How much are you guys paying for strawberry, blueberry, etc?

[Deezil]

Thanks for the info..!!

-do you wash the berries once picked or bought at the store?

I was/am planing to :
-discard the green leaves from the top
-wash them thoroughly
-chop them in smaller pieces
-add some sulfites
-freeze them in zip lock bags
-once frozen then thaw them and wait for room temp to start the real process

The acidity: I wonder what can I expect from strawberry so I can order online whatever I need to adjust the level.

I want to back sweeten like I do with DB.

Lastly....my wife who works at Costco was saying "why are you going to drive 30 miles to pick your own strawberries and pay $2.65/lb when you can get a 4lb package at Costco for $7, and the strawberries are selected with great quality...etc. etc."
I guess she may have a point as Costco sells good stuff.

..

and by the way, it would be better to just buy the frozen ones in the 4 or 5lb bag, right?
No need for washing, removing leaves on top, cutting up before you freeze them.....makes sense??

Whether I wash the fruit or not, depends on the fruit I'm working with. I'm not scared to wash strawberries, but do it before you cut them at all. If washed after you cut into them, you're possibly diluting or washing flavors away.

Freezing your fruits is always preferable; I somehow overlooked that originally.

The acidity.. I want to say I remember reading something about a pH of 3.3-3.4.. But I cant recall any TA information..

How do you backsweeten your DB? I'm not a SP/DB-maker, but this is going to be a 'different animal', in multiple aspects. You'll want to give this time to age (12-18 months) before you cross the backsweetening bridge. Let it show you what it already is, before you dump sweetness on it trying to make it what you imagined it would be.

Then, you'll find yourself sweetening it into balance, drawing out the hidden nuances that come with a little residual sweetness... Instead of sweetening it so much, that you pass up that narrow window of hidden nuances, hiding them again behind the excess sugars..

Where do the berries at Costco come from? And are they larger than a golfball? People in the stores like to buy big fruit, that all looks the same.. What they dont tell you - like Thompson Seedless grapes you get in the store - they're about 80-85% water. They're "large" because they're over-watered. You're buying watered down flavor. And watered down color. Sure, they look great, they are great when smothered in dark or white chocolate... But they arent the best choice for wine. They'll make decent wine, sure, but one could do better.

If that's the case.. You're better off in the freezer section.

What you *can* find at the right U-Pick, are smaller strawberries.. They'd fit inside a golfball, if you could find a way to make it work.. Small, with a deep red color, and ripened on the plant.. Those, are hard to beat. All you have to do is eat one, to believe me. Might want to call around to the U-Picks though and ask them if they have larger berries or smaller

 

[Bnew17]

.75 cent a pound for peaches
1.25 a pound strawberrys
1.50 a pound blackberrys but i also pick alot of wild ones

Everything i pick is from farms.

 

[NoobVinter]

Paid $10.50 for 7 lbs of strawberries tonight. Washed, cut, covered, and put in the freezer for a three day period. I have no idea how to make a strawberry wine, but I got three days to figure it out. I think that's a good price though. Good luck finding a good deal!


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