The short shelf life of picked blueberries
Once blueberries have been picked from the bush, they can only be stored for a very short time in their unprocessed form. In contrast to other types of fruit such as apples and pears, blueberries can only be stored in cooked or frozen form. For fresh consumption, wild blueberries and the cultivated blueberries, which are botanically only very distantly related to them, can only be stored in the refrigerator for a few days. If larger quantities of blueberries accumulate from the collection tour in the moor forest or the bushes in your own garden, these can be processed into various long-life products in the kitchen:
- jam
- juices
- dried blueberries
also read
- Collect blueberries for consumption
- The perfect location for blueberries in the garden
- Drying blueberries for storage and medicinal purposes
The right time to harvest blueberries
Blueberries do not have a very long shelf life when picked, but the numerous fruits in cultivated blueberries only ripen gradually. The first fully ripe fruits can usually be picked from the bush at the beginning of July, depending on the weather. Depending on the variety and the regional climate, the blueberry season usually lasts until late August or September. You can lengthen the harvest season a little if you mix early and late varieties when planting in the garden.
Tips & Tricks
Blueberries are not only very healthy when fresh as a delicious fruit or as a fruit topping for cakes. In their dried form, they are also a proven home remedy for constipation and other digestive tract irregularities.
