What to use instead of fresh berries
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
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Fruit layer in a chilled or set dessert
Acid and juice cut through cream, meringue and sponge, and whole berries hold their shape long enough to still look like fruit at the table.
Frozen berries, thawed on paperRan out
Match by weight
They collapse and bleed as they thaw, so they suit a layer buried under cream rather than a topping. Sweeter and softer with no structure left.
Sliced stone fruitRan out
Match by weight, plus 1 tsp lemon juice per cup
Sweeter and much lower in acid, so without the lemon a pavlova tastes cloying. Holds up on cream for hours without weeping.
Pomegranate seedsRan out
1:1 by volume
Crunch instead of soft fruit, and they sit on cream for half a day without releasing a drop. Sharper and more tannic.
Mango or papaya, dicedRan out
Match by weight, plus 2 tsp lime juice per cup
Perfumed and much sweeter, and the lime is doing the acid's work. Colour reads gold rather than red against white cream.
What doesn't work: Fresh kiwi or fresh pineapple in a trifle or any layer set with gelatin. Both carry active proteases that digest gelatin, so the layer stays liquid however long it chills. Tinned pineapple is heat-treated and safe.
Macerated fruit that gives up a syrup
Sugar draws water out of the berries by osmosis and makes a light sauce in about 20 minutes, and their acid is what stops that syrup tasting like jam.
Frozen berriesRan out
Match by weight, plus 2 tbsp sugar per cup
They release far more juice because freezing has already ruptured the cells, so the result is saucier with fewer whole pieces.
Jam let down with lemon and waterRan out
1/3 cup jam + 1 tbsp lemon juice + 2 tbsp water per 1 cup berries
Smooth and considerably sweeter with no fruit texture. The lemon is essential, since jam has had its acid cooked flat.
Rhubarb, cooked brieflyRan out
1 cup sliced + 1/4 cup sugar, cooked 8 min
Much sharper and stringier with no berry perfume. It collapses into a sauce rather than staying in pieces.
Dried cherries or cranberries, soakedRan out
1/2 cup dried + 1/2 cup hot water or juice, stood 20 min
Chewy and much sweeter with a deep colour. It gives a thicker, jammier syrup, so a splash of lemon keeps it from cloying.
What doesn't work: Bottled berry syrup or coulis. It is sugar and pectin with the acid stripped out, so it slides off the dessert instead of soaking in and leaves everything tasting sweet with nothing cutting through it.
Juniper berries are a spice and none of this applies to them. In a choucroute, use 1 tsp caraway seed or 1 tbsp gin in place of 6 juniper berries.