Defrosting frozen strawberries

[Jenn]

I read the other thread on how to freeze strawberries. I would love to stock up to hold us over for the winter (love strawberries on my cereal). But, how do you defrost them? I tried one batch by transferring them to the refridgerator for 12 hours or so and they were wet and mushy.

One tip I read in a magazine was to rinse them before you hull the stems, otherwise, the hole from the stem absorbs the water and leaves you with mushy strawberries.

Maybe I should try it that way (last time I hulled and then rinsed) ? Any suggestions?

[Kermit]

They should be slightly more mushy when they defrost, but not overly so. Defrosted frozen strawberries can be used in salads and pies, but you can't use them for dipping in chocolate or anything like that.

[pumba]

for smashed ones......like in toppings and strawberry short cake.......if I want to dip them I use fresh and leave the stem.......