Is there anything more glorious than eating plump, juicy blueberries straight from the bush?
Well… maybe only enjoying a sweet bite of blueberries in the dead of winter! And to enjoy them even when nothing else is growing means you have to preserve them.
But how? Like any food preservation, begin with freshly-picked fruit. Half the adventure is picking and harvesting! If you don’t grow your own, find a U-pick farm. Ask them how they manage and grow their crops. Some small farmers may not be certified organic, yet still practice organic farming.
Side note: who else remembers “kerplunk, kerplink, kerplank” from Blueberries for Sal whenever they go blueberry picking? 🙂
Here are 4 ways to preserve blueberries for use throughout the year.
#1 — Freezing
This is super easy!
And I’ll let you in on a little secret — I dump my blueberries straight into the bag, then pop them in the freezer. They don’t clump together, and I can scoop out single berries for pancakes, waffles, muffins, or munching just fine. Even my 4-year-old pulls them out all by herself.
I do not rinse my berries before freezing since it creates a mushier and tougher-skinned berry. I eat the berry straight when I’m picking it without washing and have never had an issue when freezing them this way. This is also why we pick only organic berries.
#2 — Dehydrating
Blueberries make a wonderful dried berry. They are perfect for granola, trail mix, or as a substitute for raisins in any of your favorite baked goods.
To dehydrate blueberries, poke skin with a needle or put in boiling water for a few minutes until the skin breaks. This is called checking and will allow the blueberry to dehydrate faster.
Lay on dehydrator trays. Dry at 145 degrees Fahrenheit for the first 2 hours, then at 115 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 to 7 days, depending on the size of berry and thickness of skin. When dry, they’ll be like little raisins, but not as gooey.
Wardee’s Dehydrating eBook is my dehydrating Bible and I still refer to it often.
#3 — Canning
Canning enables shelf stable food without using water to rehydrate it! This is a blessing in an emergency situation without any water supply.
I love canning blueberry pie filling — which allows me to make cobbler, crisp, or pie at a moment’s notice. In addition to pie filling, blueberries also make wonderful syrup and jam.
#4 — Vinegar
Blueberry-infused vinegar makes an excellent salad dressing or marinade for chicken or pork. It’s also an easy way to preserve some of your harvest. We make this Blueberry Basil Thyme Vinegar in the summer to enjoy well into the fall and winter. Either can it or store in the fridge.
What’s your favorite way to preserve blueberries? Would you add any methods to this list?
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I would add lacto-fermented. I tried the lacto-fermented syrup in the Nourishing Traditions cookbook one year. It was yummy.
that sounds interesting!! Could you share the recipe?
All great ideas! My favorite is making home made blueberry syrup. Not really a preservation technique, but the flavor is incredible.
Mike I meant to ask if you had a recipe for this. Do you can/preserve it? It sounds really good.
I freeze mine the same way you do. Last year after trying to dehydrate and seeing how little I ended up with (that we ate in one sitting) I decided freezing would be our go to method from then on.
We picked this year from a local “organic” farm that grows both blueberries and blackberries. My husband and I worked together to pick for about an hour and we have four gallon size ziplock bags full in the freezer. That much will last us all year.
Thanks so much for sharing, Jenny. I love blueberries!! Yes, Mike, recipe please!!
How do you use them when dehydrated? I still have some dehydrated from a few years ago and just don’t know what to do with them…
I’ve picked 7,5kg yesterday so I’m looking for freezer-space at friends and family 😉
You can use the dehydrated blueberries like you would any raisin or dehydrated berry, in granola, breads, trail mix, just to snack on, cookies, oatmeal.
I have never tried to dry blueberries! There is a blueberry farm right down the road from us and am calling them today. I can’t wait to try them.
Blueberries are an excellent remedy for diarrhea. Dried blueberry tea is even recommended by doctors in the country where we serve in E. Europe. Just add a teaspoon of dried blueberries to a cup of hot water and strain after steeping. I even used it on our puppies recently.
I want to grow some, originally from vienna we used to pick them in the woods , they were not very big but I could never get enough same with wild strawberrys and raspberries, I need a step by step instruction and latin names for all of those, particularly for one line that doesn,t mind ripening on the vine in winter it is a raspberry, I don’t spray and we have pilots go up high leaving a white trail of cloud like tail all of which is a nasty composition of all sorts of yakkie stuff, so I will grow eventually under glass , don’t agree on their nastiness! if anyone wants to chat I am on fb under minako sargent fukuda the Mozart statue, and I do live in Victoria , Australia =Shepparton! thank you call me miko everyone does……
They are also magnificent preserved in raw honey. Fill a jar with blueberries, top off with raw honey, leaving at least an inch of space between the honey and the top. Leave on your counter for 3-4 days, then store in the fridge. SO GOOD!!!
Can you tell me how long the blueberries in honey will last in the refrigerator and your favorite way to serve them? Thanks!
They really just get better with age. I’ve had them for almost a year before running out, and assume it could go much longer in the fridge.
I have used it with pancakes, oatmeal, kefir and kombucha (in the second ferment), tea, smoothies, ice cream, there are endless possibilities. Try a batch, you’ll LOVE it!
after I dehydrate my blueberries to total brittle stage I put them in my VitaMix and powder
them. Now I have reduced a lot of blueberries to a small jar amount. Use it in smoothies, etc.
Blueberry cordial is another option. Soak lightly crushed blueberries in 1 to 2 ration with vodka for about 4 weeks. Strain through cheesecloth or coffee filters. Measure the blueberry vodka and mix with an equal amount of simple syrup. We like to put ours in pretty bottles, cork ’em, and was the top to give for Christmas presents. Serve well-chilled over ice in little glass – this stuff is dangerous.