Originally Posted by KaffyBaffy:
i always wash them before I use them, but my niece was told the other day in a tearoom that 'the chef doesn't let us wash the strawberries - you're not supposed to'
In this case it would have been a good idea - it might have removed the slug she'd just found on the strawberries garnishing her plate of banofee pie
I'm a bit shocked at the chef's line there: sound's like he's half-heard something in the past. You have to be careful about washing strawberries as they tend to "soak up" water, but you should still do it for the reason your niece discovered...
The problem is that although strawberries soak up water, they also soak up nasties like pesticides too. Also overdoing the washing can affect the flavour. Best thing is probably to rinse them in a colander...