Keep Blueberries Fresh Longer By Washing Them With These Pantry Staples

Whenever I buy blueberries from the store, I bring them home and put them into the fridge. And when I use them, I take out the amount I need, run them under some water in a colander, dry them, and proceed with whatever I'm using them for. Apparently, I've been making a mistake everyone makes when buying blueberries. This method of cleaning hardly washes away all of the funk that may be lurking on their purple skin. Experts agree that running water is fine for eliminating dirt and even small insects that may have hitched a ride in your berry container, but to really clean blueberries well, you should soak them in a vinegar or baking soda solution. What's more, this can also keep them fresher for a longer period of time.

White distilled vinegar mixed with water breaks down some pesticides and discourages bacterial growth. Just make a solution of three parts water to one part vinegar. Drop in your blueberries and let them soak for about a minute before draining them, rinsing them with water, and drying them before using, eating, or placing them back in the refrigerator. Vinegar also cleans pesky stains on plastic cutting boards.

If you're using baking soda, dissolve one teaspoon of baking soda into two cups of water. Soak the berries for a few minutes, drain, and rinse them. Both vinegar and baking soda change the pH on blueberry skin, which causes the berries to last longer than not treating them at all. If you're just looking to clean your berries and not necessarily needing them to last longer, you can soak them for half a minute in hot water.

This method may take some by surprise because it's widely believed that we shouldn't wash our berries until just before we use them to avoid that dreaded mold that seems to creep its way onto our favorite berries' delicate skin (here's looking at you, raspberries). After all, mold is caused by moisture. The vinegar/baking soda solution method works great, but it's vital to get your berries thoroughly dried before placing them back into the fridge to inhibit the mold growth. A great way to do this is to use a salad spinner. Once you've completed the soak and drained your berries, line a salad spinner with paper towels, place them inside, and spin until your berries look dry. This proves that salad spinners are for more than just drying greens. Dump them out onto more paper towels and gently roll them around to soak up any bit of moisture.

Store the berries in a breathable container lined with more paper towels, and they should last a good week or even longer. Of course, if you've scored excellent quality berries and stocked up on them, to the point where you're not sure if they'll go bad before you can eat them all, use the same cleaning and drying methods and freeze some of them. If you simply place fresh berries in a freezer bag or container, they'll freeze in a solid mass. To avoid this, place your berries on a flat surface or baking sheet so that they're not touching each other. Freeze them positioned like this, and once the berries are frozen, transfer them to a bag that can now be put in the freezer.