In a large bowl, mix together 3 cups water and 1 cup white vinegar. Immerse your berries in the water and gently agitate them. Then let the berries soak for 5-10 minutes. Drain the berries in a colander in the sink, rinsing them with a light spray of running water.
But the truth is, berries carry mold spores that cause them to go deteriorate very quickly. And that mold can spread through a whole basket of berries in a flash. Good news: You can easily kill off mold and bacteria with a quick vinegar and water bath, then dry off the berries before they go in the fridge.
Step 2: Wash the blueberries
Make sure the blueberries are fully immersed, and gently swish them around with your hand. Let the berries soak for 5 to 10 minutes.
The vinegar helps to kill any mold that could cause them to spoil, and this method can make them last as long as 10 days in our house! Voilà, that is how you keep berries fresh longer.
Keep your berries separated by type and soak them in the vinegar solution for about five minutes per 1-pound batch. After marveling at the amount of dirt and grime that comes off your berries, pour them into a colander and rinse well to ensure all traces of the solution have been washed off.
In a large bowl, mix together 3 cups water and 1 cup white vinegar. Immerse your berries in the water and gently agitate them. Then let the berries soak for 5-10 minutes. Drain the berries in a colander in the sink, rinsing them with a light spray of running water.
#1: Vinegar Soaking Method
Add 1 cup of white vinegar and submerge your fruits and vegetables in the water. Let soak for 15 minutes. Drain the water and give the produce a quick rinse.
What is the best way to wash strawberries? The best way to wash strawberries is to rinse them with water and then soak them in a vinegar for about 20 minutes or soak them in a water and baking soda mixture for about 15 minutes.
BAKING SODA VERSUS VINEGAR
Use apple cider or white vinegar for a 10-15 minute soak. Then rinse the fruit well. The benefit of baking soda (besides not having any kind of vinegar smell or taste lingering) is that it removes pesticides.
"Berries should be washed gently under cool running water, moving them around to allow the water to run across all sides," she says.
As a rule of thumb, washing with water reduces dirt, germs, and pesticide residues remaining on fresh fruit and vegetable surfaces. Washing and rubbing produce under running water is better than dunking it. Wash fruits and vegetables from the farmers' market, your home garden, and the grocery store.
But overall, it's best to wait to wash your berries until right before you plan to eat them so they aren't retaining moisture and going bad faster. In most cases, a simple rinse or bath of cold water will do the trick. Wash them with a homemade fruit and vegetable wash.
Step 1: In a large bowl, make a diluted vinegar bath—1 cup vinegar, 3 cups water—and give your berries a dunk. The vinegar will eliminate any pesky mold and bacteria. Step 2: Next, drain your berries in a colander and rinse them under cool running water.
Making a vinegar fruit wash is very simple and requires only a few ingredients and tools. To start, combine 1 cup of either distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar with 4 cups of water. To add a bit of citrus flavor, add one tablespoon of lemon juice, too.
Use 2 tablespoons (30 mL.) of vinegar per gallon of water and water the blueberry with this once a week or so. While this is a quick fix, it is not a long lasting one and should not be relied on as a long term way for lowering blueberry soil pH.
Even if you do buy organically grown blueberries, you still need to clean your berries really well before eating them. This is because all produce harbors surface bacteria while it's growing. Produce can also pick up more bacteria during the shipping process.
Removing bacteria and mold spores will help your fruit to last longer, and doing so is better for you! Vinegar does help kill mold spores, so washing in a vinegar bath isn't a bad idea. Washing fruit with clean water will remove 98% of bacteria.
Now, many people simply use water to cleanse their produce—but did you know that adding some baking soda and vinegar is a super effective solution? Baking soda and vinegar are actually great in preventing bacteria, fungi and other viruses from developing.
The vinegar will get rid of mold spores and bacteria on your fruits which helps prolong the life of your berries. Often times I find that berries will start to go bad in a couple of days in the fruit but after a vinegar bath, will last for a week or more. Seriously, this is the best way to wash your fruit and berries.
Preserve berries' freshness with a vinegar bath.
(You can scale the vinegar mixture up or down, but it should be eight parts water to one part vinegar.) Swish them around and then wash them off—either in a water bath or under running water. You may need to rinse them several times to remove the vinegar flavor.
The most effective way to make your fruit last longer is to soak it in a bath of water and vinegar, let it dry on a towel, and store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Fill a large bowl with 1 part white vinegar to 4 cups water. You may want to double this, depending on how many berries you are washing. Add your berries, immersing them under the water.
What we learned: Yes, it is safe to soak fruits and vegetables in vinegar. Using a solution that's three parts water and one part vinegar will be most effective at removing bacteria.