Do you wash raspberries?

[Jenise]

Big secret: I don't. That is, I prefer the dirt and the bugs to crushed, soggy berries. I was reminded of this last week when I had a bunch of women over for lunch and made raspberry crepes for dessert. I gave someone else the task of putting all the raspberries in a bowl and she went straight to the sink to wash them. I didn't have the heart to tell her I'd rather serve them unwashed.

I'm a no wash person too Jenise.

-mike

Wash them? No. Put them in a flat-bottomed strainer and rinse them with the sprayer? Yes.

John

[David M. Bueker]

I do not wash raspberries. They are too delicate.

It's OK to play a little water over them. Just don't handle them: place in a colander, give it an easy shake or two while under the spray, and that's enough.

We have been soaking raspberries in a mild white wine for quite a while; that is we've been doing it, not keeping them that way for quite a while. If anything, it enhances their flavor. Have some in the fridge right now.

Agreed - washing tends to disintegrate them. Blackberries on the other hand do get soaked (with the grubs floating to the surface).

I'm with John and Jeff. A very gentle rinsing.

I always wash fruits and vegetables. Raspberries and all.

Humorously, I even wash fresh-cut orange wedges! Although it's not really by intent. It's just that one of my favorite fruit and vegetable snacks is having a bowl of fresh mini carrots with peeled orange wedges and since I usually put them in the bowl together at the same time, I end up running both under the faucet for a rinse. So the oranges end up getting an unnecessary bath..

But I'm more a blackberries and citrus kind of guy anyways.

Jeff

There are two reason for our white wine dunk. First if they are very ripe, the mold very fast. When we ran the B&B in Maine, I could not get them the freshly picked berries down off the mountan without them molding, so I began to bring along a sealed container of white wine to the berry patch.

The second reason is to plump up the berries you get in the winter time from God-knows-where.

Of course I clean my raspberries. Most berries are picked by field workers who have no access to a restroom. And yes, this happens with local berries, as well. Most of the growers I know have a lot of land, and do not take the time to run to the house when the nature calls. There are several Asian families who grow fabulous strawberries on leased land within 15 minutes of our house They sell out of a little shed like building beginning at 8 am in the morning. They start picking as soon as the sun comes up. As far as I can tell, there are no bathroom facilities except, maybe a bucket.

I put all my berries in a flat bottom colander, and give them a gentle spray from the top down, then from the bottom up and repeat from the top again. Then, they are gently placed on paper towels, and in the case of the raspberries, hole side down. I have not noticed any less quality. Note that I only do this with the berries I am going to immediately use within a few minutes.
I did a little checking on washing raspberries and the consensus was "yes"....here what the Colorado State University extension had to say.

http://www.ehow.com/info_8545907_should ... ashed.html

I pull the berries off the bush and they go directly into my mouth. Once in a while I'll take some up to the house if we need them but we do not wash them. I'm just sorry the season it so short. Our dog also pulls off the low hanging berries and she does it so gently.

[Jenise]

Of course I clean my raspberries. Most berries are picked by field workers who have no access to a restroom. And yes, this happens with local berries, as well.

That concerns me, but pesticides etc actually concern me even more. That said, per the instructions you linked to, when I read "arrange the berries in a single layer..." my eyes glazed over. I'm no slouch when it comes to most aspects of kitchen prep--I like most of the tedious jobs others hate--but something about fussing to this degree over something so fragile has me passing on raspberries for some other fruit altogether.

[Jenise]

I pull the berries off the bush and they go directly into my mouth. Once in a while I'll take some up to the house if we need them but we do not wash them. I'm just sorry the season it so short. Our dog also pulls off the low hanging berries and she does it so gently.

So you grow your own? Lovely. Speaking of that, friends here have an everbearing variety that rather impressively pumps out berries well into fall where the commercial varieties grown here (the town next to mine is a huge producer) come and go within the space of July.

This is interesting to me because I buy a lot of fresh berries. Like Jenise, I've been in the habit of using the raspberries straight out of the container, thinking that a little dust would be worth having the fresh and to me more concentrated flavor of an unwashed berry. But after reading about the sanitation issue, I think I'll be washing all berries from now on. Most of the berries I purchase are from Driscoll, a local So. Cal grower and here's what they say on their website about their raspberries:

"Care & Handling

Raspberries are highly perishable, and also extremely fragile. However, a few simple, proper handling steps will ensure that your raspberries remain fresh and delicious. Under ideal conditions, raspberries should keep for 1-2 days in your refrigerator. For best results, Driscoll’s recommends that you keep your raspberries dry in storage and consume them as soon as possible after purchase. It’s also important to handle them gently when rinsing. Berries need to be rinsed just before use."

I gently shake a handful out of the basket and then under a very soft running cold facet move the raspberries from hand to hand for maybe 10 seconds then dry them on a paper towel.

Tim

[Jenise]

I gently shake a handful out of the basket and then under a very soft running cold facet move the raspberries from hand to hand for maybe 10 seconds then dry them on a paper towel.

Tim

Exactly what I did when I bought my first flat of local raspberries yesterday. In spite of the fact that I've not been in the habit of washing, Karen and Ines got me feeling pretty guilty!

No worries Jenise, I suppose I am concerned about it because we have so many growing areas here in Redding and surrounding foothills. I see the families and those lucky enough to be able to hire workers to do the picking. I've always read that raspberries should be washed. Wasn't it just a few years back that some sort of bug was in a large amount of raspberries in the US and made a lot of folks very ill? I wash all fruits and veggies before cutting into and/or eating. Even cantaloupes, watermelon are washed with a soapy sponge before I cut into them. You just don't know what is on the hands of those who handle the product.

I rinse them off, very gently and carefully, by immersing them in a deep bowl of water. Hopefully the bugs and bits float to the surface, and are then poured off carefully. I love raspberries but rarely have them at home. We can't grow them (too hot and dry) and they are fiercely expensive in our shops.