How to Keep Your Summer Berries Fresher for longer

Berry season is upon us! Well, technically, peak season is April through June. But there's something about fresh berries in summer, their sweet aroma in the air at supermarkets, and those occasional tart ones. I just love them.

I learned a little trick to keeping my berry bounties fresher for longer. This process came especially in handy when living on the East Coast as most berries already had a long trip from Florida or California. They would normally go bad in a few days!

It would be a shame to let all those precious berries go to waste, so give this a try.

If you're going to eat them within a week or two

What you'll need:

• Fresh berries of any kind
• Strainer
• Tupperware container(s) large enough to fit them 
• Flour sack towel or cloth(s) (one for each container should do)

Step 1: Wash, rinse, and strain well in a strainer

Step 2: Pat dry on a flour sack towel or cloth

Step 3: Pop that towel/cloth in the bottom of your Tupperware container while leaving a bit hanging over the sides

Step 4: Put the largest berries on the bottom and then cover them all with the excess towel/cloth hanging over. No need to cover with a lid. 

Step 5: Refrigerate and enjoy! Your berries should last a week or two, no problem. Be sure to check on them as time goes on and compost any that are looking smooshy or moldy.

If you're not going to eat them within a week or two

What you'll need:

• Fresh berries of any kind (you can even do this with bananas and other fruit if you want)
• Strainer
• Cookie sheet
• Parchment paper or a silicone mat
• Spatula
• Large, flat Tupperware container with lid
• Room in your freezer for a cookie sheet

Step 1: Wash, rinse, and drain well in a strainer

Step 2: For strawberries, chop off stem and leaves, then cut in halves (or quarters for those large suckers). For other berries, there's no need to cut them up but you might have stems on your blueberries.

Step 3: Lay all of the berries out flat on a large cookie sheet and put in the freezer. Laying them flat will allow them to freeze without sticking together.

You'll have an easier time scraping the berries off of the sheet later if you first lay down some parchment paper or a silicone mat.

Please excuse my greasy cookie sheet ;)

Step 4: A couple of hours later, take your spatula and scrape/scoop your berries up. Put them in your Tupperware container and cover with the lid.

The least amount of stacking them on top of one another is best. This way, when you try to get them out later to eat, you won't have a huge clump.

Step 5: Put back in the freezer

That's it! Your frozen berries will be good in the freezer for about a year (longer is okay but they might lose their quality a bit). I like to use mine in smoothies (no need for ice), but you could also use in baking/cooking.