Before and after image of strawberries, showing unwashed strawberries on the left and clean, ready-to-eat strawberries on the right, demonstrating how to wash strawberries effectively

Getting ready to make chocolate-covered strawberries? Awesome! Before you start dipping, there’s a little trick to getting them just right, and it’s all about how you wash and dry them. Don’t worry, it’s super easy, and I’ll show you how.

Proper prep makes sure your strawberries come out looking gorgeous and tasting amazing 🍓

How to Clean Strawberries

Grab a large bowl and place your strawberries in it. You'll want to cover them with room temperature water; I usually use about 4 cups for two boxes of strawberries.

Placing fresh strawberries into a bowl and covering them with water, illustrating the first step in how do you wash strawberries

Then, add 1/4 cup of white vinegar and a teaspoon of baking soda. This mix helps clean the strawberries really well, getting rid of any dirt and bacteria.
Give the water a gentle stir to make sure everything's mixed, then let the strawberries sit for about 5 to 10 minutes. Why not longer than 10 minutes? Well, if they soak too long, they can absorb too much water and become soggy, which isn't great for dipping.

Adding vinegar and baking soda to the bowl of strawberries, highlighting the process on how to clean strawberries with vinegar

After soaking, rinse your strawberries under cool running water. This step washes away any leftover vinegar and baking soda, so you don't end up with any funny tastes.
Cover a tray with paper towels, laying down two or three layers to soak up the water. Spread your strawberries out on the tray.

Laying washed strawberries on a towel to dry, showing how to rinse strawberries and prepare them for drying

Then, take another paper towel and gently pat each strawberry dry. It's super important to make sure each one is as dry as possible—water and chocolate don’t mix well, and any leftover moisture can make the chocolate coating turn out less than perfect.
Let the strawberries air dry on the paper towel-covered tray for a little while. This extra step helps ensure they are completely dry. I usually wait about 15 to 30 minutes. You want no visible water or dampness before you start dipping them in chocolate.

Drying strawberries with paper towels, with a bowl of dirty water in the background, visualizing the effectiveness of the cleaning process and how do I clean strawberries

Now that your strawberries are clean and bone dry, they’re ready to be dipped in chocolate! This is the fun part where you get to turn them into those beautiful, chocolate-covered treats.

You can check out this article on how to make chocolate covered strawberries, it’s perfect for Valentine’s Day and it’s beginner friendly!

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