How to Pick and Select Bayberry? A Full Breakdown of the Latest Methods

It is bayberry picking season again. One bayberry tree after another is lush with foliage and laden with red fruit. Bayberries are sweet with a hint of sourness and have benefits such as quenching thirst, promoting saliva production, and aiding digestion. I wonder if you are planning a trip to pick bayberries. If so, let me introduce the methods for picking and selecting bayberries!

Preparations Before Picking Bayberries

1. Bayberry orchards are all on hills, so it is recommended to wear simple, lightweight clothing, such as sneakers or casual shoes, to make climbing easier.

2. When picking bayberries, it is best to wear dark or old clothes to avoid getting juice on them, which makes them harder to clean; long-sleeved old clothes can prevent insect bites and avoid scratches from branches.

3. Before going up the hill, it is advisable to bring fewer snacks and more water, and also bring sun protection items (such as a sun hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, etc.).

4. Pay attention to safety when picking bayberries and do not climb too high. If you want to pick bayberries growing at the top of the tree, it is best to ask the orchard owner for a bamboo fork or similar tool.

How to Select Bayberries?

1. Look at the color: it is best not to pick bayberries that are dark red or overly blackish-red. Green or greenish-red bayberries are not yet ripe. You should choose bayberries with dry surfaces and bright red color.

2. Touch the flesh: if the bayberry flesh is too soft and loose, it is overripe and best not picked. If the flesh is too hard, it is not fully ripe, tastes sour and astringent, and has a poor mouthfeel. Bayberries with moderate firmness are the best choice.

3. Look at the flesh: look at the bayberry flesh. The surface layer should have very obvious individual beads of flesh that protrude and must not be sunken.

4. Taste the flavor: bayberries are juicy, tender, and sweet. After eating, there is no residue left in the mouth. Some lower-quality bayberries from other regions are relatively dry and astringent, with little juice when eaten, and leave residue after eating.

5. Smell the aroma: fresh bayberries have a fragrant smell. If they have a sour smell, it means the bayberries have fermented and passed their best eating period, which affects the taste.

What Should You Do If Bayberry Juice Gets on Your Clothes?

If bayberry juice gets on your clothes, there is a folk saying: after the bayberry season passes, the color will naturally fade. Perhaps this pigment has a certain time limit.

If you really cannot wait, you can also try the following, which may be effective: wet the clothes, first wash them with soap without wringing them dry, then apply a large amount of floral water to the area on the clothes with bayberry juice, making sure this area is fully covered with floral water. Then place it in the water used just now to wash the clothes and leave it for more than half an hour. The bayberry juice will fade somewhat.

Special note: After picking bayberries and bringing them home, wash them clean with clear water, then soak them in salt water for 5—10 minutes to soak out the white worms inside the bayberries. Eat them only after handling them this way. After bringing them home from picking, they should not be put directly in the refrigerator. If the worms inside freeze to death, no amount of salt water soaking will bring them out.