Retailer Blueberries So They Final Longer

At Critical Eats, we take the science of meals storage—look ahead to it—severely. I bear 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 recurrently, per the suggestions in our SE workers electronic mail inbox. And Genevieve’s deep-dive into the steps essential to protect strawberries stays a perennial prime performer for the location, even in months it is mindless to eat strawberries! 

So it stands to motive I’d take the official Critical Eats blueberry model of these experiments very—look ahead to it—severely! And I did! If I wished to find out the best possible option 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 inexperienced bean and cherry exams from final 12 months, and a glance into all mentions of produce storage on Critical Eats, I recognized and arrange a sequence of exams to find out one of the simplest ways to retailer blueberries. I examined 18 completely different strategies, together with ones that supported current theories about one of the simplest ways to retailer blueberries, in addition to people who instantly 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 will not be berries, however as a substitute 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 larger ranges of anthocyanins—the water-soluble pigment liable for the fruits’ colour—than juuust about another “berry” (elderberries and mulberries being the exceptions). 

A September 2014 Postharvest Biology and Expertise examine confirms that probably the most salient issue resulting in blueberry demise (see: shriveled or burst fruit as a consequence 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 package deal and picked by means of them to take away any dangerous berries from the batch. Then I divided them into batches and proceeded with the exams outlined under.

• Unrinsed blueberries of their unique packaging at room temperature
• Rinsed blueberries of their unique packaging at room temperature
• Unrinsed blueberries of their unique packaging within the fridge
• Rinsed blueberries of their unique packaging within the fridge
• Unrinsed blueberries of their unique packaging within the crisper
• Rinsed blueberries of their unique 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 tub, then rinsed, then dried in a shallow bowl within the fridge
• Blueberries soaked in a vinegar tub, 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 sizzling (125°F) water, drained, dried delicately however fully in a salad spinner triple-lined with paper towels, positioned again of their unique container, and saved on a shelf within the fridge.

The 2 exams I used to be most assured in have been the third and the final ones listed above. The third—unrinsed blueberries saved of their unique packaging within the fridge —most logically follows all current blueberry steering. The latter—rinsing in sizzling water, drying completely, and storing within the fridge— is precisely Genevieve’s confirmed strawberry storage winner, as it’s Kenji’s earlier than her and Harold McGee’s earlier than him. The concept behind this sizzling water utility (versus simply leaving the berries alone) is that you would be able to beat back mould and prolong their shelf lives.

The Outcomes

In my first batch of exams, the unwashed blueberries thrown within the fridge went a full 9 days earlier than I observed any signal of decay or mould. They’d barely misplaced weight at that time too. Actually, I’d’ve fed them to my toddler up till about day 11. Conversely, my sizzling water-washed berries felt gentle almost instantly after their tub. 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 unique produce-washing investigation. He examined it on blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries (all of that are combination fruits, I ought to add? Possibly!?). 

After my exams have been full, Genevieve and Daniel ran follow-up exams of my profitable storage methodology—the unwashed, unique packaging one—towards the recent water methodology. Genevieve had comparable 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 lower his exams 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 nasty concept to scrub since you’re actively ruining them within the course of? We all know the soundness of anthocyanins are additionally impacted by temperature. Is that why the recent water bluebs fared far more poorly than my room temp-rinsed ones, which, on common lasted about six days earlier than mould sightings!? Or possibly Daniel had a unique number of blueberry! Possibly his have been simply brisker than mine and Genevieve’s! Possibly while you’re not coping with freshest blueberry—even when it appears good!—you are coping with sufficient deterioration on a microscopic degree that the recent water rinse simply ruins the whole lot. 

I spoke to Professor Penelope Perkins-Veazie, who’s cited repeatedly within the first examine linked above right here, through electronic mail, and she or he famous: “Anthocyanins are usually 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, equivalent to storage life, I am fairly certain that there was no work to look particularly on the shelf life and quantity of anthocyanin in blueberry.”

Conclusions: Retailer Blueberries So They Final Longer

All this to say: The simplest means to make sure you’ll have brisker blueberries for longer is to get them into the fridge precisely as you acquire 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 mould spores and don’t have to hold your blueberries round for the week, go forward and provides them a sizzling rinse and a radical dry. To recap, this is the best and finest option to retailer blueberries:

• Take away any moldy berries from unique 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 nicely proper earlier than consuming.