What to do with fresh goji berries?

In the US, goji berries are often sold already dried, but farmers markets, specialty stores, and your own garden are wonderful things, so you may be wondering what to do with fresh goji berries.

Goji berries are a fun and tasty addition to your smoothies, cereals, salads, and anything else you want to toss them into. They are delicious and very versatile.

What can you do with fresh goji berries?

You can dry them, can them, freeze them, and add goji berries to your meals, such as rolled oats and as a topping for smoothie bowls.

In this article, we’ll talk about some ways to actually eat fresh goji berries, but more importantly, we’ll help you make sure you can store them effectively for the long term so they don’t go bad before you can eat them.

What are Goji berries?

If you’re walking through a bulk food aisle and see some small pinkish-red berries, or possibly some wrinkled, dried red berries that are smaller than raisins and definitely not blueberries, there’s a good chance they’re goji berries.

Fresh goji berries, also sometimes known as wolfberries, are native to China, where they have a long history of medicinal use.  Depending on their ripeness, they are a nice sweet and sour type of berry. The longer they are left on the bush, the sweeter they will be.

This particular berry is a fall-growing fruit that will last until after the first frost. As they tend to travel quite far, they may have been picked before they are ripe, leaving them more moronic than ideal.

If you can find fresh frozen berries, they will taste sweeter since they are picked when ripe and frozen immediately. If you grow your own goji, pick them when they reach the sweetness you prefer.

Goji berries health benefits

One of the most interesting nutritional aspects of goji berries is that they have all 9 essential amino acids, which is unusual for a plant-based food, let alone a berry.

They are also great sources of vitamins C and A, zinc and iron. Like most plants, they have a fair amount of fiber and a whole host of antioxidants.

In ancient Chinese medicine, most remedies are related to specific organs or parts of the body. Goji berries are believed to be good for treating kidney or liver problems, as well as eye problems.

In the United States, they are often cited as a weight loss tool. This is mainly because they’re so nutrient-dense and low in calories, so you can eat a lot, fill up nicely thanks to the fiber, and not spike your calorie count obnoxiously.

As part of a balanced diet and lifestyle, goji berries are just one more fantastic and tasty way to proactively boost your health and immune system by providing your body with a great selection of highly potent antioxidants.

Washing of fresh Goji berries

All fresh produce should always be washed before eating, and goji berries are no different. You should also wash them before deciding how you are going to store them for long-term maintenance.

If you are going to save some to eat fresh, you can store them in the fridge without washing them to prevent them from getting soggy, but remember to wash them before eating.

To wash the goji berries, place them in a strainer with holes small enough that the berries won’t go down the sink. They are quite resistant, since they have a skin like that of blueberries and not like that of raspberries, for example.

You can run them under cold water and use your hands to make sure each one is really clean.

product washing

If they are not ecological, you can use a product wash to try to remove the remains of chemical products. You can also just use a mixture of white vinegar and water. Depending on how many goji berries you need to wash, you can fill a bowl with 1 cup of water and ¼ cup of white vinegar, or an equivalent ratio for your needs.

Add the goji berries and mix with your hands for one minute. Next, rinse them well under clean water to make sure you don’t have any vinegar taste.

Dry them with a kitchen towel or paper towel before following the steps below for long-term storage.

How to Freeze Goji Berries

Freezing goji berries is one of the easiest and best ways to store the fruit for long-lasting freshness. After washing them, make sure they are completely dry before trying to freeze them.

Whenever you freeze food, your most important goal is to minimize the size of the ice crystals that form and destroy the integrity of the food , so putting it in the freezer wet is one of the worst things you could do.

The faster you can freeze them, the better. It’s also a good way to keep ice crystals as small as possible. To speed up the freezing process, you’ll want each berry to be frozen individually.

This is easy to do. Just line a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper and spread the goji berries in a single, even layer. Place them like this in the freezer, in the coldest position you can.

It should only take about 30 minutes to get each berry to freeze individually . At this point, you can pour them all into a single freezer-safe Ziploc bag or Tupperware container. Try to remove as much air as possible to keep the chance of ice crystals forming low.

As long as your frozen goji berries are well sealed, they will last in your freezer for 3 months or more. It’s a good idea to label the bag or container with the freeze date so you know how long they’ve been there.

How to thaw goji berries

If you’re using frozen goji berries in a baking recipe, you don’t have to worry about thawing them. You can add them to the recipe frozen and they will cook without problems. This works just as well if you put them in a sauce that is going to cook.

However, if you want to eat the goji berries fresh, you can easily defrost them by leaving them on the counter. If you spread them out evenly, they will defrost quickly, usually within 10 minutes. If you defrost an entire bag or container at a time, it may take longer.  It’s also a good idea to place the container in the sink while it defrosts to catch any condensation or dripping water. 

How to dry goji berries

If you find goji berries in a store, they are usually dried.  This is a very useful way to store and consume the berries, and if you have a fresh supply, it’s not difficult to dry or dehydrate them yourself.

One of the first steps in drying your berries is to first pierce the skin of each one. It’s a bit of a chore, but it speeds up the drying process and helps the berries dry more evenly.

The traditional way to dry goji berries is to simply spread them in a single, even layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and allow to dry.

The trick is to make sure they are kept in a cool, dry place, preferably out of direct sunlight. If you live somewhere with high humidity, this may not work for you as dry air is a crucial component of the drying process.

If you live in a place where it is still hot and dry, you can cover the berries with cheesecloth and put them in the sun to speed up the process. Just be sure to check on them from time to time, keep them dry, and turn them over from time to time.

Use an oven to dry goji berries

As an alternative, not to mention a faster solution, you can dry your goji berries in your oven.

• Grab your cookie sheet and pop it into the oven over low heat, about 150F.
• Check on them every half hour or so, but it may take several hours for them to dry out sufficiently.
• Turn them from time to time so they dry evenly.
• The time they take to dry will depend on how many you have on the baking sheet.

Dehydrate goji berries in a dehydrator

If you have a dehydrator, you can use it to dehydrate goji berries very effectively and easily: just follow the instructions that come with your model.

The dried goji berries should still be a nice, bright pinkish-red color, and can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 months.

Freeze Goji Berries

Freeze drying the fruit is a way to remove all the moisture from the berry during the extremely fast and cold freezing process. There are special commercial-type machines that do it in the food industry, but you can also do it at home with a bit of dry ice.

You’ll need some heavy-duty rubber gloves to protect your hands and a large cooler.

• Place the cleaned, fresh goji berries in Ziploc brand bags so that they lay flat in a single layer.
  • When you close the bag, get as much air out as humanly possible. Double and triple check that the bag is well closed.

• Place your bag(s) in the bottom of the cooler and then, making sure you are wearing gloves and covering your arms, cover the berries completely with dry ice.

  • If you are going to freeze-dry many bags of goji berries, layer them with dry ice in between, and make sure there is a good layer of dry ice on top.
• Leave the fridge uncovered to allow for degassing and leave it for about 24 hours.
• When there is no more dry ice, your berries will be very dry.

It’s still a good idea to take them out of the fridge with your gloves on, but once they’ve returned to a normal temperature, they’re safe to handle.

Once the goji berries are freeze-dried, you can store them in your freezer or pantry. This is a very effective way of drying the berries, and they will keep well for at least a year if kept sealed.

Rehydrate Goji Berries

You don’t need to rehydrate goji berries to eat them, but you can. They are very tasty added dry to granola, salads, or ice cream, and have a slightly chewy, almost caramel-like texture.

If you prefer them to return to their almost like-new state, you can soak them in a bowl of cool water for 20 to 30 minutes before eating.

How to can goji berries

If you want to can your goji berries, you can do so with the boiling water method or with a pressure canner. It’s easy enough, either way, although you’ll need proper canning jars and lids, such as Wick jars.

Start by making sure the berries and jars are well cleaned. If you are using mason jars with aluminum lids, you will need to heat the lids in very hot, but not boiling, water.

You can preserve the berries with or without sugar. 

• If you only use water , you will need about 7 liters of water in a pot.
• If you are using sugar to help the berries retain their color, shape, and sweet flavor, you can add ¼ to 2 cups of sugar to the water and bring it to a boil. You will also want to add your preservatives, such as 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or ½ teaspoon of citric acid per quart of water.

As the water prepares to boil, fill the jars with the goji berries. She bangs the jars on the counter so the berries pack up.

When the syrup or water is boiling, fill the jars with the liquid, leaving about ½ inch at the top to allow for expansion. 

If you are using aluminum caps, put the cap and ring in place and tighten. If you’re using Wick jars, you’ll need to fit the rubber gasket and then clip the lid on with the pliers to hold it in place while it’s in the canner.

Using jar tongs, place the jars of berries into a boiling water bath or pressure canner. If you are using a boiling water bath, you will leave the jars for 15 minutes if they are small size and 20 minutes if they are quart size.

If you have a pressure cooker, they will only need between 8 and 10 minutes respectively. 

Using the tongs again, you can remove the jars when they are done. Place them on a cooling rack until they’ve cooled, then store them in your pantry for up to 2 years.

You can make sure they are closed by pressing the aluminum caps in the center, making sure they don’t jump up and down. If it does, it hasn’t sealed well.

If you have Wick jars, you can try lifting the lid. It should stick well, and can only be unsealed by pulling on the rubber tab.

Other options for preserving Goji berries

If you plan to use the goji berries within a week, you can store them in an open container on the counter, out of direct sunlight, for a day or two, or you can keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

If you store them in the fridge, place a piece of kitchen paper between the layers of goji berries to keep them dry and prevent them from squashing and sticking together.  It is very important that they are kept in a closed container or Ziploc bag, because exposure to refrigerator air will cause them to expire faster.

How to use goji berries

Goji berries can be used in many ways. One of the more traditional ways to enjoy them is to simply place a small handful in a cup of boiling water and make a tea with them.

You can also add them to any breakfast option, from cereal to oatmeal to pancakes . You can sprinkle them on your salads for lunch and mix them into your savory rice and cereal dishes for dinner. Of course, you can also bake with them, using them like raisins in your recipes.

They are also a good addition to condiments such as sauces, salad dressings, and sweet syrups.

Related questions

What do fresh goji berries taste like?

Fresh goji berries have a high water content, so they are very juicy and have a slightly sweet taste. They have a slightly bitter aftertaste and, if they are not ripe enough, they have a sour taste.

What happens if you eat too many goji berries?

Unless you have sensitivities, you will need to eat a lot of goji berries before they have negative side effects. They are part of the nightshade family, so if you have a very sensitive digestive system or an unhealthy gut, you may need to watch your intake. If you’re not used to eating fresh fruits and vegetables, the fiber could give you mild indigestion.

Also, if you take any prescription medications, check with your doctor before adding goji berries—or any other new foods—in large amounts to your diet.

Are goji berries alkaline?

Goji berries are extremely alkaline, making them very useful in helping to rebalance a very acidic pH. They are a great addition to an alkaline diet, or really any diet that needs more alkalinity in it.