How To Clean Produce With White Vinegar

Posted: 6/9/18 Updated: 8/26/20

How to make vinegar fruit wash to prolong the life of your berries. A simple meal prep trick that will help your berries last for longer, with step by step photos showing you exactly how to do it!

white bowl with fruit and text overlay saying how to make a vinegar wash to make your berries last

I have a love/hate relationship with fresh berries.

LOVE- that beautiful juicy fresh berry...so much flavor and the best texture!

HATE- blink and they've gone bad. Nothing worse than going into your fridge and finding a box full of moldy, squishy berries, right?

Well, friends, I have a little trick that helps prolong the life of your berries, and you probably already have it in your kitchen: white vinegar.

Yes, you read that right! Give your berries a quick dunk in a dilute white vinegar mixture, and you are helping kill off those pesky mold spores.

Following the tips I share below, you can use berries in your meal preps, or just keep them for longer in the fridge! Hurray!

How to Make Vinegar Fruit Wash

Step ONE

Fill a large bowl with 1 part white vinegar to 4 cups water. You may want to double this, depending on how many berries you are washing.

Step TWO

Add your berries, immersing them under the water. If you have a lot of berries, you can work in shifts. Let them soak for 5 minutes.

water being poured over strawberries in a sieve

Step THREE

Scoop your berries out and transfer to a colander. If I am doing a lot of berries, I will re-use the vinegar wash for multiple batches and use a slotted spoon to scoop them out and transfer to colander.

Rinse gently under cold water.

strawberries laid out on a white and blue dish towel

Step FOUR

Spread out on a towel and allow to air dry. This part is IMPORTANT! Removing as much water as possible is crucial in helping your berries last longer in the fridge.

Step FIVE

Transfer to a storage container. I recommend placing a piece of paper towel in the bottom of a meal prep container, or you can use a special produce conserving container like these Produce Savers from Rubbermaid or these Produce Keepers from OXO.

Using these steps, I have successfully used berries in 4-day meal preps.

Some more tips for washing fruit with vinegar:

Be sure that you are starting with very fresh (not overripe) berries.
If you have a mixture of small and large berries, soak them separately (aka: ignore what I did in the above photograph!). Large berries may risk squishing and damaging the smaller berries when you rinse them.
if you have a large quanity of berries, consider freezing some! Find instructions for freezing Blueberries, Strawberries and Blackberries here.

Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!

How to make vinegar fruit wash to prolong the life of your berries. A simple meal prep trick that will help your berries last for longer, with step by step photos showing you exactly how to do it!

▢ 1 cup white vinegar
▢ 4 cups water
▢ 1 lb berries

Combine the vinegar and water in a large bowl.
Add the berries. Soak for 5 minutes.
Scoop out the berries and rinse under cold water in a colander.
Spread out on a towel and allow to air dry.
Store in a meal prep container lined with paper towel or in produce storage containers.

Serving: 1 /4 batch , Calories: 57 kcal , Carbohydrates: 13 g , Protein: 0 g , Fat: 0 g , Saturated Fat: 0 g , Cholesterol: 0 mg , Sodium: 1 mg , Potassium: 61 mg , Fiber: 3 g , Sugar: 9 g , Vitamin A: 50 IU , Vitamin C: 2.8 mg , Calcium: 9 mg , Iron: 0.2 mg

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Meet Denise Bustard

Denise Bustard is the creator of Sweet Peas and Saffron, a meal prep-focussed food blog. With a PhD in biochemistry, Denise takes a scientific approach to perfecting her recipes. You can find Denise's work featured on Huffington Post, MSN, Self and more.