Ways to hull strawberries

[Fat Guy]

I recently used a strawberry huller and found it lacking. Hulling strawberries with a paring knife is the best method I've found but it sure does take time to do any significant quantity of strawberries. Is there a better way? Or is it just that my technique stinks?

[heidih]

When I have loads and loads and they are inexpensive I still use the paring knife but I just lop their heads off. This loses a tiny bit of the berry but is much quicker than poking the knife in around the leaves and twisting and lifting.

[Emily_R]

I pick and freeze at least 40 pounds of strawberries each year, and I'm with Heidi -- off with their heads! (with a paring knife)

[Shalmanese]

If they don't need to be whole, I generally find it easier to slice them in half and use my fingers.

edit: If you place them stem side down on the chopping board, you can cut from the tip almost to the stem, then pull the strawberry away while the pressure from the knife will keep the stem in place.

Edited July 27, 2011 by Shalmanese (log)

[Fat Guy]

That never occurred to me.

[onrushpam]

Off with their heads! Most times, you aren't losing much of the good part anyway.

I just stand over the refuse bin with paring knife in hand and whack away, pitching the berries into a colander. But, I have many, many years of childhood experience freezing strawberries from gandpa's "truck patch". He'd bring the first ripe ones to the house like an offering, carried in the crown of his straw hat. We'd sit on the porch and savor them. A few days later, we'd be child labor, prepping many quarts of them for the freezer, whlist many more were carted off to be sold. My grandpa was a strawberry farmin' expert.

[vice]

I've been helping a woman who makes jam - local, artisanal, blah blah, so batches are relatively small. Still, we'll plow through 20 flats or so at a time. Like most everyone else here, the process is simply to lop the tops off.

[djyee100]

Use the tip of a swivel peeler. Like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grips-Swivel-Peeler/dp/B00004OCIP/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1311737689&sr=8-2

You can dig in and pull out the white center of the berry, which is bitter. So the strawberry will taste better with this method.

Using the swivel peeler is not as fast as the head-chopping method, but it's more efficient than a paring knife. It also preserves more of the fruit and its beautiful shape.

[andiesenji]

I like to remove the white "pith" too.

I have been using one of these for several years.

There are other types, made of all metal but this one fits my hand better.

I tried one of these but it was not comfortable to hold for long periods.

However, I do use it for the extra-large strawberries as it cores them better than the other one.

[helenjp]

Hmmm...rarely have enough strawberries to worry about how long it takes to hull them, but the method that works for me is to use not the tip but the heel corner of the blade - easy to just dig it in behind the hull, and then a flick of the wrist brings the hull and core out together.

[ScottyBoy]

I just choke up on the paring knife until 1/2 inch is showing, twist the berry and knife in oposite directions from the top and pop them in a bowl. One of my favorite foods and I can go through them at a quick pace while watching TV.

Edited July 27, 2011 by ScottyBoy (log)

[Mjx]

If you want to lose the least amount of strawberry possible, bring your son into the act: If you have small fingers, simply twisting the top and pulling gently leaves your strawberry intact, apart from the small hole where the core attached to the strawberry-hull was. People with larger hands don't seem to have much luck with this, which may have to do with how close to the base of the hull you need to grip.

[paulraphael]

I just choke up on the paring knife until 1/2 inch is showing, twist the berry and knife in oposite directions from the top and pop them in a bowl. One of my favorite foods and I can go through them at a quick pace while watching TV.

That's the way to do it. I don't move the knife at all. The paring knife is very sharp, and I can just turn the berry against it like wood on a lathe. You should get a cone shaped section from the top of the berry, and the cuts should be glossy smooth. It's a very fast process ... a couple of seconds per berry.

[Beebs]

If they don't need to be whole, I generally find it easier to slice them in half and use my fingers.

edit: If you place them stem side down on the chopping board, you can cut from the tip almost to the stem, then pull the strawberry away while the pressure from the knife will keep the stem in place.

Yup, I do this too.

Or if I need them whole-ish - off with their heads! Or just nibble around the green bits, if eating out of hand.

[sparrowgrass]

I am with andie--I use that little serrated bowl thingie. I have seen them sold as 'tomato sharks' and they work well for tomatoes, too.

Mine were much less expensive--under a dollar each, from a Kitchen Collections at an outlet mall.

[GlorifiedRice]

Someone said to insert a straw thru the bottom and it takes off the top

::shrug:::

[GlorifiedRice]

See, I just did it and it works...

Voila