Methods to Retailer Blueberries So They Final Longer

At Critical Eats, we take the science of meals storage—look ahead to it—severely. I keep in mind studying Kenji’s tomato storage article again in 2017 and instantly flipping all my tomatoes over, chastising my then-boyfriend for considering I’d had a really unusual momentary lapse of produce storing judgment. Daniel’s bread refrigeration piece adjustments lives commonly, per the suggestions in our SE employees electronic mail inbox. And Genevieve’s deep-dive into the steps necessary to preserve strawberries stays a perennial prime performer for the location, even in months it is mindless to eat strawberries! 

So it stands to cause I’d take the official Critical Eats blueberry model of these experiments very—look ahead to it—severely! And I did! If I needed to find out the best possible solution to retailer blueberries for longevity, freshness, and taste, I must be meticulous. Like, now-husband-rightfully-thinking-I’d-lost-my-whole-mind-re: produce meticulous!!

After a deep-dive into current blueberry storage literature, a cross-reference of my green bean and cherry tests from final yr, and a glance into all mentions of produce storage on Critical Eats, I recognized and arrange a collection of assessments to find out the easiest way to retailer blueberries. I examined 18 completely different strategies, together with ones that supported current theories about the easiest way to retailer blueberries, in addition to those who immediately opposed agreed upon strategies. Along with difficult accepted strategies from the world exterior of Critical Eats, I additionally put berry storage strategies from the Critical Eats canon to the take a look at to see if what labored for, say, strawberries, additionally labored for blueberries. The! Outcomes! Will! Shock! You!

What We Know About Blueberries (and Blueberry Storage)

Blueberries are “true berries” in that they’re fruits that come from the ovary of a single flower and have their seeds embedded inside their flesh. By this definition, strawberries and raspberries usually are not berries, however as an alternative are combination fruits, which come from a number of carpels of the identical flower. Blueberries have thicker skins than these combination fruits, they usually have increased ranges of anthocyanins—the water-soluble pigment liable for the fruits’ shade—than juuust about another “berry” (elderberries and mulberries being the exceptions). 

A September 2014 Postharvest Biology and Technology study confirms that probably the most salient issue resulting in blueberry demise (see: shriveled or burst fruit on account of moisture loss) is temperature. The upper the temperature, the extra accelerated the fruits’ metabolism. The upper the metabolic charge that happens, the likelier it’s that blueberries will lose moisture and start to interrupt down.

The Checks

Contemplating all of the above, I strongly suspected {that a}  good chunk of the berries I examined, together with the blueberries left at room temperature, wouldn’t yield the best outcomes. 

I first eliminated all of the berries from the bundle and picked by way of them to take away any unhealthy berries from the batch. Then I divided them into batches and proceeded with the assessments outlined under.

• Unrinsed blueberries of their authentic packaging at room temperature
• Rinsed blueberries of their authentic packaging at room temperature
• Unrinsed blueberries of their authentic packaging within the fridge
• Rinsed blueberries of their authentic packaging within the fridge
• Unrinsed blueberries of their authentic packaging within the crisper
• Rinsed blueberries of their authentic packaging within the crisper
• Unrinsed blueberries in a shallow bowl within the fridge
• Rinsed blueberries in a shallow bowl within the fridge
• Unrinsed blueberries in a shallow bowl within the crisper
• Rinsed blueberries in a shallow bowl within the crisper
• Blueberries soaked in a vinegar bathtub, then rinsed, then dried in a shallow bowl within the fridge
• Blueberries soaked in a vinegar bathtub, then rinsed, then dried in a shallow bowl within the crisper
• Unrinsed blueberries in an hermetic container within the fridge
• Rinsed blueberries in an hermetic container within the fridge
• Unrinsed blueberries in an hermetic container within the crisper
• Unrinsed blueberries in an hermetic container within the crisper (only for enjoyable, actually)
• Blueberries washed in scorching (125°F) water, drained, dried delicately however fully in a salad spinner triple-lined with paper towels, positioned again of their authentic container, and saved on a shelf within the fridge.

The 2 assessments I used to be most assured in have been the third and the final ones listed above. The third—unrinsed blueberries saved of their authentic packaging within the fridge —most logically follows all current blueberry steering. The latter—rinsing in scorching water, drying totally, and storing within the fridge— is precisely Genevieve’s proven strawberry storage winner, as it’s Kenji’s before her and Harold McGee’s earlier than him. The concept behind this scorching water utility (versus simply leaving the berries alone) is which you can chase away mildew and prolong their shelf lives.

The Outcomes

In my first batch of assessments, the unwashed blueberries thrown within the fridge went a full 9 days earlier than I observed any signal of decay or mildew. They’d barely misplaced weight at that time too. Truthfully, I’d’ve fed them to my toddler up till about day 11. Conversely, my scorching water-washed berries felt tender practically instantly after their bathtub. I gave them till day 4 (and a ~16% drop in mass) earlier than giving up on them fully. It’s value noting Kenji doesn’t specify this system is most acceptable for blueberries in his original produce-washing investigation. He examined it on blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries (all of that are combination fruits, I ought to add? Possibly!?). 

After my assessments have been full, Genevieve and Daniel ran follow-up assessments of my successful storage methodology—the unwashed, authentic packaging one—towards the new water methodology. Genevieve had related outcomes to mine; Daniel, who was testing on stunning farmers market berries, discovered no distinction in batches throughout many days (he in the end needed to minimize his assessments quick for PTO causes).

Genevieve, Daniel, and I’ve run theories about anthocyanins and water solubility backwards and forwards for weeks since then. Are these hyper-pigmented fruits a foul thought to scrub since you’re actively ruining them within the course of? We all know the steadiness of anthocyanins are also impacted by temperature. Is that why the new water bluebs fared far more poorly than my room temp-rinsed ones, which, on common lasted about six days earlier than mildew sightings!? Or perhaps Daniel had a special number of blueberry! Possibly his have been simply more energizing than mine and Genevieve’s! Possibly once you’re not coping with freshest blueberry—even when it seems to be good!—you are coping with sufficient deterioration on a microscopic stage that the new water rinse simply ruins the whole lot. 

I spoke to Professor Penelope Perkins-Veazie, who’s cited repeatedly within the first research linked above right here, by way of electronic mail, and she or he famous: “Anthocyanins are typically considered extremely water soluble (round 80%), however as a result of blueberries are fairly advanced in anthocyanins and different flavonoids, I do not know if the [two are related]. So far as longevity, akin to storage life, I am fairly positive that there was no work to look particularly on the shelf life and quantity of anthocyanin in blueberry.”

Conclusions: Methods to Retailer Blueberries So They Final Longer

All this to say: The best method to make sure you’ll have more energizing blueberries for longer is to get them into the fridge precisely as you got them as rapidly as attainable. (Price mentioning: My countertop blueberries went to hell in actually 4 hours on an East Coast morning in July.) However should you’re trying to really feel higher about mildew spores and don’t have to preserve your blueberries round for the week, go forward and provides them a scorching rinse and a radical dry. To recap, here is the only and finest solution to retailer blueberries:

• Take away any moldy berries from authentic packaging.
• Retailer remaining blueberries (in that very same packaging) within the fridge. (In case your blueberries are available in a cardboard carton and that carton turns into damp, it is best to switch the berries to a clear, dry container after eradicating any moldy berries.)
• Rinse effectively proper earlier than consuming.