Blueberries - store, transport & preserve

How to store and store blueberries properly

Correct transportation when collecting

When collecting blueberries in the forest or in the garden, you should always use containers of sufficient size so that the individual fruits are not squashed too much. Cultivated blueberries do not dispose of the blue-tinged juice of forest blueberries on the fingers and hands, but the fruits should be picked as gently as possible if they are to be kept for a few more days. During the harvest time of the wild blueberries in July, the temptation can be great to nibble on the fruits directly in the forest. Nevertheless, these should only be consumed in washed or boiled form if infection with the fox tapeworm pathogen, which is also dangerous for humans, is to be excluded.

Short-term storage for fresh consumption

If the blueberries are to be kept for fresh consumption, this can be done either at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Freezing and later thawing is not recommended for the consumption of the unprocessed fruits, as the consistency of the blueberries in particular suffers. Before storing in the refrigerator, blueberries should be washed with clear water in a bowl and then dried with a little kitchen paper or on a tea towel. Moisture on the outside of the fruit would encourage mold to grow quickly. Therefore, squeezed fruit should be picked out of the remaining blueberries before storing in the refrigerator. If you can't use up the ripe blueberries right away,hanging on the bush, they usually keep a lot longer than when they are picked.

Preserve blueberries longer

There are basically various options for long-term storage of blueberries:

the boiling down
the freezing
processing into blueberry juice
drying the blueberries

When boiling down, delicious jams and compotes can be created, while freezing is suitable for processing the fruit into berry sauces and as an ingredient in cakes.

Tips & Tricks

Freeze blueberries in portions if you only want to take them out of the freezer in small quantities later. The single layer spreading and freezing on a tray before repackaging in a freezer bag prevents the individual berries from freezing together into a lump.