How to store your strawberry bounty; buy steaks for Father's Day
If you're lucky enough to have fresh strawberries on hand this week, you'll want to make those beauties last. Strawberries are delicate and can spoil fast. Here are a few key steps to follow.
Storing: Keep the green stems on. Arrange freshly picked strawberries in a single layer on a shallow plate or pie plate lined with paper towels. Cover or fit into a large plastic sealable bag and then seal the bag and refrigerate. Stored this way, strawberries should last five to seven days, maybe even longer. Strawberries should stay dry and cold.
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Taste of Home magazine recently tested several ways of storing strawberries. One method that worked well involved storing unwashed strawberries in a refrigerator crisper drawer. Place the strawberries on a tray lined with paper towels or refrigerator liners, then put them in the crisper drawer and open the vents. According to the magazine, the process allows moisture to escape and keeps humidity low.
Preventing mold: Experts differ on the use of vinegar, which is supposed to kill any potential spores of bacteria on the fruit. The process involves rinsing the strawberries in a vinegar and water solution. Mix together a cup of vinegar and three cups of water in a large bowl, add strawberries and let them sit in the rinse for several minutes. Give them a good swish around and then rinse under cool water. Dry berries thoroughly on a baking sheet that has been lined with several layers of paper towels. Once dry, line a container with paper towels. Place the berries in the container. Cover and refrigerate.
Freezing: Strawberries and most other berries freeze extremely well. It's the best way to stockpile if you've come across a lot of them or want to use them months later to make a quick smoothie or jam. Rinse the berries well and pat them dry. Once dry, place them on a parchment- or wax paper-lined tray. Place the tray in the freezer until the berries are almost frozen solid. Transfer the berries to a freezer bag and return to the freezer, placing the bag flat to save space. This is called flash-freezing. It keeps berries from sticking together after they're packed.
Steaks for Father's Day
Prime + Proper, the high-end steakhouse in Detroit's Capitol Park district, has put together pre-packaged grilling kits from its butcher shop. The kits are ideal for Father's Day and include grilling instructions, seasonings and recommended cooking temperatures.
There are five kits ($100-$600) to choose from that feature hamburgers, hot dogs and steaks. One kit priced at $400 features the restaurant's Wagyu offerings. The burger-and-links kit is $100 and include four dry-aged burgers made with beef ground daily, four Wagyu beef hot dogs, house-baked buns and fixings. A large steak grilling kit is $250 and features a 40-ounce tomahawk ribeye and a 32-ounce porterhouse steak.
You can place orders online through June 20 to be picked up 3-8 p.m. daily inside the restaurant or curbside. For information and ordering: 313-636-3100 or heirloomgoods.myshopify.com.
Meanwhile, the Steak Shop by Fairway Packing Co., which opened a few weeks ago in Grosse Pointe Woods, will have its grand opening Saturday. Grilling demonstrations featuring steaks and other meats will take place 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For Father's Day, specially curated gift boxes featuring Fairway's most popular cuts of meats and cookware will be available for purchase.
The 1,300-square-foot establishment has several grades of packaged steaks, chops, lamb, sausages, hot dogs and more from Fairway Packing, a decades-old Eastern Market meat distributor. The new shop is at 20877 Mack Ave. in Grosse Pointe Woods.
Sriracha hot sauce shortage
If you're a fan of Huy Fong Foods' signature Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce, you might want to start looking for an alternative. Huy Fong Foods, based in California and one of the leading producers of sriracha sauce, announced in a letter to distributors that it is facing a severe shortage of chili peppers because of weather conditions.
The letter stated that orders submitted on or after April 19 won't be filled until after Labor Day. The company is no longer accepting any new orders of the sauce. Huy Fong Foods Chili Garlic sauce and Sambal Oelek products have also been affected by the pepper shortage, and production has been halted.
Contact Detroit Free Press food writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How to store your strawberry bounty; steaks in store for Dad
