freezing blueberries - prewash or not?

[Anonymous]

Hi,

went to the farm and picked way too much how do I freeze - i have read not washing it, which doesn't sound right to me!

thank you.

[Anonymous]

Yes, of course wash and then spread in one layer on a towel or paper towel so that they dry well. After that put in freezer bags.

[Anonymous]

Yes. I wash then put on cookie sheets to dry, then freeze.

[Anonymous]

op here - THANK you for your responses. While it did occur to me to drain, it never crossed my mind to spread on a towel and dry! I was going to let them sit in the colander the whole night fully knowing I won't get rid of all the water and the berries will probably get soft by tomorrow morning.

thanks again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, of course wash and then spread in one layer on a towel or paper towel so that they dry well. After that put in freezer bags.

+1

[Anonymous]

Yes freezing the blueberries and strawberries is always a big production because you will have cookies sheets and paper towels all over the kitchen. However, well worth the trouble.

[Anonymous]

Where did you go to pick the Blueberries?

[Anonymous]

Wash wash wash. My first child contracted E.coli from frozen Whole Foods blueberries. I only learned after that episode that blueberries are (were? this was a few years ago) one of the leading causes of E.coli. Better safe than sorry!

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't wash until I took them out of the freezer to eat them. I had a relative with a blueberry farm growing up and we always picked and froze bags and bags and bags of blueberries to eat all year long. My mother never washed them until they were going to be eaten. I'd think they'd stay fresher that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't wash until I took them out of the freezer to eat them. I had a relative with a blueberry farm growing up and we always picked and froze bags and bags and bags of blueberries to eat all year long. My mother never washed them until they were going to be eaten. I'd think they'd stay fresher that way.

I'd probably go this route, too, but I use frozen blueberries directly in smoothies. So for that at least, I'd wash and dry before freezing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wash wash wash. My first child contracted E.coli from frozen Whole Foods blueberries. I only learned after that episode that blueberries are (were? this was a few years ago) one of the leading causes of E.coli. Better safe than sorry!

You should know then that washing will not remove eColi. E.Coli is only destroyed with heat or irradiation. I'm not saying not to wash your fruits and veggies, but washing them will not prevent E.Coli. E.Coil even invades the plant on a systemic level-so NO not even bleach or vinegar or any other sort of sanitizer will help prevent eColi.

[Anonymous]

Wash first

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't wash until I took them out of the freezer to eat them. I had a relative with a blueberry farm growing up and we always picked and froze bags and bags and bags of blueberries to eat all year long. My mother never washed them until they were going to be eaten. I'd think they'd stay fresher that way.

This is ok if you know the farm well enough to know exactly and when anything is / is not sprayed on the blueberries and the conditions on the farm. With a commercial pick your own farm, I would prefer to wash.

[Anonymous]

A pick-your-own website says to wash all berries EXCEPT BLUEBERRIES before freezing. For blueberries, wash before use.


http://www.pickyourown.org/freezingblueberries.htm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't wash until I took them out of the freezer to eat them. I had a relative with a blueberry farm growing up and we always picked and froze bags and bags and bags of blueberries to eat all year long. My mother never washed them until they were going to be eaten. I'd think they'd stay fresher that way.

This is ok if you know the farm well enough to know exactly and when anything is / is not sprayed on the blueberries and the conditions on the farm. With a commercial pick your own farm, I would prefer to wash.

it is completely true that fresh picked blueberries can stay good in the fridge for up to a month if they remain unwashed.

I do wash before eating and freezing, even though I pick them myself from a farm that is completely organic.