Do you love berries but hate wasting the ones that go bad before they’re eaten?
Adopting some best practices for buying, cleaning, and storing fresh berries ensures you get the most bang for your buck out of this summertime deliciousness.
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My Story
I love berries. Enjoying fresh berries is one of the best parts of summer.
Unfortunately, it’s common for a significant number of berries to go bad before they are eaten.
I console myself by throwing them out at the edge of the woods and telling myself I’m feeding the wildlife.
But as much as I love the wildlife, I’m not crazy about spending our hard-earned money to feed them my berries.
In an effort to waste less and enjoy more fresh berries, I devised a list of best practices for buying, cleaning, and storing berries.
Take a good look at the berries you are buying.
Don’t just toss the first container you grab in your cart.
Take a good look at all the visible berries.
If any already look moldy or mushy, take a pass.
Buy less berries at one time.
The biggest culprit in wasted berries is buying too many at one time.
Be realistic about how long fresh berries will last.
Despite any superhuman efforts, fresh berries have a short shelf life.
Expect your fresh berries to last three to five days and purchase accordingly.
Wash all the fresh berries when you bring them home.
Yep, I know that a lot of people advise you to wait until you are ready to eat them to wash your berries.
There is a high probability that they will go bad simply because you don’t want to take the time to wash them when the mood strikes for berries.
Also, washing fresh berries kills the bacteria and stops the mold that contributes to the quick decay of berries.
The best way to wash fresh berries is with a vinegar water solution.
Fill a large bowl full of one-part white vinegar to three parts cold water (1 cup vinegar and 3 cups of cold water).
Put your berries in a colander and put the colander in the bowl so the water covers the berries.
Swish the berries around a few times, allowing the water to completely rinse all the berries.
Let the berries soak in the water-vinegar solution for about fifteen minutes.
Pull the colander out of the water and rinse the berries under fresh, running water.
Drying the berries is critical.
Drying the berries is a crucial step in making sure fresh berries last as long as possible.
To dry fresh berries, line a cookie sheet with paper towels.
Transfer the berries from the colander to the cookie sheet. Keep them in a single layer.
Leave them out to dry for a few hours.
After the berries are dry, transfer them to an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator.
My foodie friends swear by storing fresh, clean berries in a standard Mason jar with a screw top lid. (affiliate link)
Although I store my dry beans in jars, I haven’t tried storing berries in them.
It’s on my list of things to try.
Air is not a friend to fresh berries, so whatever you use, make sure it’s airtight.
Don’t forget about the berries.
Either store them in the front of the refrigerator where you see them daily or write a reminder and keep it on the door of the refrigerator.
A lot of berries go bad simply because they are forgotten.
Do you love berries but hate throwing them out when they aren’t eaten quick enough?
Get the most bang for your summertime buck by adopting these quick and easy best practices for buying, cleaning, and storing fresh berries.
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