By WoodWives Journal
Who doesn’t enjoy fresh Blueberries?
In the past our refrigerator shelf life for blueberries was pretty short. Today we will give you a few secret tips to extend the life of your Berries.
These tips are if you are planning on leaving your blueberries in the refrigerator. The key to keeping them fresh is to kill any mold spores.
The ph of the vinegar is the key to that job. Grab any bowl you’d like for your fruit and wash them in a vinegar water bath. Which is 1 cup of white vinegar and 8 cups of water.
Let the blueberries sit in the vinegar water bath until you see the dirt start dislodging. Drain the berries in a colander and rinse the blueberries to remove the vinegar flavor.
Blueberries are a thicker skin berry compared to other berries so they can be dried in a salad spinner unless you prefer blotting them with a paper towel.
Store the washed and dried fruit in a sealed container that has been lined with paper towels. If you plan on using an air-tight container, leave the lid slightly open to avoid natural moisture build up.
Tips on how to keep frozen fresh blueberries:
This time you do not wash the berries before storing them. Only wash them when you are ready to use them. By doing this you can avoid condensation. Unpack your blueberries from store container and spread the blueberries on a cookie sheet. Let them air dry in front of a fan. We find that freezing blueberries individually is the best way to keep them whole and not crushed against each other. After spreading them on cookie sheet place pan with cookie sheets in freezer for 24hrs. Next day transfer the berries into freezer bags or containers. When you are ready to use the berries, you will find them easy to measure. This technique helps berries stay fresh up to twelve months.
Tips on how to slow the mold process:
Put the pan in an inflated plastic bag (so the bag doesn’t touch the berries).
Discard the berries with mold.
Heat a pot of water to 52 degrees Celsius.
Immerse berries for 30-45 seconds.
Dry them.
SPOIL ALERT:
Now that we’ve given you our BEST BLUEBERRY advice.
Here is an awesome Blueberry Recipe for those blueberries that didn’t make it.
Instead of tossing them make this delicious Sophisticated Summer tea from www.2peasinapothecary.com
6 of 2peasinapothecary Earl Grey tea bags
½ cup of honey
1 large bunch mint, stems and leaves roughly chopped. (about 2 cups)
2 cups of blueberries
1 large bunch mint, stems and leaves roughly chopped (about 2 cups), plus 4 sprigs for garnish
Bring 1 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Turn off the heat, add the tea bags and let steep 5 minutes. Discard the tea bags. Stir in 1 cup ice cubes until completely melted. Pour the tea into a liquid measuring cup, and let it chill completely in the refrigerator, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the honey and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the honey has completely melted, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the mint and stir until it has completely wilted. Let cool completely at room temperature, at least 30 minutes.
Strain the cooled mint syrup into a large liquid measuring cup or a pitcher, then press the leaves with a wooden spoon or spatula to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the mint. Add the blueberries, and use a wooden spoon or a potato masher to lightly crush most of them (a few whole blueberries is fine). Add the chilled tea, and stir to combine.
To serve, fill 4 tall glasses with ice. Divide the blueberry mixture among them. Garnish with a mint sprig, and serve immediately.