Berries make for the best snack — until they get mushy, that is. One TikToker is here with a hack to make your berries last twice as long as they normally would.
How it works
Dominique (@veganhippiesol) on TikTok shares her vegan recipes and hacks to ensure you have the best and freshest ingredients.
Her tip to keep your berries fresh begins with the basics: washing your fruit.
In her video, she uses baking soda and water — no need for expensive, store-bought produce wash!
Then, Dominique recommends that you dry the fruit as much as possible.
"Berries, in particular, are very porous and water-rich," she explained in the video. It's important to get them as dry as possible because having water enclosed in the container is what makes them go bad faster.
Then, she puts a paper towel in the bottom of the container to soak up any excess water — and suggests glass over plastic containers. One commenter mentioned that if you put a paper towel on top and store the container upside down, you could replace the paper towel easily if it is wet — which is also a great option to try.
The best part? Similar, easy hacks work for vegetables like bell peppers, broccoli, and even lettuce!
"And there you have it! Berries that should last up to two weeks!" Dominique shared at the end of the video.
@veganhippiesol Say goodbye to mushy and moldy berries!🫐🍓 With these simple tips and tricks, you can keep your berries fresh for up to two weeks. Berries are delicate and prone to mold growth due to their porous and water-rich nature. 🌱 Berries tend to be quite porous, water-rich and delicately skinned, meaning they soak up excess moisture in their environment very easily. 🌱 They also pretty much all carry mold spores, which grow rapidly when moisture is plentiful. Meaning they can go bad after just a few days if not stored properly. 🌱 One of the most important tips when storing fresh fruit in a container is to let it dry completely before storing it. If the produce is still moist in a mason jar, it will decay much quicker. 🌱 However, putting the paper towels there will help soak up the excess moisture. Feel free to leave the produce unwashed until consuming it to make it even last longer. 🌱 Hope these tips help. 🥰 #vegan #vegan #freshberries #berrytips #berryhacks #storagetips #foodstorage #freshproduce #moldprevention #fridgehacks #kitchenhacks ♬ original sound - Dominique | Vegan Hippie Sol
How it's helping
This hack is a win in more ways than one.
Some may wait to wash their produce until they're ready to eat it to avoid exposing the food to excess water, but this method is a lot less convenient. You might not be as eager to eat your produce with the extra effort involved, or you may not have time.
This hack allows you to get all of that prep work out of the way so you have a healthy, convenient snack at arm's length while keeping it fresh for longer. Berries are more expensive than other produce, so they're not something that you want to let go to waste.
Around one-third of all food in the world is thrown out each year, and food waste makes up 22% of the space in landfills. There, it slowly decomposes, releasing planet-warming gases.
Using hacks like this to avoid food waste when you can is not only a good move for your wallet, but it's better for the environment, too.
What everyone's saying
Comments on the post were grateful to find such an easy and useful hack. "So glad to see this," wrote one user, and "Needed this," added another.
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