By Nicole Valletta
Slow Food & Farmer Blogger for GrubMarket
Like all life’s simple finest pleasures, berries are fleeting, delicate moments of beauty; incredibly special and too soon gone. Well, not anymore!
While this love may never last forever, there are a few little known steps you can take to keep your beautiful berries picture perfect a little longer.
No two berries are the same
They may arrive in your basket together, but your sweet assortment contains a lot of variety. Whether they come from different bushes or just the sunny or shady side of a leaf, each blueberry is unique some might ripen faster than others. If you see one or two that are soft or moldy, that’s okay! Once you get them home, sift through them gently and find any that are soft and remove them so they don’t spoil the others.
Bath time! (Optional)
You may have heard that you should never rinse berries before you put them in the fridge as the moisture will damage their delicate skins. And that is very true, with only this one exception. So if you don’t have a lot of time, skip this step.
A vinegar bath is actually a great tool to keep berries fresher longer, as it kills all the spores of potential mold lurking in the fine skins. Simply add 3 cups of chilled water with 1 cup of white vinegar into a salad spinner (if you don’t have one, simply place a colander inside a mixing bowl) and toss in blueberries. Gently spin and swish, immersing all sizes of all berries, careful not to pierce their skins. Drain out the water and rinse under cool clean water before placing them in a bed of chemical-free paper towels to fully dry out. Only when fully dry should they go into the fridge.
Berry Chill!
If you didn’t do the vinegar bath and your blueberries are warmer than room temperature when you get your delivery, roll them out onto a cookie sheet and leave them out on your counter (out of direct sunlight) for an hour or two to let them cool down to room temp, before putting them in the fridge. This will ease the shock of cold temperatures, so they release all their moisture!
Packed with Care
One your berry babies are all clean, dry and cool, place them back in their cleaned plastic clamshells (or upgrade to Tupperware or basket of your choice) with a paper towel folded beneath them and another sheet on top. Just make sure there are plenty of holes in the clamshell so fresh fridge air can come and go freely! (If using Tupperware, just leave the lid ajar.
Location, location, location
Most people tend to put their berries near the top of the fridge (probably because they’re so beautiful you like them at eye-level!) but it’s actually the worst place for them! The light, frigid air, and humidity sometimes found at the top shelves of the fridge can all take their toll on these dainty delights. It’s best to place them on your bottom shelf towards the back, but not in the crisper drawer (where they get little to no air flow).
Now that you know how to make them last, what to do with them?
How ‘bout a blueberry rosemary old-fashioned? Or a blueberry cream-cheese crème brûlée?
Find more delicious recipes and farm-fresh produce at www.GrubMarket.com
