What is the best way to store fresh berries?
I have been buying fresh berries from the store on the weekends, and am looking for the best way to make them last throughout the week for use as either a snack or as a component for salads.
The blueberries last the longest, and I can usually salvage enough by Thursday or even Friday, but the blackberries and raspberries seem to either get moldy, or turn to mush, before Wednesday is over.
I've been storing them in the refrigerator in the plastic vented clamshells they come in.
Is there a better way of storing them that will extend their shelf-life another 1-2 days or more?
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Wash them in a solution of 10 parts water to one part white vinger. This will kill any bacteria. Lay them out to dry or line a lettuce spinner with paper towels to dry. Store them uncovered in the frig.
I've had really good results with special "breathable" plastic bags designed to let ethylene gas escape. The ones I'm using now are made by PEAKfresh USA. These work particularly well with strawberries.
Apparently some retailers are catching on and prolonging produce shelf-life through ethylene absorption.
Most fruits, a few days:
Use kitchen towel to dry them (don't wash)
Line a sheet pan with kitchen towel
Spread them so they don't touch (any mold on one berry won't spread)
Refrigate
Fragile berries:
Put the pan in an inflated plastic bag (so the bag doesn't touch
the berries)
If you see any mold on some berries, you can delay mold formation on the other berries like this:
Discard the berries with mold
Heat a pot of water to 52 degrees Celsius
Immerse berries for 30-45 seconds
Dry them
Store them unwashed. Take out any "bad" ones. I've had decent luck adding some paper towels to wick away extra moisture that seems to speed up the spoilage. Martha Stewart suggest going even further and spreading them out on paper towels on a sheet pan. I have no idea who keeps a fridge empty enough that they can store full sheet pans in there, though.
I've never tried this, but someone suggests washing it lightly in vinegar/water. *shrug*
Then of course, wash and freeze them spread out on a sheet pan (to make it easier to separate later). I assume this isn't what you want to do, but it is very effective, depending on how you plan to use them.
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