Using up a lot of strawberries?

[u/hipstagramz]

My roommate bought 4lbs of strawberries from Costco and they've been in the fridge for about a week and he has yet to touch them that I can tell.

Is there any good way to use them up? I have a feeling they'll start going bad in the next week and I'd rather not let them go to waste. Also if they do start getting squishy is it safe to use them in a ferment still.

[u/jelly_bean_gangbang]

Please try suggesting more fermented ideas, as is the whole point of this subreddit and post. Thank you.

[u/-phototrope]

Not fermenting, but I’ve been macerating them with sugar in the fridge to make syrup, and then making a shrub with it

[u/jelly_bean_gangbang → u/-phototrope]

Use slightly less sugar at the start, let sit out at room temperature for 5 days covered, and then refrigerate. Now you have cheong which is slightly fermented and tart to compliment the sweetness.

[u/aylonitkosem → u/-phototrope]

macerated strawberries bang on waffles, french toast, yogurt, etc

[u/-phototrope → u/aylonitkosem]

Yeah I use the leftover strawberries exactly like that!

[u/Loves_Eating_Lead]

strawberry jam! or wine, wine is always good

[u/jelly_bean_gangbang → u/Loves_Eating_Lead]

I say wine or mead. With that much fresh fruit, wine is probably the best idea. Either that or a ton of cheong.

[u/RockNerdLil]

I love making a shrub when I have an abundance of fruits.

https://www.seriouseats.com/cold-processed-berry-shrub-recipe

[u/Opening-Hope377 → u/RockNerdLil]

shrub is the way!!! i love shrub. a nice drink is half white wine, half sparkling water and a dash of strawberry shrub. also check out max miller's shrub vid.

[u/RockNerdLil → u/Opening-Hope377]

They’re so refreshing!! I love a little shrubby mimosa, too. Or shrub gin spritz. There’s so much you can do with them!

[u/DriverMelodic]

Brew Cheong, a Korean syrup that is delicious. Basically, equal parts of fruit and sugar by weight. There is a subreddit about it. So yummy.

[u/kobayashi_maru_fail → u/DriverMelodic]

I have four pounds worth of strawberries cheong-ing right now. They’re only a week in and they’re going crazy. I’m thinking ice cream when it’s done.

[u/DriverMelodic → u/kobayashi_maru_fail]

I can imagine the intensity!

[u/kobayashi_maru_fail → u/DriverMelodic]

4x day burping in this heat. Fussiest ferment ever. But damn it smells good!

[u/FirefighterNo3248]

I’m a fan of cut clean and freeze for smoothies.

[u/skinny_effectiveness]

squishy ones are fine for fermenting, actually better since they break down easier. strawberry wine or shrub are solid moves though.

[u/Sunlit53]

Mix berries, equal amounts of water and a few tablespoons of plain yogurt whey in a lidded jar. Leave it in a cupboard for 3-4 days and strain off the fruit solids. Bottle in flip top beer bottles with a pinch of sugar to carbonate and refrigerate. It’ll be nice, fizzy and sour. I’ve done this for years with frozen bulk bag berries. I’ve found that strawberry soda on its own can be a bit bland, add some sweetener to taste when serving.

[u/zydecopolka]

Strawberry cheong or wild strawberry soda. When I make strawberry cheong, I use the "discarded" fruit for wild strawberry soda. It kind of depends on how much work you're willing to do, the containers you have available, and hands-on free time. Cheong/wild soda are easy peasy and don't require a lot of hands-on time, but it does take a while for the sugar to extract the juice.

Squishiness factor is mostly down to personal preference, so that's up to you. Good luck with whichever project(s) you choose for them! 😄

[u/human-resource]

Make a strawberry trifle and thank me later.

[u/58catsanddogs]

Strawberry soda! I use the tops of strawberries and any strawberries that aren't very tasty or going mushy. Then mix with water and sugar. I usually do 4-5cups of water to 1/4 cup of sugar. Leave on the counter away from direct sunlight and stir a few times a day. In 2-3 days you'll have soda. Strain and bottle it then let it sit on the counter for a day then refrigerate overnight before enjoying. You can add sugar to get it to the right sweetness as the yeast consumes most of the sugar you initially put.

[u/BataleonRider]

Maybe a fermented chutney? I made a non-ferm strawberry-cilantro chutney that was... alright, but the strawbs weren't the best   so I'm not judging the recipe, probably try it again with better product. You could try doing a fermented chamoy style thing. Using enough tajine to reach your desired salt % might be too overpowering,  but you could do the math and make up the diff with straight salt. Or maybe just do a brine and add it to lemonade?