Foodanddrink

You’re storing strawberries wrong — a strawberry farmer says this is the trick to preventing mold

Food & Wine · Jul 19, 2026 06:30 · 3 min read

You’ll save so much money on berries.

Strawberries are one of my favorite fruits, but they can also be expensive and quick to spoil. I’ve learned to buy only enough for a day or two, which means that I spend the rest of my week before my next trip to the grocery store in a sad, strawberry-less state.

Hoping to delay Mother Nature, I reached out to Glenn Tanaka, owner of Tanaka Farms in Irvine, California. With decades of farming experience and a wealth of knowledge at his fingertips, he recommends storing strawberries in a produce container with an elevated basket and a ventilated lid, like the OXO Good Grips GreenSaver Produce Keeper.

OXO Good Grips GreenSaver Produce Keeper

$26 at Amazon

“Strawberries don’t ripen after picking — whatever ripeness they’re at when picked is as good as they get,” said Tanaka. “Commercial growers pick berries slightly underripe, specifically so they can survive the trip to the store. Farm stand berries are picked at full ripeness for same-day sale, which means they’re already at their softest, juiciest point the moment you buy them — there’s no ripening buffer left, so they turn faster.”

Given this, it’s natural and expected for farm-fresh strawberries to turn quickly. Ideally, they should be eaten within a day or two, but Tanaka says you can prolong their lives by sorting through them to remove moldy berries upon returning home and refraining from washing until you eat them. As for storage, place the sorted berries in the refrigerator inside a produce container that’s ventilated, includes an elevated basket, and is more shallow than it is deep.

OXO’s GreenSaver Produce Keeper checks every box. With Tanaka’s advice in mind, I decided that the larger, 5-quart keeper is best since it’s longer than other models. This way, the berries have room to breathe. With the vent on the lid that slides open to expel humidity — which Tanaka dubbed “strawberry enemy No. 1” — and the colander-style basket that allows for more air circulation, I can rest assured that I’m doing everything possible to prevent mold.

The same approach can also keep grocery store strawberries fresh for longer. Since they’re typically slightly underripe, they may have a longer starting shelf life than farm stand berries. Thousands of Amazon shoppers say OXO’s produce keeper has helped extend that freshness even further. One reviewer wrote that they’ve “been able to keep blueberries for two weeks and strawberries for over one week.” A second shopper added that it kept their “unwashed strawberries fresh for at least 10 days.”

Now that strawberry season is in full swing, I’ll finally be able to eat my fill without fear of them molding before my eyes. I’ll even be able to extend the life of my supermarket berries by at least a week, according to thousands of Amazon shoppers.