Blackberries mouldering too quickly - how to handle?

Ferdinand2000

So, blackberry season has started.

My first batch of blackberries was a couple of kg. One fraction of this washed a colander and left out overnight in the kitchen.

Surprisingly, by the morning these had gone mouldy - white fluffy mould.

Can anyone advise how to deal with it? Perhaps it is related to picking slightly late, or humid conditions.

Clearly I need to turn these into something preserved very quickly (within a few hours of picking) - eg  jam, blackberry vinegar, crumble etc.

Is it OK in these circumstances to wash and dry blackberries, then freeze uncooked?

Ferdinand

Dovefromabove

I don’t think I’ve ever washed a blackberry in my life. In my life I must’ve eaten scores of pounds of wild blackberries straight from the hedgerow and I’m still here. 

I don’t wash blackberries or raspberries … it ruins them. 

I just don’t pick from busy roadsides and don’t pick damaged berries that attract flies. 

Fairygirl

I don't wash them either. 
I've just been eyeing up the ones that I pass when out walking each day. Yum. 

Above 'dog leg' height is how a friend describes it @Dovefromabove 

Dovefromabove

Absolutely @Fairygirl … but I find the foxes and the pheasants have eaten the lower growing ones anyway. 

Ferdinand2000

How do deal with mould when it occurs?

If you avoid it completely, how? 

I usually freeze a good number straight from the bush for winter smoothies etc, but 'm not confident with this rapidity of mouldering.

Normally I would do them in salt water briefly to kill beasties, as I do with say raspberries.

Cheers

Ferdinand

Dovefromabove

Pick … do not wash … freeze dry fruit immediately spread out on trays … then tip loose berries into bags or boxes, label and store in freezer. 

No mould involved 😊 

barry island

Some people must have eaten a lot of maggots is all that I can say, we always soak blackberries in salt water before rinsing and freezing and they taste just fine, as for the season just starting I've been picking them for the best part of a month and they look just about done now. Actually this years crop have been above average juice and taste wise.

Fairygirl

All adds to the protein content @barry island....

I wonder how many caterpillars I've eaten in lettuce too

Ferdinand2000

I think I'll be doing a quite (10 minute) saltwater soak plus a rinse, and then a short time in the dehydrator at a low temperature.

The dh trays are the best things I have for the freezing, anyway.

Nanny Beach

You don't need to wash them or a saltwater soak,if you don't have time to freezer them straight away,they have to go in the fridge. Just goes to show what is done to fruit and veg you buy, because you pick say a lettuce it goes limp in minutes and fruit goes mouldy

Ergates

I do wash fruit, but not until I’m ready to use it. I’ll keep it in the fridge until then, and if it’s something that might leak juice, I put some kitchen roll in the bottom of the dish, and try and spread them out so they’re not touching each other. I was always taught that blackberries should be soaked in saltwater to get rid of maggots. If I was making jam these days, I’d just rinse the blackberries and assume that the cooking process would a) kill off any remaining maggots, and b) render them unrecognisable so I wouldn’t know I was eating them!