I've had a truly bumper blueberry season. The rain has swelled the fruit and kept them nice and plump and prolific. How to handle all the pickings expeditiously before they rot or go moldy is the key thing.
Making jam, pies, blueberry muffins, crumble and other delectable treats are, of course, an option, but one that may be too time-consuming when you have the picking and weeding and sorting and... well, we all know garden work is endless.
Harold McGee, writing in the New York Times, The Curious Cook column of 25 August 2009, makes it much too complicated.
Here's the quickest and most foolproof way to preserve excess berries. Sort through the berries to remove leaves, debris and stems and the occasional caterpillar that may be there. If you feel the need, rinse the berries under cold running water and spread in a single layer on a tray with a dry cloth or paper towels underneath. Leave on the kitchen counter to air dry. That step may be hastened by pointing an ordinary room fan towards the berries. When dry, or even partially dry, remove the towels and place the entire tray with berries in your freezer for a few hours. When the berries are frozen, pour them all into plastic bags or containers and return to the freezer.
The benefit of this method is that the berries will not stick together since they were frozen separated. When you want to use them, pour or scoop the desired quantity from the bag/container and use in any way you want. I've used them, frozen, to dress up a fresh fruit salad, added them, frozen, to muffins and pies and pancakes.
It's a truly no fuss way to handle the harvest. By the way, this works well with grapes, peas, other berries, you name it.
Happy harvest!
I do my berries as you suggested but a friend said skip the rinsing and drying step (not the picking out the caterpllar part!)and just put them in a bag and freeze. You can rinse them after you take them out before eating!!
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