Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries and Blackberries
Flavor, cost, and quality improve when in season.
Most berries can be grown in the northern regions of the United States, and blackberries can be grown nearly everywhere.
Where I am in California, we pick strawberries in April and blueberries in May. Raspberries and blackberries are best in the summer, July, and August, but raspberries prefer cooler northern locations while blackberries will thrive in warmer southern areas.
I am in touch with the timing of the fruit harvest in my own region because I only eat them at their peak.
Berries are the best when they are in season, and once you eat enough good ones, you won’t bother to eat them at other times of the year.
Bringing them Home
To get the best berries, you need to buy them locally. Berries can be picked and shipped all over the country so that they are available in your grocery store daily. But they are never as good as when they are fresh-picked, and buying them year-round is a costly habit.
When you buy berries, you should either eat them right away, within one to two days or plan to store them. Storage for me is straight into the freezer. I have bags of fruit that I add to whenever I have more berries than I can eat.
If you have harvested them from a u-pick farm, make jam right away or freeze for later.
The berries that you get in the store are specially cooled right after picking so that they maintain their fresh appearance. They don’t spoil as quickly, but they don’t taste the same as fresh-picked.
The Simplest Recipes
I make this sorbet with berries I have frozen at home.
You don’t need an ice cream maker, blend the frozen berries, and then put the sorbet in the freezer to solidify. You don’t need a high-speed blender. I use a regular Oster brand blender.
You can vary or mix the fruit to whatever you like. Of course, you can eat it right out of the blender as a fruit slushie.
Strawberry Sorbet
- 1 pound of frozen strawberries, about 4 cups when measured in the blender
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon vodka or other liquor (optional, but will help to keep the sorbet from freezing solid)
Combine the sugar and water, stir well, and set aside for a minute to dissolve completely. In a blender, add the frozen strawberries, lemon juice, vodka, and sugar-water. Blend well (this might take a few minutes to un-stick the berries, depending on the blender’s power). Put into a container and put it in the freezer for 2 hours or overnight.
Freeze berries if you can’t use them.
You can keep unwashed berries in the refrigerator for a week or so, but their quality will decline quickly.
I like to eat them at room temperature, so I leave them on the counter freeze everything I don’t eat by the second day.
Once berries are frozen, they are always ready for a smoothie or make jam later after thawing.
Strawberries, Organic versus Conventional
Strawberries have topped the “Dirty Dozen” list of produce that we should buy organic. Non-organic berries have been tested with very high levels of pesticides. The thin skin lets in all of the chemicals in the environment.
But, when you grow strawberries in season, you will find that they don’t actually require pesticides to fight the bugs.
Strawberries, like cool temperatures and grow best before the summer heat. At this time, the berries don’t require any treatment to fight the bugs.
Most small farms won’t spray pesticides indiscriminately. It is a waste of money.
When you know the farmer who grows your food, you can ask them how they treat their plants and feel comfortable eating the same food that you are.
Enjoy them at their best
Berries have a short shelf life. Even though they can be grown and shipped throughout the country, there are not many reasons to eat them out of season. To find the best berries, find a farmer that produces them to get the best-tasting fruit. Eat as many fresh berries as you can when they are in season, then comes the long wait until next year.