How to Freeze Berries

My family loves berries. Whether we are making homemade smoothies or throwing them on top of our cereal, or just eating them by the handful, berries are a favorite treat for us. And I love to buy more of them when they are on good sales over the summer and freeze them to be used for the rest of the year. Find out how to best freeze berries so that you can enjoy them all year long.

How to Freeze Berries:

1) Start with the freshest berries possible. This process will work for any type of berry.

2) Remove any stems or leaves. Rinse the the berries with cold water. This works best by putting them in a colander and running cold water over them.

3) Drain to get rid of as much water as you can before putting them in the freezer. It works well to lay them out on paper towels until dry.

4) If the size of your freezer permits, lay the berries in a single layer on a baking/cookie sheet with a lip (like a jelly roll pan). Sides needed to keep the berries from rolling off. If you don’t have room in your freezer for a large pan, you can put them in a smaller container  with them stacked on top of each other to freeze, but you may find some stick together after frozen.

5) Put the sheet of berries in the freezer for at least an hour, or at least until fully frozen.

6) Put the frozen berries in a plastic bag or freezer container. If you have a vacuum sealer, this is a great time to pull it out. If you are using freezer zipper bags or other container, get as much air out as possible.

7) As with anytime you are freezing something, be sure to label with what is inside and the date it was frozen. They will keep for about 6 months in the freezer.

That’s it! When you are ready to use, just set them in the fridge overnight or on the counter for a couple of hours to thaw them out. But in many cases you don’t even need to thaw them to use them. Especially when making yummy homemade smoothies!