Simple to grow and maintain without much need for chemical treatment, strawberries are honest food -- in more ways than one. You can tell a bad strawberry almost immediately, because they wear the signs of spoilage all over them; a quick test of their color, aroma and feel tells you all you need to know about their freshness. Buy strawberries from a local farmer for the freshest choices of the season. Fresh strawberries last two to three days in the refrigerator.
Step 1
Check for dark brown spots on the strawberries, which indicate bacterial growth and rotting.
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Step 2
Check the strawberries for white fuzz, a type of mold. Mold indicates a fungal infection or other bacterial growth.
Step 3
Squeeze the strawberries and check their firmness. Fresh strawberries have a firmness that yields slightly to touch; turned strawberries squish easily.
Step 4
Check for stickiness or moisture leaking from the strawberries, which indicates oxygen has enterd through a wound and started rotting the flesh.
Step 5
Smell the strawberries for an alcoholic aroma. An alocoholic aroma indicates the strawberries have started fermenting.
Step 6
Check the color for blemishes and light yellow spots. Strawberries' color starts to fade in spots as soon as they turn.