An unlikely preservative

[JustJoel]

I was trolling around YouTube and found this video about preserving strawberries using an ancient recipe. The preservative will surprise you. RAISINS! I’m definitely wanting to try this, but I’ll wait until strawberries are cheaper, should be in couple of weeks.

Has anyone ever tried this? What do you think?

Preserved strawberries

 

[Rascal]

I only make coulis or jam/jelly out of mine. Won't be changing.

Russ

 

[Cheryl J]

Interesting video Joel, thanks for sharing! I'm always interested in food preservation of the past.

I won't be trying it though, what with the modern ways of preserving and storing strawberries without all that work. Wow - he sure added a lot of sugar to those berries! Plus, the combination of strawberries and raisins doesn't sound all that great to me.

Fresh strawberries don't last very long here in my house, but if I have more than the grands and I can eat, I mush them a little, vacuum seal, and throw the packets in the freezer. They're great on or in pancakes, on toast, in smoothies, over shortcake, etc.

If I were into canning or dehydrating, I'd go for those methods as well.

 

[GotGarlic]

Has anyone ever tried this? What do you think?

Preserved strawberries

No, I haven't. And if I did, I would eat them within a week.

His science is off in a few aspects: first, it's not the raisins, primarily, that do the preserving - it's the sugar, both the granulated sugar and the sugar in the raisins, pulling the water out of the fruit and combining it with the sugar to create a syrup that *may* prevent pathogens from multiplying enough to make people sick. That's a 5:1 ratio of sugar to strawberries.

Second, it's likely that the acidity of strawberries from centuries ago was much higher than the strawberries we have now; a high-acid environment also prevents pathogen growth.

Third, epidiomology was not a thing back then, and neither was the germ theory of disease - no one was keeping track of food poisoning, and people didn't know what caused dysentery, a primary cause of death from extreme dehydration.

There's a reason why it's only recommended to use recipes that have been tested by universities and proven to be safe.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

... They're great on or in pancakes, on toast, in smoothies, over shortcake, etc....

Or frozen strawberry daquiries.