How To Measure Strawberries The Right Way For Cooking And Baking

Whether you're whipping up a classic like comforting strawberry cobbler or making something more inventive like matcha strawberry tiramisu, you're going to be working with one ingredient for sure: strawberries, of course. Strawberries' uniquely bright balance of sweetness and tartness is the reason to make one of these irresistible desserts. Whichever recipe you choose, it'll be a winner; but there's just one challenge: How exactly do you measure strawberries? If the directions call for a cup, the berries don't fit neatly into a cup measure even chopped. You could easily end up under- or overdoing it, not getting the results you wanted. So we consulted an expert on how to more efficiently measure strawberries.

Samantha Merritt, creator of Sugar Spun Run, a baking website known for reliable, from-scratch recipes, agrees that it's tough to get an accurate measurement on strawberries. "The best way to measure strawberries is to use a kitchen scale," says Merritt. Otherwise the number that constitutes a certain amount can change whether they berries are whole, halved, or sliced. "A scale takes out the guesswork and ensures you're using precisely the right amount," she says. If the recipe you're using doesn't list the weight you need for the strawberries, Merritt adds, refer to the exact instructions for preparing them before measuring them in cups, whether that's halving, quartering, or slicing. That way, you're measuring them the way the recipe's creator did, which should be more accurate.

While a kitchen scale is the most foolproof solution, deferring to the prep instructions when there's no weight is also a life saver because the amount of strawberries you need shifts depending on how they're cut. "I've found a pound of strawberries often contains around 2 ½ cups of whole berries, but again, this can vary," Merritt notes.

Beyond measurement tricks, Merritt has other useful tips for cooking and baking with strawberries. For example, how can we make sure we're getting ideal berries? "When purchasing strawberries for baking, they should be ripe but not overripe," Merritt says. You want to see that brilliant red hue top to bottom. The green stems should be fresh and green, not brown and wilted, and the fruits should feel firm but not rock-hard, with no mushy spots. "One of the best ways to know you've found a good bunch of berries is to give them a sniff! They should smell fragrant and fruity, and your mouth should almost water. This is especially important in the winter months when berries are often deceptively bright red, but the flavor is usually bland and lackluster," she says.

Keep that perfect texture intact by rinsing strawberries instead of soaking them, which can make them waterlogged. Then store them in your crisper loose on a dry towel with a damp towel on top. You'll have gorgeous, juicy strawberries to measure precisely for your best-ever strawberry dessert dishes.