Picking
Fruit is best picked in the morning when it is coolest. Pick fruit by pinching the stem of the berry between your thumb and forefinger. Try and avoid squeezing the berry when picking as this may bruise the fruit. Leaving the stems or caps on helps your fruit stay fresher for longer by preventing the moisture and nutrients from escaping. When selecting berries look for the ones that are plump, firm, and well coloured. If you wish to keep the fruit for longer than a couple of days, try to pick slightly under ripe fruit, these will be firmer and will keep for longer. 

Storing
All fruit is best when picked, prepared and eaten the same day, but if you must keep them longer, store them in your refrigerator. Arrange the berries in a shallow container, separating out any damaged berries. Cover them loosely, and keep at 5 degrees for best results. Do not remove the caps or wash the berries until you are ready to use them. When caps are removed before use, the berries lose some of their moisture. Washing early tends to bruise them and the berries lose their freshness.

Preparing
When preparing (for whatever use), place the berries in a strainer and rinse with cool water. To remove the caps, give the caps a gentle twist or use the point of a sharp knife, trying not to remove any of the berry. The tip of an ordinary vegetable peeler makes a good tool for capping berries.

Freezing Berries
Whole berries: Place one layer of clean, capped berries on a plastic sheet and freeze until firm. Remove from sheet, place in freezer bags, and seal.

Packing with sugar: Slice berries in halves or thirds. Mix with sugar (six cups sliced fruit to one cup sugar). Allow to stand until sugar dissolves (about 10-15 minutes). Pack the fruit and juice into freezer bags or containers. Leave ¼ inch of space in pint containers.

Packing without sugar: Berries may also be packed whole or sliced without sugar or with minimal sugar, but the colour and texture of the thawed fruit won't be as good.

Good for kids: Let kids cap and pack their choice of berries into pint yoghurt containers  and freeze. For a quick, nutritious snack, thaw container slightly in the microwave and let kids eat their partially frozen berries straight from the container.

Nutrition
Per 100g raw fresh fruit