How To: Freeze Blueberries
Are you looking for a way to preserve your blueberries? You’re in luck! Here are some tips and tricks that will help you maintain the quality of your frozen fruit for longer. Freezing is one of the best ways to preserve food, but it can be tricky with certain types of produce. Blueberries are especially delicate so here are some things you should know before freezing them. If done correctly, this method can keep berries fresh for up to 24 months.
Ingredients
- 8 cups of fresh blueberries
Instructions
how to freeze:
- Pick through the berries, remove any bruised, moldy, or otherwise damaged fruit, as well as any rogue stems and remnants of flower buds. DO NOT wash the berries at this time.
- Measure out your blueberries and place them into your vacuum seal bag.
- Place the unsealed bag in the freezer - keep it upright so they don't spill, and freeze them for 3-4 hours, or overnight.
- Once the berries have been frozen solid, spread them flat in the bag and vacuum seal.
- Label the bags with the contents and the date and return them to the freezer.
How to thaw:
- Frozen: If you're using the berries frozen in a smoothie or in baking, simply slice open your bag, toss them into a fine-mesh strainer and give them a quick rinse under cold water. Jiggle vigorously to avoid them sticking together, then pop them right into your blender or muffin batter.
- Thawed: If you need to use the berries thawed, you'll need to rinse them while they are still frozen, this enables us to keep all the flavorful juice that will escape from the berries. Slice open the bag, toss them into a fine-mesh strainer and rinse under cold water, shake them well to remove all excess moisture, and turn them out into a bowl to thaw. If you're wanting to keep just the fruit or just the juice, leave the berries in the strainer and set it over a bowl to catch the juice and they'll be pre-separated.
