Fruit – What’s the best way to clean and dry blueberries

Lay them out on a paper towel overnight so that the skins dry completely. This gives the benefit of keeping the frozen blueberries from sticking together without needing lots of freezer space to do a quick freeze individually on a sheet pan. Then bag in a freezer bag and freeze.

Note that whenever you freeze fruit, the liquid will burst the cell walls as it thaws, causing the resulting berry to be mushier. In my experience, frozen blueberries aren't good for eating alone. To bake with blueberries, thaw them by placing them in a mesh sieve or collander and running water over them until the water is clear off the bottom (no pigmentation from the skins, which may color your baked goods) and the berries are thawed. Dry the skins before using in baking.

Using these techniques I have not once had any of the 30 pounds of blueberries I froze this summer burst in the freezer and have successfully made many blueberry baked goods from the results.

In the case of most bush berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries) depth of color and ease of picking are the most indicative signs of ripeness. The berries that are on the sunniest side of the bushes will ripen first. The greater more sun exposure they receive the quicker they ripen, thus the reason that a grouping of berries even in one area will ripen at different rates.

Many people say that the larger berries are sweeter but my experience is that is more anecdotal than preciese. Most fruits will be more plump with access to more water during the growing season but that doesn't necessarily make them sweeter. Grapes that have to struggle generally tend to produce better wines with more concentrated flavor because the natural sugars aren't watered down by high quantities of water.

To reiterate, look for deep dark color and ease of picking.