Freezing Fresh Berries So They Last Longer And Keep Fresh
Posted by Tammy Sons on Dec 29, 2015
How to Freeze Fresh Picked Berries
Is there anything better on a summer evening than the smell and
taste of hot blackberry cobbler? What about fresh hot cobbler on a cold winter
day? You can make that cold weather cobbler by freezing fresh berries during
the summer.
Picking Berries
Whether you're picking your blackberries from a field, a farmer's market, or
your neighborhood supermarket, look for fruit that is uniformly black and firm.
Stains on your hands or containers mean that some of the berries are damaged.
Preparing Berries
When you're ready to freeze the berries, rinse them gently in a bowl of water.
Remove any damaged or soft fruit. Pinch off the circle of small leaves at the
top of each berry, and spread the berries out on a towel until you have rinsed
them all.
Freezing Berries
There are two ways to process blackberries for freezing. (Note: make sure you
label the containers with contents and date.)
Freeze them together. If you know that you'll be using an entire container of
frozen berries at once - in cobbler, for example - you can simply fill a
freezer bag or carton with berries and place them in the freezer. If you'd like
to add sugar to the berries before you freeze them, use 1 Tbsp to 1 cup of
sugar for each quart of berries. Stir gently and pour the berries into a
freezer bag or carton.
Freeze them individually. With this method, you'll be able to remove as many or
as few frozen berries as you need. Spread the dry berries in a thin layer on
the bottom of a pan. Place the pan in the freezer until the berries are frozen.
Place the frozen berries into freezer bags or cartons.
Enjoy your blackberriesand stop by again soon for our cobbler recipe!