How to pick raspberries: timing and quick ways to wash

Raspberry is considered a capricious shrub that requires increased attention from planting to harvest. Useful properties and taste of berries depend on how correctly they were collected. How to harvest ripe raspberries so that they have a pleasant taste and a maximum supply of vitamins?

How to tell if berries are ripe

The period of ripening of raspberries falls on the second half of July, and it continues until the frost. Depending on the varietal characteristics and climate, these dates may be shifted.You can determine the maturity of the berries by their color, characteristic of the cultivated variety. Ripe raspberries are easily separated from the stalk, have a dense and elastic structure, appetizing appearance.

How to pick raspberries from the bush

Raspberries are very delicate and sensitive to pressure. If you press them lightly, then the juice immediately stands out. Harvesting is carried out very carefully, trying not to damage the berry. For further transportation, it is preferable to pluck them together with the fruit, which is subsequently removed before processing or use.

In the event that it is planned to process the crop near the place of collection, raspberries are harvested without stalks. Select only those berries that do not have signs of decay or deterioration. Otherwise, it will quickly be transferred to he althy fruits, and a significant part of the crop will be spoiled.

Can I pick wet raspberries? Definitely not, because it will deteriorate in a matter of hours. Such a crop immediately begins to expire with juice and turns into compote right in front of the gardener. Dry weather is chosen for picking berries.

Quick way to pick berries

Berry picking takes the most time and effort. How to quickly collect raspberries and not damage them at the same time? Professional farmers often use the machine method of harvesting, but it is not suitable for an ordinary summer resident. Firstly, the equipment costs a lot of money, and secondly, the bushes are injured, unripe fruits are torn off, and yields are reduced. Therefore, most often raspberries are harvested by hand.

How is it better to pick raspberries for a simple amateur gardener? To speed up the procedure, they use various tricks and devices that allow you to free both hands and use them in the work. So, a jar or other small vessel is hung around the neck or carried along by attaching comfortable handles.

When collecting fruits, try not to touch their surface.The thin skin breaks at the slightest pressure, as a result of which juice is released. In order not to injure raspberries and extend their shelf life, it is recommended to use a special collection technology. Lift the twig with the left hand and hold it.

The right hand is placed palm up and placed under the fruit. The stalk is pinched with the thumb and forefinger, and the raspberries that are in the palm of the hand are carefully transferred to the prepared dish. Hold no more than 5 berries on the palm at the same time, otherwise they will wrinkle.

When harvesting, try to leave the stalks about 6 mm long. Raspberries with damage, signs of spoilage or without a stalk are sent to a separate bowl. This sorting process saves time later on and helps maintain fruit quality.

What is better to put the harvest into

What to collect ripe raspberries into so that they do not get crushed and let the juice out? For harvesting, a container is selected in which the berries will retain their marketable qualities for as long as possible. It is better if the vessel is shallow, but wide.

This will make it possible to fold the fruits in a thin layer. Otherwise, they will choke under their own weight, and only compote can be delivered to their destination.

Summer residents build special containers for collecting raspberries, the volume of which does not exceed 2 liters. They are distinguished by low sides and a flat wide bottom. You can make such a dish from improvised materials. At the same time, small gaps are left for ventilation in order to prevent the occurrence of the greenhouse effect, as a result of which the berries deteriorate at a high speed.

Good for picking raspberries are small wicker baskets that already have ventilation holes to ventilate the berries. As soon as the basket is full, it is sent to a shady cool place.

Do I need to wash the berries after picking

After harvesting raspberries, a natural question arises: should the berries be washed? Most gardeners are opposed to this procedure for the following reasons:

• fruits turn into mush after washing;
• raspberries already have bactericidal properties, therefore they do not need to be washed;
• vitamins are washed out during the washing process, and the beneficial qualities are significantly reduced.

But you can refuse to wash the fruits only if they were collected in your own garden plot, located away from dusty roads and exhaust gases from cars. If the berries are purchased on the market, then the buyer cannot know for sure in what places and with what hands they were collected. In this case, it is better to wash them, but this should be done immediately before eating, as the wet fruit will immediately deteriorate.

Raspberries intended for cooking jam or other heat treatment should not be washed. Only those fruits that have been subjected to chemical spraying are subjected to this procedure.The high temperature effectively kills most known bacterial species. Do not wash and raspberries intended for freezing. Otherwise, it will run out of juice and be unsuitable for this procedure.

Where and how much fresh fruits are stored

Fresh raspberries have a very short shelf life. At an ambient temperature of about +20 °C, it can only be stored for 8 hours. To increase this period, the fruits are transferred to plastic containers in no more than 2 layers. The bowl must be dry. After that, the container is covered with a napkin or a loose lid and sent to the refrigerator on the middle shelves.

In a dark and cool place, the raspberry crop retains its properties for up to 10 days, but experienced gardeners say that it is better to keep it for no more than a week. It is unacceptable to lay the crop for long-term storage in a damp container.If you harvest frozen berries, they do not lose their beneficial properties for up to a year. The same period is allotted for grated with sugar and frozen fruits.

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