Berry season is officially upon us. I don’t know about your neck of the woods, but our long, wet, cloudy spring delayed the ripening of those beautiful berries. It was torture. I even got pissed off and made shortcake with oranges.
But now they’re here. They’re ripe. And we picked ‘em.
Happiness is lifting a tangle of vines to find a family of blood-red strawberries underneath.
For every berry she put in the basket, one went into her mouth. She had a ball. And when we got home we made freezer jam and pie with our bounty.
Local berries are tricky that way—you have to use them immediately. But for others, I have a little trick to keep them fresh longer.
Take blueberries, for instance. They come in those easy plastic containers, and it’s tempting to just rinse them and stick the whole thing in the fridge. But doing that will shorten the life of your berries.
First, give them a good rinse.
Then spread them out on a clean towel and let them air dry. They should be completely dry to the touch.
Next, put them in a container that has a tight-fitting lid.
Place a clean, dry paper towel over the berries, close the lid, and store in the refrigerator. Change the paper towel daily as it’s there to soak up moisture that likes to rot the fruit. Your berries will stay fresh much longer!
What are you going to make with summer berries?
-RDG
I'm a stay-at-home-mom to two hilarious little girls in Seattle, married to one adorkable husband. When I'm not making messes in the kitchen and fishing the girls out of the toilet I'm working on my first fiction novel, due out when someone decides it's not total crap.
This is an inspiring post with an adorable wee one. I can’t believe you find time to blog or make jams. You are a wonder woman!
As far as my berries, I had a jam disaster last week…..but I will try again this week. xoxo
Thank you, Robin! That means so much to me. Sometimes I feel like I don’t have it together at all. Just wait till Maeve can go berry picking with you—it’s so much fun!
Beautiful post! I spend this time of year gathering berries and freezing them.. that way when the weather turns cold and it is too dark and icky to be outside.. I can make jam and jelly and pies
Love the photos. I usually buy organic berries and freeze them in the container they came in. Then when frozen, I put them in glass containers or plastic bags–strawberries warrant the wash and freeze but for the others, freezing is a breeze now. I got that hint from an Oregon farmer.
Thanks for the tip – I’m always losing berries to “The Rot”. I’m hoping this works!