- Mold as the enemy of fresh blackberries
- Post-harvest processing
- Freezing blackberries
- tips and tricks
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With a harvest time from around July to October, blackberries offer fresh fruit continuously over a long period of time. Unfortunately, these often spoil very quickly when harvested from the bush.
Mold as the enemy of fresh blackberries
The biggest problem with the shelf life of blackberries is mold, which can often spread surprisingly quickly. Even in the refrigerator, harvested blackberries usually only last a maximum of two days. But even in unharvested form, blackberries often fall victim to mold on the perennial. This always happens when there are extended wet periods with continuous rainfall in the middle of summer. If they are not dried off, the unripe fruits can already become moldy on the bush. Always remove such fruit immediately by cutting it off and throwing it in the compost. Otherwise, the moldy fruits will very quickly infect the remaining fruits on a blackberry bush with mold.
Post-harvest processing
Plan some time for processing immediately after collecting the blackberries if you don't want to eat the fruit fresh right away. Before any further processing, blackberries collected in the wild should be washed thoroughly with clear water in order to prevent infection with the dangerous fox tapeworm. If the blackberries are baked in a cake or in delicious muffins, this increases the shelf life by a few days due to the associated dehydration. However, processing into the following products offers an even longer shelf life:
- juices
- jellies
- jams
- liqueurs
Freezing blackberries
Freezing is also a good way to keep blackberries almost indefinitely. Before freezing, you should first wash the collected fruit thoroughly and dry it carefully with kitchen paper. Then freeze the blackberries in portions in bowls or freezer bags. Even if the fruit does not have the texture of fresh blackberries after thawing, the taste and nutrients are retained for use in cakes and sundaes. You can also use a blender to puree the fresh and washed blackberries before freezing. Freeze the blackberry puree in an ice cube mold and you get fruity ice cubes for refining summery soft drinks.
tips and tricks
Blackberry jam from your own garden is not only a nice reminder of summer during autumn and winter, but also a great personal gift for friends, relatives and neighbors.