Are there bugs in strawberries? Should you soak your strawberries in salt water? I wanted to test out the viral TikTok sensation has any truth to it. But even the idea of bugs or worms in your strawberries is pretty gross isn't it?
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Here's what you do to find out
Fill a bowl with water, at room temperature, pour in a lot of sea salt (about five large spoonfuls), put her strawberries in, and then wait for about 30 minutes.
Are there bugs floating around in the water? If so, where did these worms come from? They are the offspring of a type of fruit fly called the Spotted Wing Drosophila (or SWD), which is pretty common.
Cornell University reported that this fly is most attracted to berries such as raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries. The SWD is notable because it lays eggs inside fresh fruit, often before harvest, instead of overripe or rotting fruit, which its cousins prefer.
How to clean your strawberries
Even if there aren't any worms in your berries, there are pesticides on fruit and vegetables. A 10% salt solution is a good way to wash it off.
Some recommend cold water while others think warm water is best since salt dissolves faster in warmer water. Just be sure to rinse them thoroughly afterwards, or else your strawberries will taste salty.
Most important also is to LET THEM DRY thoroughly before you put them in the fridge.
The hard truth is we all eat bugs but we just don't know it. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has limits on the amounts of bugs food can contain, but items like broccoli, canned tomatoes, or even beer hops contain "insect fragments" (such as heads, body parts, and legs) or even whole insects (via Scientific American).
If you want peace of mind, you can start soaking your strawberries (and all of your produce) in salt water, but that doesn't mean you'll be able to eliminate bugs 100%. NO. Sorry. But luckily they won't hurt you.
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HOW TO KEEP BERRIES FRESH LONGER
Now, how to keep berries fresh, The secret to extending the life of fresh berries? White Vinegar. Check out these step by step directions.
Once you bring your fresh berries home, the key to keeping it fresh is to kill any spores on the fruit. The pH of vinegar will do that.
Place the berries in a large bowl and wash them in a vinegar-water bath: 1 cup of white vinegar and 8 cups of water.
Let the berries sit in the vinegar-water bath, gently moving them to help dislodge any dirt, grime and letting the vinegar kill spores and bacteria.
Drain the berries in a colander and then thoroughly rinse the fruit (to remove any vinegar flavor).
Dry on a paper towel. We recommend a paper towel because berries will stain regular towels.
Store the washed and dried fruit in a sealed container that has been lined with paper towels — if using an air-tight container, leave the lid slightly open to avoid natural moisture build-up. When I handle fruit I have purchased from my grocery store, I wash the original container and then re-use it, making sure to line it with paper towels.
