I get lots of questions about what exactly do I can and how. This week I’m going to try something new: a tip of the week for home preserving. I figure with the cost of gas and groceries and the renewed popularity of green home Victory Gardens, we can all use tips on how to stretch our food farther.
Tip of the Week
I love summer berries. Every year I buy more than I can possibly use before they go bad. That means summertime is berry freezing time. When it comes to fruits, berries are the simplest item to freeze. There are just a few rules that make them different from other soft fruits. First let’s start with the supplies. You’ll need: 1.
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1. Fresh unblemished berries 2. Strawberry stemmer or berry huller
3. Baking sheet 4. Parchment paper and 5. a crush resistant freezer safe container-not a freezer bag.
- Wash and check berries for any blemishes or soft spots. If it’s not perfect, use immediately or toss. Only perfect berries are suitable for freezing (remember what that one bad apple did).
- Hull your berries with a pinch and twist strawberry stemmer, a scoop and twist berry huller/tomato corer, or a very sharp pointed paring knife.
- Cover your baking sheet with parchment paper. Place individual dry, hulled berries on the sheet and put flat in your freezer for 15 minutes to harden. This step keeps berries from clumping and assures they are good as new when thawed.
- Once they are hard, you can place them gently in your freezer container. Be sure not to smoosh them by trying to squeeze in too many. Seal, label, return to the freezer and your berries will be good for up to a year if kept frozen.
10 responses so far ↓
1
witchypoo
// Jun 15, 2008 at 7:37 am
We have no berries yet. It’s Canada, eh?
2
Jen on the Edge
// Jun 15, 2008 at 8:08 am
Great idea! I can’t wait to read more about canning.
3
HRH
// Jun 15, 2008 at 8:58 am
Love it. I am going to the store this morning so I am going to pick up a few extra berries.
4
Anglophile Football Fanatic
// Jun 15, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Sounds like a great idea. I have a question about Pick Your Own farms. Do you know of any around here?
5
Anglophile Football Fanatic
// Jun 15, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Oh, and my link on your blogroll doesn’t work FYI.
6
Janet
// Jun 15, 2008 at 4:38 pm
We have blackberry bushes all up and down our driveway (yes, you read that right). Assuming the Queen and DeBoy leave me any to take up to the house, I’ll try this.
7
Minnesota Matron
// Jun 15, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Even I can do this ( being a bit domestically inept) and have fresh berries in the winter!
8
Green Girl
// Jun 16, 2008 at 7:42 am
The best thing about berries is that they are so easy to freeze–no blanching involved;) And to get gobs of them in season when they taste better and are cheap instead of buying tasteless imported ones in winter for $5 a pint just makes sense! I type this a day after freezing my first batch from my patch which shall soon overflow…
9
Mrs. G.
// Jun 16, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Yum!
10 freezing berries how to // Jul 10, 2008 at 2:18 pm
[...] more than I can possibly use before they go bad. That means summertime is berry freezing time. …http://cannedlaffs.com/tip-freezing-berries/Read “RE: How long do frozen berries last in the freezer?” at Dieting / Supplement Discussion Forum [...]