How to Clean Raspberries Quickly and Easily

Nothing beats perfectly ripe fruit, and if I had to pick my favorites out of all of them, I would have to say that berries beat them all… Raspberries especially are terrific when at peak ripeness, but whether you’ve grown them yourself or are hauling them home from the local farmers market, you’ve got to wash them.

Dirt, dust, and even tiny bugs or worms can be on your raspberries, and you definitely don’t want to eat that stuff. The problem is that raspberries are unbelievably fragile when they are fully ripe and easy to break when washing them.

Nonetheless, it must be done, but the process doesn’t have to bring on the tears. With the right approach, it’s possible to get your raspberries squeaky clean without breaking them and still complete the job quickly and easily. I’ll tell you how to do it, step by step, in this article.

Don’t Wash Raspberries Until You are Ready to Use or Store

Before we get into the actual how-to, remember this piece of advice that was passed on to me by my mentor: don’t wash your raspberries until you’re ready to eat them, process them, or store them.

That much moisture can facilitate degradation which will directly impact their flavor and texture. If you wash the raspberries and then store them properly by freezing, canning, dehydrating, or some other way, you can halt that degradation.

But if you just leave them on the counter or stick them in the fridge afterward, they aren’t going to last for long…

Kitchen Gear and Supplies

You only need basic kitchen supplies to do a good job of washing your raspberries. Gather the following, and you’ll be ready to go.

Colander: Any colander will work for thoroughly washing berries as long as it is clean and large enough to hold a good quantity. Plastic or metal are both fine.

Bowls, Large: You need two large, wide mixing bowls or utility bowls for this task, and they should be wide enough to hold the colander. Again, use any kind you like as long as they’re clean. Plastic, metal, and glass are all OK.

Apple Cider Vinegar: Apple cider vinegar is one of the best-kept secrets out there for washing produce, including berries.

While there is evidence that vinegar or ACV can help reduce bacteria and microbes in the produce they help wash, there is better evidence that vinegar removes pesticides. It depends on the type of pesticide used, but there is no doubt that it works. Plus, it is absolutely safe and it won’t taint the flavor of your berries.

Water: You’ll need water, of course, to wash your raspberries. Use filtered water from the tap if you can, but if you don’t have a filter on your faucet or a filter picture that’s okay too. Just remember to keep it room temperature.

Baking Sheet: A large baking sheet will help us dry out our raspberries after the initial wash and rinse.

Using one with a rim is a good idea to keep berries from rolling away when you have to move them. If you don’t have a baking sheet or would rather not use one, a large cutting board also works.

Paper or Cloth Towels: We will use paper towels or cotton kitchen towels to line the baking sheet or cutting board, which will help us wick any remaining water off our berries, and we will also use them to gently blot the berries dry.

If using paper towels, make sure they are lint-free, and if you’re going with cloth towels, choose ones that are clean but also ones that you can live with getting stained – raspberry juice will get on them no matter how careful you are, I promise!

Nothing to it. With all of that gathered, we’re ready to begin.

Cleaning Raspberries Step by Step Quick and Easy

Step 1: Fill bowls with water, mix in vinegar. Fill each of the large bowls with cold water, remembering to leave a little bit of room for displacement when you add the colander.

In one of the bowls, mix in the apple cider vinegar with one part of ACV for every three or four parts water. Stir gently to combine:

Step 2: Line baking sheet with paper towels. Take a moment to line the baking sheet or cutting board with your paper towels or kitchen towels.

Step 3: Carefully place raspberries in colander. Gently, carefully place the raspberries in your colander, making sure that you don’t layer them so heavily that you start to crush the ones on the bottom. Wash them in multiple batches if you have to avoid that outcome.

Step 4: Soak berries in vinegar water, turn gently. Slowly and carefully lower the colander full of berries into the bowl of vinegar water. Watch for overflows and drain off some of the water if you need to.

Gently agitate the colander, and ever so carefully scoop and turn the raspberries with your hands to make sure they get a good wash.

Step 5: Skim debris off of water. You’ll notice the water in the first bowl starting to darken, and little bits of dirt start floating to the top. You might even notice a few tiny worms and bugs! Totally gross, I know, but you need to discard everything…

Step 6: Transfer colander to fresh water bowl, turn gently.

Once you’ve skimmed off the floating debris from the first bowl, carefully lift the colander out, give it a few moments for the excess water to drain back into the bowl, and then move the colander to the second bowl with fresh water only.

Once again, gently shake the colander to agitate the berries, then scoop and turn them with your hands to give them a good rinse.

Step 7: Carefully place berries on baking sheet upside down. Once you’re done rinsing the berries, remove the colander, give it a few moments to let the water drain off, and then set it down next to your baking sheet.

Taking the berries one by one, carefully set them down on the towel-lined baking sheet with the open cavity facing down. This will help them drain and dry quicker.

Step 8: Gently dab berries dry with towels. Take an extra towel or two and just barely touch them to each of the berries to wick away excess water and moisture.

Step 9: Leave berries to fully dry. Now simply leave the raspberries on the baking sheet to completely dry out. It shouldn’t take more than 2 to 3 hours unless your house is really humid.

Step 10. Store in proper container in fridge. And with that, you are finished. Your raspberries are ready to eat and enjoy, preserve, or use in any recipes. I like to keep my berries inside an airtight stainless steel container lined with a paper towel and a plastic lid, but even better, I found these special containers (they call them “berry keepers”) that allow the moisture to drain on the bottom without touching the produce.

Shelf Life

It really depends on how well they’ve dried out, and what container you are using to store them in the fridge. If you’ve done everything right, you should expect at least a week of shelf life before they start to grow mold.

If you want them to last even longer, again, do not wash them. Ideally you should do it only when you are ready to consume them…

You Can Still Use or Store Raspberries That Break During Washing

If you break raspberries during washing, and you likely will, don’t throw them out: Those raspberries are still good and useful!

You can just eat them right then and there, or go ahead and plan on making a batch of pie filling, jam, preserves, or something else that will mash them anyway.

Don’t just throw them in the trash! If you need a little time, pop them in the fridge: whole, washed raspberries will last a couple of days. Broken berries, only about a day.