hungry poodle

Now that I’m back on the straight and narrow and eating home made yogurt for breakfast, I’ve bought what’s probably close to the last fresh berries of the season. Raspberries and blackberries can be expensive even when they’re in season, which makes it frustrating when they mold so quickly. And the old adage, one bad fruit can spoil the whole batch, is literally true: if one berry gets moldy, the whole basket tends to follow suit.

Good old Harold McGee of the New York Times to the rescue. He recently wrote an article about a berry-saving method called “thermotherapy”, briefly treating the berries in hot water.

Here’s how it works: hot water tends to slow the growth of mold on delicate berries without actually harming the berry. And it’s really easy:  heat a pot of water to 125 degrees. Water heats to this temperature very quickly, in just a couple of minutes, so do be a watch-pot. When it hits 125, turn off the heat and submerge the supermarket package under the water (hold it down with something like tongs) for 30 seconds. That’s it. Then you lay the berries out on paper towels to dry and refrigerate them in a paper towel-lined bowl.

The formula for most berries is similar, although blueberries, which have a thicker skin, benefit from a slightly higher temperature.

Raspberries or blackberries: 125 degrees for 30 seconds.
Blueberries: 130 degrees for 30 seconds.

Don’t be afraid to get the berries hot. They won’t cook during the brief submersion in hot water. In fact, nature meant for fruits to be able to withstand the heat of the sun while on the vine.

When I followed these instructions, my berries stayed fresh for days in the fridge without going bad. I was really surprised. Be sure to dry them off and refrigerate them: the cold helps retard the growth of mold too. Now go out and buy some berries while they’re still available and enjoy them on breakfast cereals or yogurt. I’m also thinking of dinner possibilities: what about grilled chicken salad with raspberries, almonds and goat cheese?  And can you infuse raspberries in vodka? Oh, I forgot, straight and narrow. Never mind. (I’m making a mental note, though.)

This entry was posted on Monday, September 14th, 2009 at 2:18 pm and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.