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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Fresh Berries - A Smart Fridge Solution!

Pinterest ... have you heard of it?!  LOL  I love Pinterest!  I have gotten so many great ideas, recipes and inspiration from it!  You can follow me by clicking on the button to the right side of the screen.

One day I came across a way to prevent your fresh berries from getting moldy in the refrigerator.  I pinned it but hesitated to actually try it.  Yes, berries tend to mold very quickly once I get them home, but I just wasn't sure about this "technique". 

The idea is from Food Lush.  It says to wash them in a mixture of 1 part vinegar to 10 parts water.  It is supposed to kill bacteria that causes the mold.  Let me tell you ... I NEVER wash my produce until I am ready to use it.  Introducing moisture to the produce can promote the growth of mold.  I finally tried it ... and it worked!  I'll tell you exactly how I did it.

  1. In a large bowl I combined 1/2 c. white vinegar with 5 cups of water.
  2. Next, I set the little plastic basket-like container of berries into the bowl.  (Let me explain my rational here ... I figured that there is a reason why they use those specific packages for the berries and thought it would be best to continue to store the berries in them.  Then I thought, well if I wash the berries and not the container ... the bacteria is still in the container and will recontaminate the berries ... thus I chose to wash the container too.)
  3. Then, dump the berries into the bowl and set the container to the side to dry.  Swish the berries around in the water/vinegar mixture.
  4. Finally, I used a slotted spoon (you could drain in a colander too , but I do large batches at a time) to scoop out the berries and return them to their containers.
  • You could pat them dry on a paper towel, but I was afraid of introducing new bacteria so I chose not to.  Also, you can rinse the berries after washing the solution, but the amount of vinegar you use truly does not leave any flavor on the berries.
So there you go!  Berries are packed full of great nutrition and now you have no excuse for not having some in your fridge ... unless you don't like them I guess!  :)

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