How to Cut Strawberries for Every Occasion

Cleaning and Hulling the Strawberries

Rinse the strawberries under cool water. Put the berries in a strainer and hold it over the sink under the faucet. Turn on the cold water and rinse the strawberries off thoroughly to remove any dirt or grime.Warning: Strawberries have a very sponge-like texture, so don’t ever soak them in water to clean them. They will just absorb the water and lose their flavor and texture. If your faucet has a spray nozzle, use this to give the berries a shower and cover more surface area at once.

Pick the green top stems off every strawberry. Hold a strawberry in 1 hand and pinch the green top leaves firmly between 2 fingers on your other hand. Gently twist and pull to remove the stem. The stems are edible, but they don't have a nice taste or texture, so removing them leaves you with just the tasty berry. Don’t slice off the tops because it just wastes some of the tasty red fruit near the top. Make sure to wait until after you wash the strawberries and are ready to slice them to remove the tops.

Poke the tip of a paring knife into the top on the outside of the white part. Insert just the tip of the knife into the top of the strawberry at about a 45-degree angle, outside of the white center part. The white part is the hull and it is the most bitter part, so removing it will leave you with just the juicy red fruit of the berry. You don't have to hull strawberries, it just makes them even more juicy and delicious. However, the white part is perfectly edible.

Slide the knife around the white part to cut out the hull. Carefully move the tip of the knife around the rim of the white center part, keeping it at an approximately 45-degree angle. Pop the hull out with the tip of the knife when you have cut all the way around it. If you still see a lot of white in the hole after you cut out the center, you might need to trim a little deeper. You can also hold the knife in place and spin the strawberry around to make the cut.

Cutting Strawberries into Different Sizes

Cut strawberries in half if you want larger pieces for a quick snack. Set a strawberry vertically, top-down, on a cutting board. Use a paring knife to slice straight down from the tip through the middle to part it in half.Tip: Wait until just before you plan on eating the strawberries to slice them. This will ensure they are as delicious and juicy as possible. You could use this method to quickly downsize strawberries and make them easier to blend up in a smoothie or milkshake. You can also cut strawberries in half to make something like a strawberry pie or tarts. Try drizzling halved strawberries with a little honey for an easy healthy snack.

Slice strawberries into quarters if you want smaller pieces for fruit salad. Place a strawberry top-down on a cutting board. Slice from the tip straight down through the middle using a paring knife. Turn the berry 90 degrees and slice down through the middle again to separate it into 4 quarters. This is a good way to slice strawberries before freezing them as well. They will freeze faster and are easier to use in things like smoothies.

Cut strawberries into vertical slices if you want thinner pieces for toppings. Put a strawberry on a cutting board with the tip facing upwards. Start at 1 side of the strawberry and use a paring knife to cut slices of the desired thickness. This is a good option if you want to put thin strawberry slices on top of desserts, such as cakes or pies. You could also use these slices at breakfast on top of cereal or oatmeal.

Making Unique Designs

Make a V shape in the top before slicing the strawberry to get heart shapes. Slice from the top down, starting at 1 side of the top, towards the center of the berry at a 45-degree angle until the blade of the knife reaches the center. Repeat this on the other side so the cuts meet, then remove the V-shaped section. Slice the berry to the desired thickness and you’ll be left with heart-shaped slices. The 2 outermost slices will look the most like hearts because of their rounded surfaces. You could use these slices to decorate desserts like cupcakes.

Leave the green stems on before slicing to create a fan-like design. Don’t remove the stems or hulls from the strawberries. Place a berry top-down on a cutting board, then use a paring knife to slice it to the desired thickness, cutting down to just underneath the stem rather than all the way through. Gently spread out the slices so the berries look like little fans held together by the stem and put them on a serving plate. This is an easy way to make strawberries look fancy if you want to serve them at a dinner party or event of some kind.

Cut petal-shaped slices into the outside of a strawberry to make it into a rose. Leave the stem on the strawberry and insert a skewer into the middle from the top. Hold the skewer and use a paring knife to cut thin partial slits all the way around the middle of the strawberry to create the first row of petals. Slice another row of petals between the first row and the tip, then cut a slit into the tip of the berry and try to spread it out a bit.Tip: If you want to make the strawberry rose more realistic, wrap green floral tape around the skewer. You can even tape some leave from a real rose to it. To make the petals look more realistic, stagger the second row of slits between the petals of the first row. If the strawberry is particularly large, you might be able to fit a third row of petals on it.