Why You Should Be Blow-Drying Your Strawberries

It’s berry season, everyone. And you know what that means—more trips to the farmers market and endless fruit salad making. Before you assemble said salad, you have to wash your produce (duh). But, ugh, even the tiniest bit of extra moisture causes that salad to turn out soggy—not to mention kind of sad looking. And that’s so not the vibe you’re going for on a sunny afternoon. Have no fear, we have a brilliant 30-second fix. Introducing a fruit salad game-changer you’re going to want to use all spring and summer long.

What you need: A hair dryer (of any kind), a pint of strawberries and a roll of paper towels.

What you do: Remove the stems and give your strawberries a quick rinse in cold water, then spread them out evenly on a paper towel. Next, plug in your hair dryer (away from the sink, of course) and on the lowest setting—we want to dry them, not melt them— blow-dry your berries until all the water droplets are gone. This should only take about a minute, tops.

Finally: Make that fruit salad, strawberry upside-down cake or strawberry pie.  Might we also suggest eating the strawberry tops? No, we’re not kidding. Wastefulness aside, strawberry leaves actually have some pretty cool healing properties. Plus, they taste not so bad—kinda like spinach or any leafy green. Use them to infuse your water or add extra flavor to your morning smoothie.

Berry genius. Thank you, we know.

RELATED: Strawberries Are in Season: Here Are 21 Recipes to Make All Summer Long