Even thought the weather is still sketchy, strawberry season is almost here—give or take 3 or 4 weeks. With that in mind, I ask, “Do you know the very best way to wash them?” I thought I did, until I read this article found on www.seriouseats.com, researched and written by Genevieve Yam, food writer and editor.

The prevailing wisdom says they must be treated delicately and only wash them in cold water. But there’s been considerable research and experimentation focused on this practice, and it turns out, washing strawberries in hot water (hot tap water) is the better way to go, as it destroys heat-sensitive bacteria and mold spores on the surface of strawberries.

There are a couple other popular methods folks use, though. One is cleaning them with vinegar. Genevieve said she experimented with this by us a ration of one tablespoon vinegar for every 1 cups of water. The other method is cleaning them using baking soda (one tablespoon per 12 cups water). Each time she submerged the berries for 30 seconds and then spun them dry.

Both batches of berries lasted a full week without going moldy, but the ones washed in a solution of water and baking soda were noticeably softer than those washed in a water and vinegar, which remained firm. Though the vinegar solution proved to work well—as the berries made it to day seven without molding—it wasn’t any more effective than using just hot water alone.

The bottom line to all this? You certainly don’t have to go to these lengths to clean your strawberries; after all, you may very well just want to eat your berries in one sitting after nothing more than a quick rinse in a strainer (recommended to capture the most nutrients). But if you’d like to extend the life of your strawberries, the best and easiest way to do so is by dunking them in some hot water.

I’ll close with a terrific and unique recipe using fresh strawberries and their partner-in-crime when it comes to desserts—rhubarb. This is a cobbler (found on www.countryliving.com) that wins rave reviews! See what you think.

Minted Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into pieces, plus more for pan
4 cups halved strawberries
2 cups sliced rhubarb
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons chopped, fresh mint leaves
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
vanilla ice cream (for serving)
COBBLER CRUST
1 1/2 cups spooned and leveled, all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 to 1/2 cups milk
1 large egg yolk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Lightly butter an 8-by-8-inch baking pan.

2. Stir together butter, strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, flour, mint, vanilla, and salt in a bowl; transfer to prepared pan. Top with Year-Round Cobbler Crust.

3. Bake until crust is golden brown and mixture is bubbly, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

COBBLER CRUST

1. Stir together flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture with two forks or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal.

2. Whisk together milk and egg yolk in a separate bowl. Add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle dough over desired filing or knead until dough comes together, 3 to 4 times; pat to 1/2-inch thick and cut into rounds or squares and place on desired filling.

Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.