How to Clean Raspberries

Pick raspberries in small containers. The larger the bowl the greater the weight of the raspberries on those beneath them in the bowl.These tender berries crush easily and will be difficult to clean if they have been crushed by other berries.

Gently pick up each raspberry and remove any traces of leaves, insects or other debris. Deposit the cleaned raspberry in the clean dry bowl. Be careful to pick up one or two berries at a time. Do not try to move the berries around in the bowl to pick out leaves. They bruise easily. The entire bowl of raspberries will quickly turn to mush if they are handled too much.

Continue until you have manually cleaned each raspberry.

To freeze raspberries, simply lay raspberries on a cookie sheet so that they are not touching. Set in the freezer to flash freeze the berries. Once they are frozen, remove the berries and put them in a plastic freezer bag. Return the bag to the freezer. When frozen using this method, the raspberries will hold their shape when thawed.

If you intend to serve raspberries with sugar on a short cake or other desert recipe, simply add 1/2 to 1 cup of sugar to 2 quarts of raspberries and stir to mix well. This is one time when you actually want to bruise the berries to release the juice. Let sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Freeze sugared raspberries in plastic freezer bags. To serve, simply thaw the berries right in the bag. The juice created by the sugar will create a wonderful raspberry syrup that will add color and flavor to any desert.