It seems to happen every few months or so. We’re scrolling on social media and see one of these videos presenting what appears to be the simplest, easiest (too easy!), trick for something we’ve never thought of, let alone heard of doing. And yet, they promise to make your life easier, better, and become one of those instant habit-changers. Well, this is one of them.
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When it comes to berries, these little suckers are expensive, so we’re always on the hunt for the best tips and tricks for storing them, picking them out at the store, and really any tips to prolong their short shelf lives. But we’re not exaggerating when we say that this might be the most mind-blowing tip yet. Watch this:
The video, posted to TikTok by the account @onlybsides, claims that you can tell which blueberries are the sweetest by simply pouring them into a bowl of water (as you would to wash them). When the blueberries are submerged in water, they separate; Some float to the top, while others sink to the bottom. This creator noticed it and searched online for why only some floated. Here’s what they found.
Why Do Some Blueberries Float?
According to this creator, they read on the internet (read: a few unsubstantiated sources on a Google search), that the riper the blueberry, the more likely it is to sink to the bottom due to gravity and the amount of sugar in the berry. Of course, you can't believe everything you read on the internet, so we reached out to an expert to confirm if these sentiments had an scientific backing.
Heather Arndt Anderson, who quite literally wrote the book on berries (she authored “Berries: A Global History”) was able to provide some insights.
"Because of the sugars, a ripe blueberry has a greater specific gravity than water, so a ripe blueberry will sink in water." Anderson continues, "There is [even] currently a patent for a machine that uses flotation to sort ripe blueberries from unripe so I think there is some merit to 'the riper the berry the more it'll sink.'"
We decided to try the theory out for ourselves.
Does the Float Test Work for Picking Ripe Blueberries?
Much to our surprise, this hack was not too good to be true. We dumped a pint of blueberries into a bowl (as we would do anyways to wash them), and lo and behold about 2/3 sank to the bottom while the rest floated to the surface. After a quick taste test, our suspicions were confirmed; The berries at the bottom were all sweet, while the ones on the surface were tart. Consider our minds officially blown.
You'll want to dig into the sunken, ripe blueberries immediately, but what about the ones on the surface? We weighed in with our expert again.
Do Blueberries Continue To Ripen After Picked?
Yes and no. Simply put, it depends on when they were picked.
Anderson says, "Unripe berries do not continue to ripen once picked if they are green or white when they're picked, but if they've already begun turning reddish or bluish [when picked] they will continue to ripen."
So you can store those blueberries for a few more days and allow them to ripen and get sweeter. When the time comes, simply repeat the process and put them back in water to sort the ripe from unripe.
Blueberries have a reputation for being unpredictable—one berry from the batch will be sweet and juicy, while the other will make your mouth pucker. But thanks to this hack, you'll never eat a tart berry again.
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