I’ve lived in berry country my entire life, and there’s nothing I love more than juicy, in-season berries. Well, all right, maybe there is one thing—and that’s rich, buttery pastries made with in-season berries.

When I was a child in northern California, luscious berry desserts were always served at the end of summer meal. Now that I’m the one in charge of dessert, I find myself turning to a few choice recipes time and again. Conveniently, they all begin with thesame delicious crust. It’s my absolute favorite pastry recipe: It has the buttery, melt-in-your-mouth tenderness of a shortbread cookie, and it has also proven to be exceptionally versatile. With slight adaptations, you can use the dough to make individual mixed-berry tarts, little raspberry turnovers, or a scrumptious pie filled with a jumble of sweet berries. All you need to make these recipes sing is ripe, juicy berries (locally grown, if possible).

知道要添加多少糖对于好的浆果甜点至关重要。始终从品尝浆果平原开始。如果他们需要，请加一点糖，然后再试一次。第一个打入味蕾的口味应该是水果，而不是糖，这是所有浆果食谱，尤其是浆果酱的基本规则。

Truly flavorful berries are a singular summer pleasure

在夏天，我喜欢选择自己的浆果。我很幸运：在西北地区，我们有很多“挑选自己的”农场。在您所在的地区进行检查；您可能也有它们。农贸市场也是新鲜挑选浆果的好来源。但是，如果您能找到的全部超市浆果，请不要担心 - 您仍然可以使用这些食谱，并且仍然可以获得出色的效果。

How to handle fresh berries:When buying berries, avoid baskets with berry stains, which indicate overripe fruit. Look for unblemished strawberries with shiny red flesh and fresh green caps; blueberries should practically burst with plumpness; and raspberries and blackberries should be stemless, without any dry, brown spots. (Stems indicate that the berries were picked unripe, and they’ll never get any sweeter off the bush.)

当您将浆果带回家时，将其散布在衬有纸烤烤盘上并存放在冰箱中。纸巾吸收水分并有助于防止成型。最好直到使用前不冲洗浆果。

Stock up on in-season berries now and freeze some for later

In berry season, I always find myself with more berries than I can possibly use at the moment. Luckily, berries freeze well. In the off-season, there’s nothing like having a stash of frozen berries. And fragile berries like raspberries work better when added frozen to cake or muffin batters because freezing firms up their flesh and prevents their juices from bleeding.

How to freeze berries: Pour them into a colander and spray with cold water. Give them a gently shake and transfer to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet. Thoroughly pat dry with another paper towel. You can transfer blueberries right into zip-top freezer bags and pop them into the freezer. But freeze strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries on the baking sheet before transferring them to freeezer bags, so they don’t stick together. Freeze in 1- to 4-cup batches and label the bags with the fruit name, amount, and date.