If you want to prevent your strawberries from spoiling, here’s an unusual tip – try using seaweed.
A food-grade layer derived from seaweed can maintain the freshness of fruit for a minimum of four days when kept at room temperature, according to researchers, surpassing the performance of uncoated berries stored in a refrigerator.
The finding was identified by scholars from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver,Canada, who claim it could aid in reducing spoilage, extensive food waste, and dependence on refrigeration.
The layer is composed of agar, a material obtained from red algae that is commonly utilized as a substitute for gelatin and as a thickening agent.
By itself, agar creates a thick gel, yet when the researchers mixed it with zinc, a vital nutrient, and tannic acid, a plant-based substance, the material changed – forming small microparticles that develop a thin protective coating around the fruit.
After being placed in the solution, strawberries developed a thin, consumable layer that became entirely transparent once dried.
For four days at room temperature, coated strawberries retained less than half the water loss compared to uncoated fruit, staying significantly firmer and maintaining higher levels of vitamin C and antioxidants.
Strawberries left at room temperature without treatment started to grow mold after just two days, whereas keeping them in the fridge only marginally increased their freshness period.
Individuals who choose to remove the layer prior to consumption can rinse away the majority of it using tap water in about two minutes, according to the researchers’ findings published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
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