Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Did YOU Know the Vinegar Trick for Preserving Berries?

I like to think of myself as one who is pretty handy in the kitchen, but every once in a while I learn something new that makes me smack myself in the forehead for not learning it sooner. These little life hacks are awesome. Like the one about soaking berries in a vinegar and water solution to help them last longer. This video describes the process in detail. I was sceptical (as born cynics are wont to be) but decided to give it a whirl. You see my little people LOVE berries. I think Little Cat Z would forsake all other foods for his berries. Great! What's the problem? Well...

Toronto weather

With temps like these, you don't see a lot of fresh berries. The ones we get in the store only last a day or two before they turn to sludge. You can buy organic vegetable washes, but a small bottle of it is around $8. Sure, you'll make that back pretty quickly in berry savings, but let's not bring logic to the party. Out of season berries are too expensive to buy only to throw them out on day three when they have liquefied and started to ooze out of the container. Hungry now? Neither am I. Anyway, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Are you also wondering if it works? I went grocery shopping on Sunday morning and spent a grand total of 15 minutes doing the vinegar and water soak. As instructed in the video I left them to dry completely and put them back in the washed containers with a paper towel liner. Here's how they looked earlier today, four days later. They still only lasted a few days, but this time it's because we ate them all. And by we, I mean my berry-loving kids. 

Preserve raspberries with vinegar

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