It is not necessary to wash frozen berries prepared in an industrial way, because during the processing they have already passed this procedure and are sold as a ready-to-eat product. This is the official position of the producers, and life realities speak differently - strawberries, blueberries, cherries and other fruits do not always meet the standards of purity and safety.
When to wash and when not?
Contact with water will definitely not benefit berries that have been frozen with sugar. At a minimum, they will lose their taste. Also, do not wash broken raspberries - neat pieces simply turn into mashed potatoes.
As for berries with a hard skin (such as lingonberries, cherries, sea buckthorn, rose hips), they tolerate water procedures quite firmly.
Washing the blueberries, red and black currants, viburnum, and strawberries may be somewhat risky.
Berries that are sold in hermetically sealed packaging and whose producer is trustworthy can be eaten right away.
Rinse with water before use should be the fruit:
- bought by weight (they could be touched or scattered, and then collected from the floor, although this is prohibited by the rules of trade);
- with obvious traces of contamination, the presence of impurities;
- from unknown manufacturers.
By the way, there is an opinion that low temperature kills bacteria. In fact, this is not so - during a long freeze, only some types of helminths die. Microbes “hibernate”, and when the conditions become favorable, they begin to multiply even more actively. Therefore, frozen berries cannot be considered an absolutely safe product - if they are made with a violation of technology and subsequently have not undergone heat treatment or have not been washed, there is a risk of intestinal infections.
My berries are right: three options for every taste
Depending on the type of berries and the desired result, you can wash them in various ways.
It is important to remember that re-freezing of any products is prohibited, therefore, before washing, you should pour from the bag the number of fruits that will be used immediately.
In cold water
If you need to rinse the berries that have already thawed a little, this method will be more gentle than the rest, since cold water does not provoke the release of juice. However, so that the taste and condition of the fruits are not affected, it is better to get them out of the freezer 2-3 minutes before washing.
The process is quite simple - the berries are put in a colander or sieve and quickly washed under a tap. Mixing them with a spoon or fingers is not recommended. If necessary, you can shake the dishes vigorously, simulating the tossing of a pancake in a pan - the berries that were below will be on top. After washing, let the water drain.
In warm water
So you can not only clean the berries from dirt and microorganisms, but also thaw them. Apply warm water is only on icy fruits - those that have already lain at room temperature will emit a large amount of juice. It is possible to process in this way cherries (with or without seeds) and other berries with a dense skin.
Recommended water temperature is 60 ° C. Washing is carried out according to the principle described in the previous paragraph.
Syrup dousing
This option is ideal for soft and delicate fruits such as strawberries and raspberries. When washed with ordinary water, they become sour, but if you use syrup, all the berries remain intact and beautiful, in addition, their taste becomes more pleasant. The only drawback is the sticky sugar layer. It stays on the surface and stains fingers, so there are berries drenched in syrup, followed by cutlery.
The washing process is as follows:
- First brew syrup. It should be as saturated as possible - the more sugar, the higher the likelihood that the berries will not lose their appearance.
- Next, the finished syrup should be left on the table for 5 minutes, so that it cools down a little.
- Berries are poured into a metal sieve in a thin layer (approximately 3 cm). If you need to process many fruits, this is done in several stages.
- The berries are doused with hot syrup, the sieve is shaken and doused again.
- Wait until the remaining syrup drains, and transfer the strawberries or raspberries to a plate.
For the procedure to succeed, the fruits should not be melted. Otherwise, they can turn into a "mess" - there will be no other choice but to cook compote or jam from them.
The syrup that the berries are doused with must be poured. Use it for any purpose repeatedly is not worth it, because it contains all the dirt that was present on the surface of the fruit.
To wash or not to wash frozen berries - everyone decides for himself. However, if there is any doubt about the quality of the product, it is still worth spending a little time and rinsing the contents of the package. This simple action will not only help maintain good health, but also improve the taste of the fruit if sugar syrup was used for washing.