How to Select

As strawberries are very perishable, they should only be purchased a few days prior to use. Choose berries that are firm, plump, free of mold, and which have a shiny, deep red color and attached green caps. Since strawberries, once picked, do not ripen further, avoid those that are dull in color or have green or yellow patches since they are likely to be sour and of inferior quality. Full ripe berries will not only have the peak flavor and texture, but will have more nutrients. Full ripe in this case means optimally ripe, not overripe. Both underripe and overripe strawberries have been show to have lower vitamin C content and decreased phytonutrient content in comparison to optimally ripe strawberries.