Preventing mold on berries

Today's quick hint came to us in an email from Mama Green. Thanks, Mom! It is published a number of places online, original author unknown, but we think it's a hint worth passing long. We have never tried it, but will give it a shot over the weekend as fresh strawberries are starting to show up at the markets. Since vinegar works at keeping household mold at bay as a cleaning agent, the hint makes sense. 

Saving berries from molding 

public domain photo from Wikipedia

Berries are delicious, but they're also kind of delicate. Raspberries in particular seem like they can mold before you even get them home from the market. There's nothing more tragic than paying $4 for a pint of local raspberries, only to look in the fridge the next day and find that fuzzy mold growing on their insides.

Well, with fresh berries just starting to hit farmers markets, we can tell you how to prevent them from getting moldy:

Wash them with vinegar.

When you get your berries home, prepare a mixture of one part vinegar (white or apple cider) and ten parts water. Dump the berries into the mixture and swirl around. Drain, (rinse if you want, though the mixture is so diluted you can't taste the vinegar) and pop in the fridge. The vinegar kills any mold spores or other bacteria that might be on the surface of the fruit. And voila! Raspberries will last a week or more, and strawberries go almost two weeks without getting moldy and soft.

So go forth and stock up on those pricey little gems, knowing they'll stay fresh as long as it takes you to eat them. You're so "berry" welcome!

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