DON’T wash the berries until you are ready to use them or freeze them. Washing makes them more prone to spoiling
You can easily freeze berries that you cannot use right away – just wash, cut the hulls off and pop them into a ziplock bag, removing as much air as possible
Even under ideal conditions blackberries will only keep for a week in a refrigerator, so for best flavor and texture, use them as soon as possible
A ripe blackberry is deep black with a plump, full feel. It will pull free from the plant with only a slight tug.
If the berry is red or purple, it’s not ripe yet
After a few days in storage, however, the fruit loses its bright color and fresh flavor and tends to shrivel
Try and add your berries as late in the mixing process as possible and stir very gently
Add frozen berries into the cake batter at the end of the mixing process to prevent them from staining the batter
Adding berries while still frozen also helps the berries retain their shape and texture
Dusting fresh berries with flour also prevents them from staining your cake batter too much
#cupcakehour is on every Tuesday night at 8 o clock on twitter
@chefnoelk on twitter & @chefnoelkeane on Instagram
traleeculinarygangsters 