Strawberries, fresh Status: The cRc (Chicago Rabbinical Council) has been finding a high occurrence of insects in strawberries, including in hydroponically grown strawberries. We recommend the following method to clean the strawberries from insects: 1) Cut or pluck off green tops. 2) Place strawberries into a bowl of soapy water and strongly swish them around for about a minute. Water should be approximately the ratio of 8 cups of water to 1 tablespoon of (a non fragranced) dish soap. 3) Remove soapy strawberries and place them into a bowl of plain water. Swish around for about 30 seconds to a minute. 4) Remove strawberries and place them into a new bowl of soapy water (see above for amount of soap) and swish them around again for about 30 seconds to a minute. 5) Rinse and enjoy. Please note that this does not apply to organic strawberries that are very difficult to get cleaned and therefore should be avoided at this time. Of course, if one wants to avoid the above steps, one can eat the strawberries (even organic) by simply cutting off the tops and peeling off the entire outside of the strawberries, followed by a rinse. See Pureeing Policy for details on pureeing.