How To: Freeze Strawberries
Learn how to freeze strawberries with this step by step guide! Your berries can be frozen whole, sliced, or in pieces. This simple process is perfect for freezing berries for smoothies or baking!
Ingredients
- 5 cups fresh ripe strawberries
Instructions
Freezing Whole Strawberries:
- Wash the strawberries and allow them to dry.
- Meanwhile, prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper, wax paper, or a silicone baking mat.
- Remove all the hulls from your strawberries.
- Layer the hulled strawberries in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
- Place the berries in the freezer for 3-4 hours or until frozen.
- Transfer the frozen strawberries to your desired packaging, label with the contents and date, and return to the freezer.
Freezing Strawberry Slices Or Pieces:
- Wash the strawberries and allow them to dry.
- Meanwhile, prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper, wax paper, or a silicone baking mat.
- Remove all the hulls from your strawberries.
- Slice or dice the strawberries into your desired size, and spread onto the prepared baking sheet. These can be layered thicker than a single layer.
- Place the strawberries in the freezer for 2-3 hours or until frozen.
- Break apart the pieces before measuring your desired amount and transferring them to your storage container/ bag. Label all bags with the contents and date before returning to the freezer.
Notes
Batch:
This recipe is infinitely scaleable! It works with as few as 2 berries and as many berries as you can fit in your freezer!how to store frozen strawberries:
- Freezer safe containers: This could be anything from a plastic container to a glass jar. These are all different shapes and sizes, which makes them stack nicely on top of one another but also take up the most room in your freezer! Air can get into this style of the container more easily causing freezer burn at worst; an unpleasant taste at best (and who wants that?).
- Freezer zip-lock bags: These bags are excellent for short-term storage as they're easy to flat pack, but it's not possible to remove all the air from these heavy-duty sealers. Unfortunately, your fruit is more likely to freezer burn!
- Vacuum sealed packages: This is by far the best storage option. You can vacuum seal your berries flat and tuck them away in any corner of your freezer, where they'll stay fresh for much longer! This method also takes up very little room with its ability to remove all excess air from within packages beforewhich prevents pesky freezer burn.
What to do with the stems and hulls:
Toss your stems and hulls into your compost bin! These quickly decomposing scraps will help make amazingly nutritious soil for your plants!