I am making cheesecake stuffed, chocolate dipped strawberries for a client. She wants them anytime next week, and I was aiming for Monday. I plan to pick the strawberries today, but I am ignorant on fruits and chocolate and such. Here are my questions:

1. If I pick them today, do I refrigerate them until I need them, or leave them out on the counter?
2. If I stuff them with cheesecake on Sunday, can I dip them in chocolate on Sunday and refrigerate them until Monday, or will the chocolate bloom in the fridge?
3. The last dipped strawberries I made, the berries got weepy in the fridge after I dipped them. How can I prevent this? (They were storebought berries, though, and my have been at the end of their usefulness...)

Thanks so much on any answers you can provide!!!

<Starkie>

I don't like to refrigerate mine, it seems like the start wilting and loosing their flavor. I have tried to refrigerate mine after putting chocolate on them and the started to "sweat" I have never heard of stuffed strawberries, but it sounds delicious! I would think making them late Sunday and refrigerating them only the time they need to be refrigerated is your best bet. Or maybe get a cooler and lots of ice and place them on top but keep the lid open? I don't know if that would help or not. Sorry I'm not too much help.

You need to refrigerate strawberries, otherwise they go downhill very quickly.

We used to make trays of dipped berries at a restaurant that I worked at. They really do not have a long shelf life - about 24 to 36 hours after they are dipped, they need to be eaten or trashed. If the berries are exceptionally fresh (and not overripe) then they'll last a smidgen longer.

The "weepy" part just means that they're on their last legs.

I would find out when your clent needs them, and do them as close to that as possible.