I read on it years ago, but I think it helps kill the mold spores.
"It's not exactly that vinegar itself extends the life of berries. It's the fact that vinegar is so acidic that it kills or inhibits the growth of a lot of the bacteria and fungus, including mold, that may grow on berries, which makes the fruit last longer," explains Sean Brady Kenniff, EatingWell's senior digital food editor. (By the way, this same technique should work to clean just about any fruit, not just berries.)
Haven't tried the vinegar yet but I store them in an air tight container and throw a bit of paper towel in there for good measure. Lasts at least a week.
You should absolutely wash everything you intend to put in your body. Not only are fruits and vegetables covered with things like pesticides, even when they are totally organic, they were probably fertilized with nitrates which are bad to ingest (and organic pesticides are a thing and not good for humans). And even if that isn't the case, they grow those things outside like on the ground. There is a reasonable chance at least one animal has pooped or peed on them.
I never buy Driscoll fruit (particularly strawberries and blueberries) for this very reason. When I used to work at a grocery store, half of the time the Driscoll fruits would be rotten already upon arrival to the store!
There are plenty of self-picking strawberry farms around here anyway. I can guarantee I have the freshest strawberries if I pick them myself.
Yep there's so many moldy ones already. I took pride in my work and made sure not to put them out for sale, but cannot say the same about some of my coworkers
I got some amazing strawberries in the summer and forgot about them in the freezer for many months. They were a little freezer burned, but I turned them into a SENSATIONAL sorbet, with some glucose syrup infused with mint leaves, a little lime juice, and a whisper of xanthan gum. I use this double-bowl method for making ice creams and sorbets.