www.bjsnq.comManyfoodscommonlyconsumedintheU.S.arevaluablesourcesofantioxidants.Butresearchershaverecentlyrankedthe50bestantioxidantsourcesamongcommonlyeatenfoodsandfoundstrawberriestobequiteexceptional.Whentotalantioxidantcapacitywasmeasuredagainstauniformamountoffood(100grams,orabout3.5ounces),strawberriesranked27thbestamongU.S.foods.Inaddition,whenonlyfruitswereconsidered,strawberriescameout4thamongallfruits(behindblackberries,cranberries,andraspberries).However,sincemanyfoods(forexample,spicesandseasonings)areseldomconsumedinamountsaslargeas3.5ounces,researchersalsolookedatcommonservingsizesforallfoodsandtheirtotalantioxidantcapacity.Inthisevaluationbasedoncommonservingsizes,strawberriescameout3rdamongallU.S.foodsincludingspices,seasonings,fruits,andvegetables!(Inthisanalysisbasedonservingsize,onlyblackberriesandwalnutsscoredhigherintotalantioxidantcapacity.)Whenweheartheword"strawberry,"wemightthinkaboutaverycommonplacefruit.Buttheantioxidantcapacityofstrawberryisanythingbutcommon!Recentresearchhasshownstrawberriestobeasurprisinglyfragile,perishable,anddelicatefruit.Foodscientistsrecentlytookacloselookatstoragetime,storagetemperature,storagehumidity,anddegreeofstrawberryripenessandfoundsignificantdifferencesbetweendifferenttypesofstrawberrystorage.Onaverage,studiesshow2daysasthemaximaltimeforstrawberrystoragewithoutmajorlossofvitaminCandpolyphenolantioxidants.It'snotthatstrawberriesbecomedangeroustoeatorinvaluableafter2days.It'sjustthatmorestoragetimebringsalongwithitsubstantiallymorenutrientloss.Intermsofhumidity,90-95%hasbeenshownoptimal.Mostrefrigeratorswillaverageamuchlowerhumidity(between80-90%).Becauseaircirculationinsidethefridgecanlowerhumidity,youmaywanttogiveyourstrawberriesmorestoragehumiditybyputtingtheminyourrefrigerator'scoldstoragebins(ifavailable).Thosecoldstoragebinswillhelpboosthumiditybyreducingaircirculation.Ifyourfridgedoesnothavestoragebins,youcanuseasealedcontainerforrefrigeratorstorageofyourstrawberries.Optimaltemperatureforstrawberrys