Inspired by conversations on the Food52 Hotline, we're sharing tips and tricks that make navigating all of our kitchens easier and more fun.
Today: We're re-running one of our favorite summertime, zero-waste kitchen tips. Don't toss those strawberry tops: Turn them into a sweet, refreshing infused water.
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When it comes to trimming and hulling your strawberries, it’s important to be exacting. If you slice off too much top, you’re essentially wadding up five-dollar bills and pulverizing them in your garbage disposal. Strawberries are expensive, and throwing out too much of their flesh feels both wasteful and sad.
More: Before you buy a punnet (or four) of berries, read these links.
But strawberry season—that warming time between spring and summer when you want to run barefoot through a field while waving your hands in the air like you just don’t care—isn’t a time to be type A. It’s a time to be carefree! So, if you’ve been a little nonchalant with your berries and lopped off too much top, here’s a way to use them up instead of throwing them out.
Just take your strawberry tops—which you’ve already rinsed, right?—and dump them into a large jar. Fill it with water, then let it sit for an hour or so. It will create a softly infused, fruity water—a rounder, sweeter version of the cucumber stuff that you’re used to drinking at fancy spas, as you sit next to strangers in robes and jam out to Enya. It will keep you refreshed all summer, and it will make your strawberry budget stretch a little farther.
Now breathe easy, chill out, and go run through that field.
Tell us: Do you know of any other uses for strawberry tops?Â
Photos by James Ransom
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This article was originally published in 2015.
Written by: Marian Bull
Popular on Food52
94 Comments
berta
September 8, 2017
My everyday breakfast is a protein smoothie with strawberries that I cut in half and freeze whenever I can buy fresh. Once read to use the tops (greens) to add extra vitamins. They absolutely disappear in smoothie and no waste.
Woofgang
September 7, 2017
Love the idea of giving them to the dog(s in my case) - something to keep in mind!
Becky
September 6, 2017
My beagle loves strawberries. One day I dropped one of the "tops" on the floor when cutting them up and he quickly ate it, so I gave him another and another. I checked with my vet and she said it was fine...he's getting his fresh greens and fruit all at the same time and I'm not throwing anything away!
Woofgang
September 5, 2017
I cut the stems off and if I get a bit of the fruit, so be it. Then I put in a freezer safe container and when I'm ready for a smoothie, I throw a handful of these into the blender with all the other ingredients. I do buy organic strawberries and make sure they are washed and cleaned before freezing those tops. I do like lemon water so I'm going to try strawberry top infused water - sounds like another good use for the tops.
Gabby B.
September 4, 2017
I honestly never thought about doing this before! It's a great idea!
-Gabby
www.orcuttfamilydentistry.com
-Gabby
www.orcuttfamilydentistry.com
Linda H.
August 17, 2015
Then leaves are the most nutritious part of the strawberry, and I never discard them. They are great in smoothies, and I also put them into salads. When I eat a whole strawberry, I eat the leaves as well.
Janet S.
August 6, 2015
If I'm making a smoothie, the whole berry goes in. But if I'm trimming them, I have three corgis who insist they get first dibs.
nano Z.
July 16, 2015
I love the brief strawberry season here in Maine..and I try to use every single part of them. many years ago i found a recipe for fresh strawberry pie...using the tops to make a jell for the base of the pie...to keep the berries stable...and then pour the rest of the gel over the top...this reminded me of the strawberry pie I used to love as a kid at the fancy restaurant at Saks Fifth Ave in NY.
Shari L.
June 10, 2016
can you please send me the recipe for this pie? [email protected] thank you
shari
shari
Gennifer M.
June 30, 2015
For those of you already doing this, how many times can you refill the water portion before the strawberries rot or whatever?
Jamie
June 23, 2015
My husband and I just started experimenting with infusing vodka and bourbon with the extra strawberry tops. I drizzled in the drippings from stawberry-rhubarb pie as well. The vodka quick cordial came out excellent, and the bourbon is still brewing.
Bevi
June 23, 2015
The strawberry hulling hack, as described in this link, pushes out perfect little thin cylinders of strawberry core, plus the stem: http://www.foodandwine.com/blogs/2014/05/26/how-to-hull-strawberries-with-a-straw
Joe M.
June 23, 2015
Goodness. Why don't we just trim our strawberries appropriately and not worry about infused water? If you have enough on the trimmings to do this, 'You're doing it all wrong!' (am I allowed to quote CHOW on here?)
Carole M.
November 29, 2015
because it's more fun to find new ways to consume our strawberries...duh...
lastnightsdinner
June 9, 2015
My husband gave a talk at the Homewood Museum in Baltimore recently, and the bar guys from Woodberry Kitchen (who provided the refreshments) told us that they use all of their strawberry tops for their strawberry shrub.
Laura415
June 9, 2015
Awesome:) Also love a strawberry balsamic vinegar shrub.
Over ice cream-so good!
Over ice cream-so good!
Elaine D.
June 8, 2015
Since strawberries are in the rose family, they produce hydrogen cyanide to ward off pests. Tiny amount, but lectins, another self-made insecticide can compound the problem. Both are located in the stems and leaves and is emitted as a gas when a berry is picked. If you're using the stems and leaves, letting them sit out in open air for a while may reduce it.
Laura415
June 7, 2015
I often make strawberry flavored vinegar with sugar in it to make shrubs. They make refreshing soda syrups. As far as strawberry waste I got a simple tool that looks like a little serrated scoop. Scoops the green top away and leaves all of the fruit.
Ida F.
June 7, 2015
I put them in a quart size bag, punch holes in it and stick it in a pitcher of water in the refrigerator.
Woofgang
June 7, 2015
I buy organic and use the tops much like others have stated. Freeze them and use them in a smoothie.
Anna C.
April 22, 2015
At our restaurant, Pizza Maria, in Portland, Oregon, we toss them in vodka for a cocktail. We store in the fridge and shake it for a few days. Then we make a Strawberry Shrub Cocktail with the infused vodka, house-made strawberry syrup, red wine vinegar and soda.
Patricia M.
September 14, 2014
Has anybody heard that the pesticides etc. are concentrated in the "shoulders" of the strawberry? I used to just core out the green part and hull and have since started lopping off the top 20% or so. If this is false I'll find a new use for the discards.
AmberPixie
September 14, 2014
Never heard that, but I try to go for organic when I buy fruits. I've broken out in hives while picking strawberries in a pesticide-treated patch, so I'm more careful now.
AmberPixie
July 10, 2014
I dry mind to add to teas and such! They add a nice summer flavor to a cup of hot tea in the wintertime. http://pixiespocket.com/2014/06/drying-strawberry-tops.html
kervin J.
July 10, 2014
kate .all depends on how much flavor you looking to get .the more tops and longer it get to seep= more flavor
Rivka
June 30, 2014
I use them to infuse cheap balsamic vinegar. Then I reduce the vinegar to about 1/3 of its initial volume, and I have a lovely syrup for drizzling on mozzarella, watermelon, sour cherries, and pretty much everything else.
baltimoregon
June 15, 2014
I had thought of this but then forgot to mention in my column today on infused waters: http://www.pressherald.com/2014/06/15/the-farm-to-table-family-a-recipe-for-water-imagine-the-hydrating-possibilities/. Thanks for the gorgeous, timely reminder!
Katie @.
June 12, 2014
That's smart! I just blend them up in my smoothies when I use strawberries. Throw them in whole! :)
isabelle
June 12, 2014
I don't cut off the tops unless they are bad. I put them in the blender with the strawberries etc and make a smoothy. I've heard they have something beneficial in them although I can't remember what. They don't detract from the flavor of the smoothy.
Paula Z.
June 11, 2014
GReat use for those strawberry tops! I'll try the water and maybe infuse them in gin and make summer slushes. BTW, you want to make sure that you don't just rinse the berries and tops, rather wash them - it will take care of the surface pesticides if you didn't get organic or grew your own.
Vanina H.
June 5, 2014
Great idea!
Any suggestions for leek tops?
Any suggestions for leek tops?
Francesca Z.
June 5, 2014
Maybe finely dice and roast to add to cooked rice or quinoa with a light vinaigrette?
Marian B.
June 6, 2014
I also freeze them and add them to vegetable stock! Here's how: https://food52.com/blog/10119-how-to-make-vegetable-stock-without-a-recipe
mrslarkin
June 5, 2014
you clever girl!
can i do this with vodka?
can i do this with vodka?
Savorykitchen
June 5, 2014
We used to make strawberry vodka at the restaurant this way - to get the best color, you'll want at least 1/3 of the berry detritus to be whole berries.
Dina M.
June 5, 2014
"Strawberry leaf tea is most commonly used to improve digestion and balance the acids and bases throughout your digestive tract to relieve symptoms of gastrointestinal distress. Strawberry leaves contain tannins, bio-molecules that bind to proteins, amino acids, alkaloids and other compounds with a low pH that may place excess stress on your digestive system. Strawberry leaves may help alleviate an upset stomach, and reduce symptoms of nausea, bloating, stomach cramps and diarrhea. Seek your doctor's advice before trying this or any herbal remedy."
Savorykitchen
June 5, 2014
When the berries are lovely and fragrant, I use the tops to make a simple syrup. Simmer equal portions, by volume, of berry tops, sugar and water for about 5 minutes. Let cool and strain.
AntoniaJames
June 5, 2014
I was told as a child, as I helped my mother hull strawberries for jam, that it's important just to trim away the green leaves and the tiny stem piece, leaving as much of what's right beneath it for the jam. She said that most of the pectin is in there. (She also always picked quite a few that had a lot of white showing, meaning they were slightly under-ripe, because she said that the under-ripe ones help the jam set better.) Her jam always set perfectly, without much cooking, so I'm thinking it must be true. (I'll probably ask the Hotline is there actually is a cause and effect relationship there.) In any event, I'd just caution people to wash the tops very thoroughly if buying good, farmers' market strawberries, as there tends to be a fair bit of dirt in the leaves of ones and not washed/processed for shipping and grocery store sale. ;o)
Francesca M.
June 5, 2014
One of my neighbors feeds them to the deer who visit her property. Another gives them to her pet turtle. Both deer and turtle LOVE strawberry tops.
Marian B.
June 5, 2014
I will note this for someday when I have both deer and turtles. Hopefully soon. Thank you!
Christina Q.
June 5, 2014
Freeze and add them to a green smoothie! Obviously! The green blends right in with spinach or kale and the flavor works with berries, mango, pineapple, almond milk, coconut water... whatever you have on hand. I do this all the time, never waste the tops!
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