept the apples on the trees longer. Those people worked very hard! They were not lazy! They were trying to provide for their families! DON’T BELIEVE ALL THOSE WHO CONSTANTLY LIE ABOUT THE IMMIGRANTS THAT ARE HERE AND THOSE WHO ARE POOR. THEY NEED LIVING WAGES SO THEY CAN FEED THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES AND HAVE MEDICATION WHEN THEY BECOME ILL! MILLIONAIRES AND BILLIONAIRES DON’T NEED TAX CUTS! THEY NEED TO PAY LIVING WAGES TO THOSE WHO WORK HARD TO KEEP THE PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY HEALTHY AND SAFE! THE GOVERNMENT IS TAKING ALL THE WORKERS AWAY THAT HELP THEM AND NOW EVERYONE IS GOING TO BE POORER AND SICKER! MAY OUR COMPASSIONATE AND LOVING GOD HELP US THROUGH THIS!!
Oh do stop shouting ..we are talking strawberries
He only shouted during the last part….people do need to wake up to what’s going on….
Oh now, the concern and compassion expressed by Sister Francis does not, in my opinion, deserve such reprimand… Have a nice strawberry!
Someone has to shout. Strawberries just so happened to be the catalyst.
Amen! Yes, immigrants work the jobs that are necessary, the average American won’t do, but also take for granted. ♥︎ G-d Bless
Thank you
When and why has eating fruit and veg/food become so hazardous to our health? Is it because we have taken our food security and put it in the hands of what seems to be for-profit only, mega industrial farming, chemical cooperations and supermarkets? All of whom are just about 100 years old if at all.
Before that, we had a totally different food system. In Africa, our food system with zero chemicals is how old, 10-12 thousand years old? The responsibility for our food security was always ours as families. We barter traded (exchanged food) safe naturally grown food with zero chemicals. Now we don’t know how to grow food without these deadly chemicals and buy the equally deadly seeds because we no longer save our own seeds and must buy seed every season from them. Is this progress or backwardness on our part? We are just following blindly, eating hazardous food, and being given tips on how to wash off chemicals that can not truly be washed off. This practice has become normalised. The questions we should be asking are- why does our food need dangerous cancer causing chemicals in the first place? Chemicals that are leftover from war chemicals like Agent orange sprayed by America in Vietnam in the 60s n 70s and still causing birth defects, cancers, etc, to this day? The same Agent orange was made by non other than Monsanto, the farming chemical giant.
Even in a small back garden, we can produce a lot of food if we grow the smart way. I have stopped eating shop bought fruit because the chemicals they are baptising our food with really don’t agree with me.
Growing as much of our own food as we can, yesterday we started planting our mini vineyard, planted a whole lot of strawberries and two Plumtrees, we already have 4 apple, two pear trees, lots of different soft fruits/berry bushes, pumpkins, corn, carrots, beets, Swiss chard, tomatoes, water mellons, peanuts n more all grown naturally..
Lucky you 😊
Farmers only care about profits, like so many other enterprises. When are we going to take quality of life seriously. Stop making people sick!
Well said! I grew up in southwestern Michigan and the migrant workers that came every summer staying until sometimes late fall or some of the hardest working people I’ve ever met. The family values that I learned from them help shape my life.
Well said
💖💖💖💖💖
Let them work in their own country. We can’t take in every vagrant!
Yes they work hard and for less pay . but maybe we could hire unemployed in United States first . It is best that we don’t encourage the illegal entry into the united state. Emigrants are welcome if come into legally.
If they’re working, how can they be vagrants? Please consult a dictionary.
Amen Some people don’t even understand that term. It’s just hate. Do their children want to do this backbreaking work?? Nope! Parents have bigger dreams. So sending these laborers away will hurt the cost of good. So much for the lower prices Trump said he would bring. So long fresh fruits and vegetables on the east coast during the winter because California thrives on the energy of immigrants. We even provide healthcare through the state. They are not vagrants standing around ready to tape and kill you they are waiting to be chosen to do jobs in construction or agriculture to feed their family here and in their home country. We all came as illegals! The difference was the country was new! Now the laws grant asylum and have a zillion holes to jump through without enough judges or social workers. It scares individuals away from trying to stick it out. ICE is arresting immigrants who have followed the program at their next appointment how can that be legal?? You follow the rules only to be sent to El Salvador to die! So you supporters of deportation are complicit in genocide by hate! They have been granted asylum under one President to have it stolen by an orange face person with no conscience and a felon himself. It’s no different that the Germans arresting innocent Jews who they later put to death. Alligator Alley sounds like a place where you can be cared for like animals. We treat dogs better. Is that how low Americans see people who are escaping murders and cartels and lack of work in there home countries. You don’t risk your life to come here if you are safe at home so they are not vagrants or worthless! You might think so if you live in Timbuktu. My relatives hardly see an immigrant so they think they are scary! But they are kind and willing to work in jobs the newest generation is not interested in so why deport them other than because you are racist based on no contact and our President telling you so. When we intergraded schools we were told all kinds of scary stories but none of it was true! We had no riots and no fights. It went so smoothly except the Black campuses were rundown and their teachers in some subjects were not available. So tax dollars for books and building upkeep was not shared fairly that was for sure. We brought in buckets for our Geometry class when it rained. Life was not fair and we felt it right along side them. So don’t believe what you haven’t been a part of in your lifetime.
You seem like a bitter person.
Vagrant? Are you SURE that’s the word you meant to use. Or did you men MIGRANT?
Oh really? Are you gonna pick tje fruit, trim the trees, lay the cement at an I decent wage? I think not.
I have always said that illegal immigrants wouldn’t be a problem if the rich wouldn’t give them jobs. If they paid U.S. citizens a living wage they would have plenty of workers. Instead they hire people that will work for a substandard wage.
Please stop with your political rhetoric. They also stole money from our country by not paying taxes and getting paid under the table, then sending the money back to their native country. While Americans couldn’t get work. Don’t tell me it’s bc we don’t want to work. I’m one who couldn’t get work bc I didn’t speak Spanish.
If this bothers you, leave our country and move to one that has open borders and gives tons to these people in welfare goodies. Good luck in finding one.
SPOT ON!!! 👍
Ask farmers who try hiring Americans to do back breaking work in their fields. They quit.
Amen Maria and thanks for sharing this. So many people are so closed minded and have no clue about reality outside of the little box they live in. Then they have the nerve to express their thoughts and support what is actually ruining America. 🙄
They pay taxes. You can get work if you’re competent , I’m sure you can go pick strawberries . Maria, you sound like a “good Christian”. You may want to read a newspaper if you can.
Thank you for speaking up.
I also am against illegal immigration and off the books works, however I would support more legal immigration. It is not the people or the language–it is the subversion of law and order.
Key Word: LEGAL
My family was immigrants, as well. We picked cotton in South Texas, from sunrise to sunset.
There were governmental requirements as listed on the ship record that hangs on my wall in honor of our first generation to have the honor of coming to America. We came with seeds to plant to provide for our family. There was no free food nor any other perks.
We were paid ‘per family’, not ‘per person’. After ten years of perfect workmanship, we were allowed to take the Citizen Test in ENGLISH. The requirements on the Ship Record states…no mental disorder, no missing limbs, no crossed eyes, no bowed legs, no criminal record.
We are a proud American family with German heritage that pledges full allegiance to our beautiful US flag. God Bless America!! 👍❤️❤️🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
I agree
Yes Ma’am! Well said! I appreciate your comment.
So very true, they’re the hardest workers if you ask me. Believe me they’ll get cancer and all other illnesses because the use of their hands. Americans are very lazy workers and most don’t want to work. The other hard workers (immigrants) are more appreciative for the work. Live such a simple life. Just wanting and needing to take care of their families.
My 4 grandparents were immigrants. They came in legally! Stop the bleeding heart stuff!
Amen, Sister!
They’re Illegals and need to get out. They are breeding rapidly and producing children at an alarming rate. Another reason why They’re poor.
We need to take care of the poor people who live here.
I love how compassionate and caring you are. You are correct about the amount of and numerous pesticides not being used decades ago. Thank you for your courage in speaking out, too.
Sister Frances Barber I agree, and yours is a timely reminder at a time when many of our farmworkers are in peril (I volunteer at Immigration Courts against ICE, helping to protect numerous unfairly and illegally abducted immigrant farmworkers today). For these farmworkers’ sake, I also urge all to buy only certified organic (ie, pesticide-free) strawberries.
Very well said. I agree put politics aside and think of humanity. You surely don’t see white black out there picking our fruits veges. We don’t want to!! So wake up people and respect and realize we Need our people whatever race to continue doing what they do best. So they can take care of their families.
My mom let me in on the baking soda method quite a while back. I won’t eat strawberries or any other berry without soaking for 5 mins in baking soda and water.
I used to use vinegar before and yes, it does make it taste weird.
Sounds a bit strange to be concerned about the unknown chemicals but then rinse them under FLOURIDATED water…WTF 😂.
Maybe you could go down to a farm and see what it takes to grow crops.
We’re being blasted by poisons in the air, the water, and in our foods. I’ve decided to never breathe, eat, or drink…ever again. My results will be posted in 30 days…or not 🤣
That should help. Lol 😂
Mmmm…..LOL!!!
I know! Fewer cavities! Who wants that?!?
😂😅🧝
Fluoridated … you should spell it correctly to be taken seriously, lol
We have well water.
I have used vinegar and water…lots of water and a couple of good splashes of vinegar. Soak and swirl about 5 minutes. Rinse well. Spread out on a clean tea towel or paper towels till good and dry. Put in a large glass bottle and put on the lid. Refrigerate. Never had a problem with them tasting like vinegar. But I will try the baking soda soak as well.
Thank you for using tea towels. I see kitchen instructions everywhere specifying the use of paper towels as if they were somehow magical. I have about a dozen flour sack towels in my kitchen that suit many food contact purposes.
I’m rarely in the mood for strawberries when they’re in season so I buy frozen. Otherwise I’d probably just raise my own or get hydroponically grown. We have a place locally that’s expanding from tomatoes to other fruits and vegetables as well as the farmers market so I don’t lack options.
I soak most of the fruits and vegetable I Bring home regularly, in a dish of cool water and salt.
I know that salt water drives the little green worms out of Broccoli I grow, and the little black Beatles that burrow into my fresh ripe tomatoes., before I can pick them.
I wash everything, even Romaine lettuce hearts,
Never, spinach or raspberries.
I rinse, air dry everything on kitchen towels. I then layer the fruits in container, on papertowel, then more papertowel and more fruit
Keeping the fruit/vegetable dry, keeps them longer. Thus the papertowel
Also, always wash the Melons you bring home before cutting into them.
Cutting into melon with the pesticides/herbicides on them, will carry the chemicals into the fruit.
Eat Safely!
Ive been living in a caravan for a few years and I put apple’s
In the fridge, take them out of there packings, make sure they are dry then put them in a clean plastic bag get as much air out of the bag seal the bag but putting a bag clip on and put in lower shelf the keep for weeks that way,I even try to suck as much said out as possible the less air the better by the time you get to the last apple’s they taste eaven sweeter then the first ones you take out, because they are chilled they stay crunchy ,beautiful 😉 .
I also put my bread in the fridge, the sae get as much air out without squashing the bread 🍞 it stays fresh for 2 to 3 weeks just take out what you want and put back in the fridge, my ex wife and my grown adult children do the same ,we were throwing out mouldy bread that was only 2 or 3 days old,
“BUT”, DONT let your loaf be in the sun when your driving home from the store, if there is any sweating in the bread bag the bread will still start to go mouldy in 3 days 😊😉
I have used vinager and water or Baking Soda and water to clean fruit and vegetables. Another good way to clean the pesticides and dirt away is by using the fruit and vegetable cleaning spray called FIT. Spray FIT on your fruit or vegetable and rub for 1 minute, then rinse. It rinses away all pesticides, dirt, bacteria and germs from others handling them. Grocery stores, Walmart, Target, Amazon, etc… carry FIT spray.
Don’t the berries soak some of the water and sodium from the baking soda
Apparently even the organic produce is sprayed with something to keep them shelf stable longer. So sad smh.
The best way is to wash them in 11.5 pH water. Dissolves oil based pesticides way more efficiently than baking soda. The water will be bright yellow!! Kangen water machine is wat you need.
There are no outhouses in the fields.🤮😳🤔😒Best to wash ALL fruits and vegetables. Whatever works for you vinegar or baking soda. Baking soda leaves more residue….first time you see it, 😲 SHOCKING!! EAT CLEAN😊
I use 3 parts water 1 part white vinegar. Swish around in mixture Rinse after 5 minutes. So far no after taste of vinegar. Dry on paper towel then store in fridge.
Baking soda in bottled water (preferably distilled, but other will work: drinking, purified, spring, etc.) is an accessible and affordable method for those who don’t want to use their tap water. OTC filters like Brita or Pur can cut some of the chemicals in tap water — they most certainly improve the taste!
Special pH solutions or machines may be hard for some people to source, and even apple cider vinegar can leave a sour taste to your sweet fruit.
I don’t believe that bakingsoda or vinegar will remove these chemicals for a second. Pesticides and herbicides are made to penetrait the plants natrual barrier to be effective. If your not growing, catching or killing what you eat you can’t be 100% sure what you are puting into your body.
I prefer to use chlorine dioxide tablets for cleaning fruits, vegetables, and at different concentrations, for cleaning my countertops, sponges, sinks and whatever needs disinfecting. Best thing I’ve ever used.
Right on Maria!!
Yes I live were the best peaches pears apples, etc grow n last time this happened tons n tons of fruit rotted on the trees…wat a waste. There was NOBODY TO PICK OUR 🍑 🍎🍏 🍐.What a shame.
A strawberry grower passed this tip on to me regarding storage. Put the berries in Mason jars and store in FRIDGE.it works. I was able to keep my berries fresh and sweet fot two weeks
Me, too. I use quart and 1/2 gallon Mason (canning) jars for dry, unwashed strawberries, to be stored for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. I put on the regular canning lids very tightly.
My husband has a landscape business. He can not find anyone to work. If he does actualy get someone for $15 an hour and $20 n hour for experienced workers, they usually quit after first day/week because of how labor intensive it is, or the heat affects them. I thought everyone could cut grass but that is not the case. When you do cut grass for money, it has to look professional or at least better than what the homeowner could do themselves. My husband tries to explain where the yard begins and ends. We have had workers that just go ahead and mow neighbors yards. Then he has them finish for a free mowing for the homeowner. We have tried hiring college students and high schoolers in the summer and they quit because they want to go to beach with their buddies, or they will get a job at local grocery store that only pays roughly 8 an hour to be in a/c. We “parents” have coddled this generation and the one before too much. They all want a computer job…. it is a sad recognition when you face reality of the current state of affairs. The immigrant workers will work hard for less money because they need to send money homemade. My husband retires now in 4 months and he is so glad he will not have to worry about workers
what makes anyone sure washing them with any of the suggestions did amything ? they taste the same with chemicals or after you try towash them. and organic fruit and vegitables are usally the first ones recalled like someone mentioned these chemicals are made to stick to and penitrate the skins to make sure they stay on the fruit. thats important to growers who cant afford to re spray their ctops because it verycostly more than the fertilxer and try to grow your ouwn the mega corp have bought up the food and seed that you buy and they only produce gentical ingineered food. and ifthey catch you growninganything thats not from them its agaist the law Im sorrytosaythis but we havereached the end of mankinds atempt to run the earth good people have trued hard to make things right but it was doomed fromthebegining Satan has said his way was better than Gods and so thats what we have live under since Adam and Eve. but now enuff time has passed to render the winner and never again will anyone be able to chalange Gods right to rule. were living in the last moments of Satans rule althoughyou may have herd the end was comming for your whole life that dont mean its not going to happen. You have been lied to by your goverment your education instituionn the commercial giants the scientific gods and medical world but what about the faithfull those who trust in the lord ? You must realized that religon was the first thing that Satan curupted and then Jesus came to theearth and started christysnity. but he fortold that it would be over run by wolves so today christian denominationd have all been misled and the high ranking clergy are all aware of the falsehoods they teach the only ones that preach the truth are the ones you will find that are universaly rejected. so look for the people no one wants to even mention their name do you know who Im talking about ? the Devil has complete controle of the earth so its not been easy for the ones with the truth to be herd but the proof of them having the truth is the fact nothing has been able to wipe them out they just keep growing and groeing some nations are terified of them and ban them but that has only made the grow even faster today this people have with gods holy spirit spread the good new world wide against all odds these ones are not saints they are imperfect sinfull people but they do there very best to be real christians and they are helping millions to learn the truth and be freed from the darkness and lies that have stood for centuries.
The good news is this; the earth will soon be in charge of a perfect king with absoulute power to end hunger sickness and DEATH to resurect all those who have died and mankind will never again live under this system we will see just what can be done by the true God and one last thing can you imagine someone this caring for people to remsin anonomus? That makes no since but by the power of Satan he has mahange to nealry eradicatr this Gods name but now his name is filling the earth and millions are discovering there is a God that loves them each as a individule I dont want to be preaching in this manner for i am not able to represnt his people for this post it full of mispelled words but to lean the Name and how these points are trub pleas go to this web sight JW.ORG. Thank you