Early season picking is much different than the conditions you find towards the end of July and early August. Berries which are ripe now usually make up only a part of the clusters formed - so the ripe ones need to be plucked off the branch carefully, one by one. Later in the year when the entire cluster is ripe you can cup your hands under the bunch and literally "roll" the berries off their stem with your thumbs,
Still - the first picking was good .... over 10 pounds in under and hour. And YES ... I am well recognized at the Farm as being one of their "serious" pickers.
Of course for many people the question then is: "Once you have all those berries just what the heck do you DO with them?" .
Valid question in this day and age. After all many people seem to have forgotten or abandoned some of the basic skills our grandparents knew and practiced. That you preserve or can seasonal produce as it becomes available so that after it's season is past you still can enjoy them, and have food for your household.
Fortunately for me I have something earlier generations didn't - a reliable stand alone freezer. This lets me not only preserve foods by freezing them but it allows me to gather produce at it's best - but to postpone the hot work of canning until the weather has cooled in the Fall.
There are however some important tips you should keep in mind when preparing and freezing berries.
I do NOT pre-wash my berries. First because the farm I use is managed under a PMI system so there is rarely any pesticides used. And Secondly - because they would need to be carefully dried prior to freezing or you get "clumping".
Cover any kind of cookie sheet, or even pie plates, with waxed or parchment paper. Lay out the berries in a single layer - removing any stems as you find them. Put the pan into the freezer until each fruit is frozen solid.
Once all the berries are frozen you can place them into ziplock freezer bags for storage.
By freezing the berries individually you have made things easier on yourself down the road. Throughout the year you can toss a handful of berries into pancake or muffin batter, blend them with yogurt and milk for a quick breakfast smoothie or add them to a winter fruit salad.
This is what you do NOT want to happen ... A large "Clump" of berries and frost. Even if you are merely freezing the berries to make jam later, these sort of clumps cook unevenly and add a lot of unnecessary water as well.
Note: I did not create this clump on purpose - this happened last year when my old freezer died and many of my berries partially thawed and then were re-frozen.
Taking the time now to properly prepare your produce will save you a lot of effort and aggravation later on.
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