Macerated Strawberries: A Simple Recipe

These Simple Macerated Strawberries can be enjoyed as is or as a topping for yogurt, pancakes or cake. The perfect no-cook sauce for summer!

Do you love strawberries?

If you are like me, you will try to preserve this wonderful fruit so that it can be enjoyed throughout the year.

One of my favorite recipes is this homemade strawberry jam. It’s great swirled into yogurt, homemade ricotta cheese, or spread over toasted honey wheat bread. 

Be sure to consult this guide on How to Freeze Strawberries so that you can continue to enjoy local fruit throughout the year. They make a great addition to smoothies. You can also use them to make banana strawberry muffins.

Have you ever had a chocolate pizza topped with fruit, including these wonderful berries? The next time you are planning a pizza night, make sure to make this dessert pizza!

Today, we will transform this wonderful berry into a spectacular treat with the help of honey, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

But first, let’s define this concept of maceration.

Jump to:

• What does it mean to macerate strawberries?
• Instructions
• Tips
• FAQ
• How to enjoy
• More strawberry desserts we love
• Recipe inspiration
• Recipe

What does it mean to macerate strawberries?

The word macerate means to “soften by soaking in a liquid.” This is a culinary technique that encourages fruit to release its juices.

You can use simple sugar syrup to soften the food to draw out the natural juices. The syrup can also include alcohol as an ingredient (liquor, brandy, or even wine).

Macerating follows the same principle as marinating, where spices, herbs, and liquids are combined with fish and meats. In both, the result is an infusion of flavors. Today, we are using this technique to sweeten our berries.

Instructions

Place about 1 pint of fresh fruit (about 2 cups) in a colander and quickly rinse them. Blot them dry with a clean tea towel.

Remove the stems and slice ⅛ thick. Or, if you prefer, quarter them.

Place in a large bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together honey (1-2 tablespoons), lemon juice (2 tablespoons), lemon zest (1 teaspoon) and minced fresh mint (1 teaspoon, optional).

Gently combine with the sliced strawberries.

Let the berries sit for at least 30 minutes. This allows the berries to give off their juices. 

That’s all there is to it! You have just made some macerated berries! 

Once you realize how tasty they become at the end of this process, you can experiment by adding all kinds of different herbs and spices to your syrup.

The version of the syrup that I’m sharing with you today is super simple and stripped down. Feel free to add to it as you see fit.

As far as choosing which fruit to macerate, anything goes! Try peaches, nectarines, raspberries, blackberries, or whatever else strikes your fancy.

That’s it! You now know how to sweeten strawberries.

Wasn’t that easy?

Tips

• Whisk the marinade separately in a bowl. Do not be tempted to drizzle the individual ingredients for the marinade over the berries. Please take a few seconds to whisk the marinade together properly and then add it to the berries. This will create a mixture that covers the entire surface of the berries. 
• Allow them to marinate for at least 30 minutes. A little patience is required, but you will be rewarded with great-tasting fruit.

FAQ

How to enjoy

Macerated berries are great on their own. But take a look at other ways they can be enjoyed…

• For breakfast lovers: This is a great breakfast topping: French toast, pancakes, crepes, waffles or even cheese blintzes. They are also great to include in your breakfast bowl. 

• For cake lovers: A few spoonfuls are great when paired with this orange chiffon cake, crepe cake, cheesecake and of course, strawberry shortcake. I also love to serve them alongside my mom’s recipe for this Italian cake.

• For dairy lovers: Use as a topping for yogurt, ice cream or this recipe for a strawberry ricotta dessert.

These dessert strawberries are very versatile and make whatever you are eating that much more wonderful and enjoyable.

More strawberry desserts we love

• Berry Crostata Recipe
• Italian Jam Tart
• Strawberry Kiwi Granita

Recipe inspiration

As a mother (and a dietitian), I have always tried to encourage my kids to adopt healthy eating habits.

Considering my beliefs and upbringing (where I was taught that fruits make great desserts), it should be no surprise that I have no problem getting my daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables, especially if this wonderful fruit is within arm’s reach.

One evening, a few decades ago, I prepared a bowl of fresh berries as a “dessert” for my family. I will never forget the look on my son’s face when he took one bite and exclaimed that my strawberries were not as good as his nonna’s!

I agreed as they were a little sour.

But we made a game out of it to find the sourest berry and made all kinds of funny faces along the way – mission accomplished – my kids ate their fruit for the day!

I did not think of it again until one Sunday when we were having lunch at my parents’ house. Lo and behold, I spotted my mother adding sugar—ah, sugared strawberries!

I understood why my berries could never compete with my mother’s sweetened version.  I hate to admit it, but they were delicious…

So, if you are looking for a quick, no-cook treat, add a little sweetener. That’s all they need to bring out their natural sweetness.

And now you know how to macerate strawberries… nothing could be easier or tastier!

THANKS SO MUCH for following and being part of the She Loves Biscotti community where you will find Simple & Tasty Family-Friendly Recipes with an Italian Twist.

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Ciao for now,

Maria

★★★★★ If you have made this Macerated Strawberries recipe, I would love to hear about it in the comments below and be sure to rate the recipe!

Recipe

This post was originally published on May 30, 2016 and republished on June 25, 2019 with updated content and photos.