A few weeks ago I received this email from a friend: “Benjamin [my friend’s son] picked two quarts of strawberries for you. The berries were small this season because of the odd spring we had and they don’t last.  You’ll need to pick up for tonight’s dinner and finish or freeze them by tomorrow.  Call me at home immediately if you are interested. I won’t be home after 6:00 but Benjamin will be here with his Dad to answer the phone and door.”  I hurried over.

The berries were gorgeous — sweet and perfectly ripe.  My friend was right about that.  I needed to figure out what to do with them fast.  There were just two of us at home, not enough to eat 2 quarts of berries in 12 hours.  I could have frozen them, but I didn’t want to save them for another time, I just wanted to make them last a little longer.  I had read about a trick, and this was a perfect opportunity to try it.

I poured all the berries into a large bowl, covered them with water, and added a couple of teaspoons of white vinegar.  I stirred it around gently with my hand and left it to sit for a few minutes before pouring off all the water.  Then I spread out the berries onto two dish towels and left them there for a while until they were completely dry.

I scooped up the berries and put them all back into the green, pressed-paper, quart containers in which they had arrived.

And it worked. The berries lasted for several days, which was enough time for us to eat them all. And the taste yielded absolutely no hint of the vinegar.  I’m looking forward to trying this out on blackberries and blueberries too.

Many thanks to Benjamin for all his hard work!

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If you’ve never been on “Your Health is on Your Plate” before, and you’re not sure where to start, visit Lets Start at the Very Beginning to get a jumpstart on preventing diabetes and obesity in yourself and the ones you love!!

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