All berries are wonderful raw. Interestingly (and thank goodness), Blueberries don’t lose too much of their antioxidant activity when they are cooked. Well, actually, some is lost, such as Vit C, but others such as quercitin increase in bioavailability after cooking – yay pies! Raspberries and blackberries however, retain more antioxidants when they are eaten fresh. Luckily, freezing all 3 types of berries don’t cause appreciable decline in antiox activity. Freeze them after picking on cookies sheets, then tumble them all into little ziplock bags. You just have to thaw them quickly. Toss the blueberries directly into something you are cooking, or quickly toss the rasp/blackberrybaggie into some warm water until they are thawed. Don’t let them sit around in the fridge to thaw. To cook or not to cook is of course dependent on the type of fruit/veggie and the cooking method. Some more berry lore.
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