How to Freeze Fresh Berries

Freezing your own raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries in summer-when the berries are at their peak of ripeness-is the perfect way to preserve their summery flavor. Frozen berries make the perfect addition to sauces, smoothies and baked treats in winter. And freezing locally picked berries is much more sustainable than buying berries during the winter that have been flown in from South America. Here is how to freeze them.

Instructions

1. 

   Pick berries at their peak of ripeness. Ripe blackberries should be plump, juicy, soft and a deep purplish black color. Raspberries should be fully red (or yellow) and easily separate from their core when you harvest them. Look for fully colored strawberries that are also tender, fragrant and on the smallish side. Ripe blueberries have a deep blue hue and fall off the bush when you tickle their undersides.

2. Place the harvested berries in a colander and wash them under a gentle stream of cool water. Lay a double layer of cotton dishtowels on a counter and then spread the clean berries in a single layer over the towels. Allow the berries to air dry.

3. To prevent the berries from freezing into a solid clump it is important to first freeze them on a cookie sheet and then pack the frozen fruit into plastic bags. Find a cookie sheet or pizza tray that easily fits into your freezer. Then, spread the clean, dry berries onto the cookie sheet or pizza tray in a single layer. Place the tray into the freezer.

4. As soon as the berries are solid, remove them from the freezer, pour them into plastic freezer bags (leaving about 2 inches of space at the top of the bag). Squeeze the extra air out of the bags and then seal them tightly. Lay the bags flat on the freezer shelves.

Tips & Warnings

• A great, inexpensive way to pack your freezer full of berries is to pay a visit to a U-pick berry farm. You can search for local U-pick farms on the website Local Harvest, which is listed in Resources below.

• Ripe blackberries and raspberries tend to stain dishtowels while they are drying, so be sure to use ones that you don't mind decorating with a little bit of berry juice!

Resources

• DigginFood
• Local Harvest