Do Your Berries Look Less Than Lovely?
While the picture above is a little extreme, even berries given the best of care can have trouble, depending on harvest conditions. (The picture above was taken the DAY AFTER HARVEST during one of the (many) rainy weeks in 2016, and these berries never made it to market, of course.)
It happens: Even the savviest berry buyer will end up with something at the back of the fridge that’s dropped a bit on the mouth watering scale….but do NOT despair! Even if you see a little fuzz on those former-beauties, all is not lost!
(Need some tips on how to keep your berries from getting the blues? Check these suggestions!)
We recommend turning those berries out of the container onto a flat towel or paper towel and removing and discarding any berries showing signs of fuzz. Treat the remaining berries to one of the preservation options below, and you’ve solved your Berry Blues!
- Blend a fresh berry smoothie, which can be as simple or as elaborate as you want, but is always delicious! Check our Recipe section for some quick new inspiration!
- Pop your past-their-prime berries in a blender, and whirl to a puree. Add sweetener if desired, then pour the puree into ice cube trays or popsicle molds and freeze, turning the cubes into freezer bags for longer-term storage once solid. Then, use these cubes of deliciousness in future glasses of iced tea, bowls of yogurt or hot cereal or in smoothies.
- For strawberries, pure cane sugar and honey are both excellent preservatives. Just grab a paring knife and quickly hull and slice the berries, removing any overtly squishy bits. This takes about 5 minutes for a full quart of strawberries! Then, sprinkle the sliced berries with 2 teaspoons of sugar or honey, stir gently and return the mixture to the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour. It will keep for several days that way and can be frozen for future use. Enjoy these delicious “macerated” berries in a fruit salad, as a topping for cereal, yogurt or any dessert, or added into a smoothie.
- Whip up a small batch of jam, using your favorite recipe or some of ours.
- Pop those berries in the freezer, double quick. Once frozen, pretty much all berries look the same and work equally well in baking, future jam making projects, smoothies, cereal toppers and so much more. When are you NOT happy to see a bag of frozen berries in the freezer?? And check our freezing tips and resources. SO easy!
