Have a Berry Good Summer

With summer officially in full swing, it's time to enjoy that sweetest fruit of all — the berry. Whether you love strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries, the months from May to September offer an abundant harvest of berry goodness. And best of all, fiber-rich berries are a delicious source of disease-fighting antioxidants. Here are a few tips on how to buy them, store them, and put them to good use.

Buying: At the grocery store or farmers' market, choose dry, plump, and brightly colored berries with no obvious rotten spots. Avoid containers with juice stains — this is a sign that the berries either have been battered or are overripe. Also be on the lookout for moldy spots — mold travels like wildfire through berries, so avoid containers with signs of mold.

Storing: After you've brought home your berries, store them unwashed in the refrigerator in a covered container. Fresh berries don't last long and are best used within two days of purchase. Berries can also be stored in the freezer for up to four months. To freeze, spread the berries out on a cookie tray and freeze before consolidating into a smaller container.

Eating: When you're ready to use your berries, you can enjoy them as is, with a dollop of low-fat whipped topping, mixed in nonfat or low-fat plain or artificially sweetened yogurt, with high-fiber, whole-grain cereal, and even in salads. Need more ideas? Whatever you choose to do, make sure to wash your berries before eating them, since they can often harbor bacteria.

South Beach Diet

Every thing you say here is true except about washing the berries to rid them of bacteria.  That simply doesn't work.  Washing the berries will clean them from dirt and any residue.  You'd be better off washing your hands in warm water with an anti-bacterial soap.  Rinsing off fruit and or produce does very little as far as bacteria goes.  The preferred way to get rid of the germs is to have the fruit and produce be irradiated--it doesn't affect taste, texture, color, nor shelf life.  It only involves an initial investment but both the food industry and the public are resistant to change.  It's probably cost-prohibitive on smaller farms.  You are less likely to have problems at Pick-your-own farms or local farms that are dependent on the local populace for their business. 

I recently saw a report on this on CNN;  it was too bad that they chose to air the 1 hour show at 6:00 am on a Sunday Morning.  I mentioned it to my brother who is a food microbiologist and an expert in dealing with botulism.  He agrees that irradiation is the best way to treat food to kill bacteria.