Storing berries

[mm84321]

Which is the best way to store berries? I was told to keep rinsed strawberries in a cool area, but not in the refrigerator, as it would affect the flavor. Is this true of all berries?

[Panaderia Canadiense]

I've found that it varies greatly depending on the berry and also on where you live. Guidelines for Canada or other temperate to arctic countries absolutely do not hold true for Ecuador, for example.

In Canada, serviceberries and saskatoons seemed to improve with chilling, so I kept those in the fridge, but for strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, jostas, currants, and gooseberries, the flavour suffered from refrigeration. Those I kept in pint baskets in a cool area of the pantry, but never in the fridge.

In Ecuador, however, strawberries in the pantry will go fuzzy if you so much as look at them funny. Hence I keep them in supperware containers in the fridge to delay their inevitable deterioration. For the less "fleshy" berries, like mora, mortiño, joyapa, and sachauva, these can be kept in the cool of the pantry but because (in my area at least) it's so dry they'll tend to end up dessicated before I get to the bottom of the bakset. I have yet to find a suitable solution to this, because the fridge really does change their flavours (joyapa, for example, become almost inedible when cold).

[jmolinari]

i just read somewhere that the shelf life of berries, especially strawberries, can be extended very greatly by washing/rinsing in a vinegar/water bath as it'll kill mold spores...

ah, here..cook's illustrated:

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/howto/print/detail.asp?docid=1417&parentdocid=2214

[Shalmanese]

There's a couple of interesting techniques.

1. There's the aforementioned vinegar bath.

2. McGee has reported that thermal treatment can help with molding, suspending the berries in 125F water for 30s.

3. eGulleters have also reported that a vodka rinse can also help maintain berries for longer.

I suppose the ultimate treatment would be to fill a SV bath with a 1/3rd vinegar solution @ 125F and rinse for 30 seconds, then dry them off well in a paper towel lined salad spinner and then toss with a tablespoon of vodka before storing in a cool place.

[heidih]

My standard berry storage method (shockingly there is occasionally a surplus) is as follows: Do NOT rinse. Place in a clean glass jar, loosely crumple up a paper towel or two to fill any big gap at the top, close lid tightly and tuck in fridge.

[mm84321]

I used the vinegar solution to wash them. How about storage vessel? I was just keeping them in a paper towel lined colander, without a cover. I'm only keeping them until tomorrow afternoon, but they need to stay in pristine condition.

[mm84321]

I just put them in a sealable container, but will keep the lid loose, as Cook's Illustrated suggests.

They are really of exceptional quality.

[Anna N]

My standard berry storage method (shockingly there is occasionally a surplus) is as follows: Do NOT rinse. Place in a clean glass jar, loosely crumple up a paper towel or two to fill any big gap at the top, close lid tightly and tuck in fridge.

Mine too. And when I accidently left blackberries stored this way for two weeks while I was away, they were perfectly edible when I got home! I do the same for mushrooms and they don't get icky.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

My standard berry storage method (shockingly there is occasionally a surplus) is as follows: Do NOT rinse. Place in a clean glass jar, loosely crumple up a paper towel or two to fill any big gap at the top, close lid tightly and tuck in fridge.

Mine too. And when I accidently left blackberries stored this way for two weeks while I was away, they were perfectly edible when I got home! I do the same for mushrooms and they don't get icky.

I will try this. Historically, I have avoided putting strawberries in the refrigerator. I came from strawberry country, where berries were eaten warm from the fields, never chilled. Today, it is not possible, and even those I buy at the field are too ripe to last more than a matter of hours, one of my minor rants. (Strawberries should be bright vermillion-to-light red, never dark red. As far as I am concerned, the stands are selling "over-ripes".)

[Anna N]

My standard berry storage method (shockingly there is occasionally a surplus) is as follows: Do NOT rinse. Place in a clean glass jar, loosely crumple up a paper towel or two to fill any big gap at the top, close lid tightly and tuck in fridge.

Mine too. And when I accidently left blackberries stored this way for two weeks while I was away, they were perfectly edible when I got home! I do the same for mushrooms and they don't get icky.

I will try this. Historically, I have avoided putting strawberries in the refrigerator. I came from strawberry country, where berries were eaten warm from the fields, never chilled. Today, it is not possible, and even those I buy at the field are too ripe to last more than a matter of hours, one of my minor rants. (Strawberries should be bright vermillion-to-light red, never dark red. As far as I am concerned, the stands are selling "over-ripes".)

I suspect that the strawberries we get, except for our short season local strawberries, are chilled from picking through transport and don't suffer any more from refrigeration once I get them home. Local strawberries are eaten too quickly to spoil in my house.

[janeer]

i am pretty much with Anna and heidh on this. Never rinse (I am a broken record on this). Store at cool room temp if possible;if humid, in the fridge, with a paper towel.

[Shalmanese]

If you have a wine fridge, that would be a better place to store them than a normal fridge.