Freezing Fresh Picked Berries
by JBF
Simple and nutritious plan for your family
This is a great idea to have frozen berries in your freezer for smoothies for the kids, pies, muffins or desserts (year round). Freezing your berries is also a great way to keep the natural flavor and nutritional value. When they dethaw they will be a little mushy but will be fine in all your dishes and definitely cheaper than from the store.
How long can I store my berries in the Freezer?
We recommend that you use your berries within 12-18 months. Labeling your Ziploc bags with the date and type of berries is very important.
Procedure for Freezing Berries
(1) Berries should be at their peak of maturity, not mushy or green. After picking your ripe and firm berries, gently rinse them off and put them in a strainer.
(2) So that the berries hold their shape and do not clump together – we recommend that you get a cookie tray and spread out the berries and pop them in the freezer for an hour. If you are going to use the berries for smoothies and don’t care about how they look you can just put your berries in a quart sized Ziploc and store flat in your freezer. It is always nice to have a couple of frozen berries to garnish your desert.
*NOTE: Get the good heavy duty storage bags. The cheaper ones tend to give the berries freezer burn. Berries can be frozen with or without sugar. We always freeze our berries WITHOUT sugar and add it prior to cooking. Some people will add sugar as a preservative because berries have a high acid content.
(3) When you are ready to use them place the ziploc bag in a bowl and dethaw them on the counter for 3-4 hours or leave in the refrigerator until the next day.
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