How to keep berries fresh – strawberries, blueberries and raspberries

Berries are the best of summer, and also the most fragile: a punnet of strawberries can look perfect in the morning and hold its first mouldy berry by the evening. The reason is the fruit itself. A thin skin and a high water content mean that moisture, pressure and warmth spoil berries quickly – and the fruit keeps ripening after picking.

A shallow, wide container beats a deep one

Store berries in a shallow, wide container in one or two layers. In a deep box the bottom berries are crushed, release juice and go mouldy first. Line the base with kitchen paper to absorb excess moisture and leave the lid slightly open so air can circulate.

Wash them only just before serving

This is the single most important rule. Water sits on the surface and speeds up spoilage, so rinse only the portion you are about to eat. If you do have to wash berries in advance, dry them carefully on kitchen paper before returning them to the fridge.

The fridge is right – but not next to other fruit

Strawberries, raspberries and blueberries keep best in the fridge, but do not put them in the same drawer as apples and bananas. Those fruits release ethylene, which speeds up the ripening of everything around them. Their own container on its own shelf is enough.

Remove a spoiled berry immediately

One mouldy berry infects its neighbours quickly, because mould spreads on contact. Go through the punnet as soon as you get home and take out the damaged and softened berries – use those straight away, for example in a smoothie.

Freezing on a tray prevents one solid lump

Berries freeze best individually: spread clean, dry berries on a tray in a single layer, freeze for a couple of hours and only then move them into a bag or box. That way they do not freeze into one lump and you can take exactly what you need. Hull strawberries before freezing.

Let berries warm up before you eat them

Cold mutes flavour and aroma. If you are eating berries as they are, take the portion out about half an hour before serving – the difference in a strawberry's aroma is obvious. The rest stays in the fridge in the meantime.

When is a berry still usable?

A slightly soft or juicy berry is not spoiled: it works in a smoothie, in porridge, in jam or in baking. Mould, a slimy surface or a sour fermented smell, on the other hand, mean the berry belongs in the food waste. Remove a mouldy berry together with its neighbours, because the mycelium spreads invisibly.

A plan cuts waste more than anything else

The best storage tip is to buy only what you have time to use and to decide straight away where the berries are going. Yeast dumplings filled with strawberries, vanilla sauce and gingerbread crumbs is a good example of a dessert that comes together quickly and uses the fruit in one go.