How to freeze berries for the winter: the correct freezing technology

Berries, fruits and vegetables are natural sources of vitamins, minerals, bioflavonoids, amino acids and other substances, without which the normal functioning of human organs and systems is impossible. To provide your family with valuable plant products throughout the cold season, you can use the freezing function. Berries in the refrigerator or freezer compartment are stored for 3-12 months without loss of taste, aroma and beneficial composition. The main thing is to choose and prepare the products correctly. Let's look at the nuances of their preparation and storage.

Benefit

If you freeze the berries correctly and follow the storage conditions, they will retain their appearance and beneficial properties. The decrease in the value of fruits when frozen is insignificant. Vitamins that are soluble in water almost never disappear. The product retains carotene, vitamins B1 and B2. When frozen, vitamin C remains in almost the same amount as in fresh fruits.

Frozen berries have a valuable advantage over fresh ones. They contain less pesticides, lead and cadmium. When comparing frozen products with fresh, but not seasonal ones, which are available in stores in winter, experts believe that frozen fruits are healthier than those grown in greenhouses.

During vitamin deficiency and exacerbation of viral diseases, such fruits will be an excellent salvation. It is enough to include them in your daily diet to eat not only tasty, but also healthy dishes. Frozen berries in Moscow and other cities are sold all year round in markets and supermarkets. But frozen foods yourself will be much healthier.

What does freezing do?

Today you can buy fresh herbs, vegetables, fruits and berries all year round. Some types of products are grown in greenhouses, others are brought from southern countries. But healthy eating experts prefer frozen seasonal products. They contain less pesticides, more vitamins, pectins and other substances formed under the influence of natural sunlight without excess fertilizers.

Important! Proper freezing preserves vitamin C in full in fruits, all B vitamins, as well as other water-soluble active components.

In addition to their beneficial composition, the berries retain their shape and color and do not lose their natural aroma after defrosting. That is why they are so useful and in demand during the winter season, with its inherent vitamin deficiencies, viral respiratory diseases and sun deficiency.

Freezing berries in the refrigerator allows you to always have a valuable natural product on hand. It serves as an independent vitamin dessert or is a raw material for the manufacture of other dishes. This is ice cream, pie filling, mousse, smoothie and so on. There are a lot of recipes for berry desserts that use frozen foods.

Preparation

Freezing a berry does not mean simply placing it in the freezer. There are several rules for preparing for storage.

It is necessary to select only ripe fruits. In some cases, if culinary processing is planned after defrosting, for example, a filling from frozen berries or compotes will be prepared, then you can take the fruits at the initial stage of ripening. They will also retain valuable vitamins. For example, a layer pie with frozen berries in winter would not be bad.

Under no circumstances should you store overripe, damaged or rotten fruits.

It is advisable to place in the freezer a product that was collected no later than 2 hours ago. In this case, it will be of high quality. This is most likely only possible if you have your own garden plot or dacha.

At the first stage, they get rid of:

stalk;
leaves;
seed nests.

Care must be taken with soft berries - strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, so as not to damage them during mechanical processing. In some cases, you can freeze berries with the stems, and peel them after defrosting.

Before moving to the freezer, the fruits must be washed and dried. To do this, they are laid out on paper towels. To ensure quick drying, place another towel on top to remove excess moisture.

Freezing methods

Berries, like fruits and vegetables, can be prepared for the winter whole, in slices or in the form of puree. It all depends on the taste preferences of family members and the quality of the raw materials. Complete freezing is always preceded by preliminary freezing for 4-6 hours. This is necessary so that in the future the berries can be easily removed from the bag or container and do not stick together and turn into one big lump. Rules and technology for pre-freezing:

line a tray or flat dish with parchment paper;
arrange the berries so that they do not touch each other;
Place the tray in the freezer for at least 4 hours.

Pre-freezing is necessary for whole and sliced fruits. Only puree does not pass this stage of preparation.

Whole berries

This method is suitable for any berries from large strawberries and blackberries to wild blueberries. For raspberries, blackberries and strawberries, it is important to properly freeze the fruits. To do this, they are laid out on a tray separately from each other and well dried. Excess moisture will have a bad effect on the firmness of the berries after defrosting.

Small fruits, such as blueberries, cranberries or strawberries, can simply be scattered onto a tray without paying attention to density. In the future, they can be easily separated by hand.

After freezing, the berries are quickly poured from parchment paper into prepared containers. If the fruits are stuck, you can use a spatula, but do not touch them with your hands. The skin will stick to the berries, and they will become deformed. The process should take a few minutes. Filled containers are immediately placed in a storage chamber.

Video: freezing berries

Freezing berries - raspberries, currants, blueberries, blackberries.

Watch this video on YouTube

In slices

This method of harvesting for the winter is more suitable for large, ripe strawberries. It is cut into two or several slices, laid out on a tray and frozen.

Tip: the berry should be firm, not overripe, and retain its shape well after cutting. Unripe fruits are not suitable because they have a white core that looks unpresentable. It is enough to freeze the strawberry slices for 2-3 hours and place them in bags.

Assorted berries

Homemade assorted berries are a delicacy for children and adults. If you prepare it correctly, you get not just a vitamin cocktail, but also a beautiful natural dessert. Fruits ideal for forming an assortment:

small dense strawberries;
garden blueberries;
black currant;
cherry.

Raspberries and blackberries go well together. The berries are frozen together, so that after this the mixture is simultaneously placed in a bag and stored. Pre-freezing is carried out for at least 6 hours.

Video: how to prepare and freeze berry mix

HOW TO COOK AND FREEZE BERRY MIX

Watch this video on YouTube

Puree

You can freeze not only fruits whole or in slices. An alternative to heat treatment is berry puree frozen in the refrigerator. It is prepared with or without sugar, as desired.

For pureeing, choose ripe berries with the maximum content of natural sugar. It is not necessary to dry them thoroughly after washing. Using a blender, grind the berries to a puree. For this type of freezing, fruits of one type or assortment are suitable. The main thing is the absence of seeds.

You can store the puree in plastic containers for single use. To do this, you can buy special 200 gram cups with lids.

Proper freezing is an easy way to prepare a seasonal harvest for the winter. More and more housewives are giving preference to this option for winter preparations, gradually moving away from cooking, canning and pickling. This saves time and does not require special skills and experience.

Video: freezing strawberries

Freezing strawberries A great way to freeze berries

Watch this video on YouTube

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Selection of containers

To preserve the shape of frozen berries, mushrooms, and vegetables, you can use plastic bags and plastic containers with lids. You should not choose already used cellophane bags. They may retain the smell of past products. In addition, microcracks may appear in them, which can lead to depressurization. Also, you should not choose glassware, as it will crack in the cold.

For freezing, it is advisable to choose a small container. Then freezing will be faster, and it will also create convenient portions for defrosting. It is advisable that the dose be no more than 600-700 g. The fruits should be placed in dry containers, compacted well and the air released. If the container is opaque, it must be labeled.

The container or bag must be tightly closed. This affects the evaporation of moisture during storage, which condenses on the walls of the chamber, which causes frequent shutdowns of the refrigerator to remove ice. In addition, the quality of the product also depends on the tightness of the packaging.

Container or bag?

How to properly freeze berries in the refrigerator and what container to use for this? It all depends on the type of fruit, its size and the size of the freezer. It is more convenient to store large fruits in ordinary plastic bags, as they take up less space.

It is more convenient to scatter small berries, such as blueberries or wild strawberries, into plastic containers with lids. Do the same with pureed fruits. But medium-sized strawberries or those cut in half are recommended to be placed in zip-lock bags. Do the same with pitted cherries.

Used plastic bags, glass containers, plastic bottles, yogurt or ice cream jars are not used.

Strawberries

Large and medium berries should be washed, dried, placed on a tray and placed in the freezer. Before freezing, strawberries are sprinkled with sugar. It can also be frozen in sugar syrup. To do this, they need to be placed in a jar, filled with syrup (300 g of sugar per 1 liter of water) and cooled, and then kept in the freezer for a day. The containers must be closed with plastic lids and placed in the chamber.

There is another way to harvest strawberries. It should be placed in an enamel container, sprinkled with sugar, and then placed at the bottom of the refrigerator to form juice. The finished strawberries are transferred into portioned forms, filled with juice and frozen.

How to prepare your freezer

A day before the intended preparation of food for the winter, the freezing mode is turned on. There is a separate tray in the freezer for berries. They should not come into contact with raw meat and fish, aromatic herbs: dill, parsley. Such proximity is fraught with a change in the aroma of the berries and infection with microbes that may be found in raw meat products. The meat is heat-treated, and the berries are often consumed fresh, slightly defrosted.

Purchase flat trays or plastic dishes in advance, the size of which will allow them to be placed in the chamber for pre-cooling the fruit. After the berries are frozen and placed in containers, the freezing mode is changed to storage mode. In this case, the air temperature in the refrigerator is set at least -8°C. The lower the temperature, the longer the shelf life. Experts note that with temperatures ranging from -18°C, berries are stored in the refrigerator for about 1 year without loss of quality and nutrients.

Raspberries

It should be fresh, clean, not overripe. You don’t have to wash it, you just need to cool it. Raspberries can be prepared with or without sugar, but sugar changes color. Ripe berries should be placed in small containers.

Then the raspberries should be placed in a cool place for 3-4 hours. Then it must be overlapped with the edges of the film, closed with lids and placed in the freezer. The suitable storage temperature is -12 degrees. If the raspberries are large and strong, they are harvested like strawberries - first on a saucer in 1 layer, and then poured into a storage container.

Preparing berries for storage in the freezer

Sort the berries carefully. Be especially careful with delicate fruits such as raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries. To avoid damaging them. Remove stems, leaves, diseased and damaged fruits.

Carefully rinse the berries, drain the water, and lay them out to dry in a thin layer on a towel or linen. To speed up the process, you can gently blot it by placing a paper towel on top. It will quickly absorb excess moisture from the top of the berries.

Different berries need to be prepared and frozen in their own way, let’s look at this in more detail.

Freezing berries: strawberries

The best way is to freeze the strawberries whole. Pre-rinse, dry, remove the stalk. Place on trays in a single layer and place on freezer shelf. After freezing, quickly pack into containers or bags for later storage.

Before freezing, you can sprinkle the strawberries with sugar and freeze them directly in a container or zip bag. It is only important that the volume of one package is no more than 0.5-0.7 kg. So that the product freezes quickly.

Raspberries

For storage, choose strong, mature, complex drupes that are untouched by pests. Unfortunately, we are not the only ones who love raspberries. There may be raspberry beetle larvae in the berries. To get rid of it, place the berries for 2-3 minutes in a saline solution: a tablespoon of salt per liter of water. The pests will float to the surface and need to be drained with water. Then transfer the raspberries to a colander or sieve. Pour cold water into a large bowl and place the berries in a sieve for no more than 1 minute. Dry, keep in the refrigerator for an hour and a half, spread in a thin layer and freeze. Then package it.

To prepare a topping for sweet dishes in winter, you can mix raspberries with sugar in a 2:1 ratio. Grind with a blender or masher, pour the mixture into ice cube trays. Or using silicone muffin tins. And freeze it. Place frozen berry figures in bags and seal tightly. In winter, frozen raspberry puree will decorate casseroles, pancakes or pancakes and remind you of summer.

Blackberry

Freezing blackberries is a little different from raspberries. Ripe and large drupes are selected.

You need to remove the stalks from them and wash them in a special sieve in cold water. Dry on a towel. You can freeze blackberries on a tray and then pack them into storage containers. Or immediately place it in a zip bag, spread it in a thin layer, and place it on the freezer shelf.

Currant

Currant berries are strong and dense. Therefore, after washing and drying, they can be immediately packaged in containers or bags and frozen. In winter, defrosted currants will not lose in appearance, taste or benefits to summer ones. It is good for decorating confectionery and cakes, making jelly and sauces. You can make filling for pies.

Blueberry

Large and ripe fruits are selected for harvesting. They are washed in a large basin, changing the water a couple of times. After this, the water is allowed to drain. Dry by spreading a thin layer on a towel. Freeze loosely on trays and then place in bags or containers for storage.

Gooseberry

It’s not for nothing that gooseberries are called “northern grapes.” The famous “royal” emerald jam made from yellow-green berries is known far beyond the borders of our homeland. Moreover, in Europe they call him Russian. But it can also be frozen, and in winter it can be used both fresh and for cooking. Moreover, you can prepare not only sweets, but also delicious sauces for meat and fish dishes.

Ripe yellow-green fruits are sorted. Remove the stalks and dried pestle, wash and dry. Freeze on trays or silicone mats, spreading in a thin layer. Then they are packaged and hermetically sealed.

However, gooseberries can be frozen directly in the container, sprinkled with sugar. If the berries are overripe, but you decide to preserve them without heat treatment, then freeze the puree. To do this, add 400-500 g of granulated sugar per kilogram of gooseberries and grind with a blender. Freeze in ice cube trays or silicone baking pans for small pastries. Small cubes can then be poured into a container. Wrap each large figure in cling film and then place it in storage bags. In winter, you can take the required amount of puree without defrosting the entire batch.

By the way, the recipe for “royal” jam and gooseberry liqueur can be found by following the link.

Cherry and plum

These drupes are washed and dried before harvesting. If they are intended for preparing compote or fruit juice in winter, then the seeds do not need to be removed. But if it is intended to be used as a filling for dumplings or pies, then the seeds must be removed. Plums can be cut into halves or quarters. In winter they are perfect for open plum pies, jelly, and preparing various sauces and toppings.

Plums and cherries are frozen, laid out in one layer, and then packaged. Cherries can be frozen in a container, sprinkled with sugar.

Currant

This berry must be washed and dried. The stalks of the black ones must be removed, and the clusters of the red and white ones must be removed. Then the fruits are placed on a plate and frozen. Frozen currants should be placed in bags, closed and placed in the freezer.

Since these fruits are dense, they can be poured into containers or bags and placed in a chamber without laying them out on a dish. After defrosting, blackcurrants have almost the same taste as fresh ones.

Container for berries

Our goal is not just to freeze the berries, but also to preserve their appetizing appearance. After all, in winter we can decorate a variety of dishes and desserts with them. In order to maintain the shape of the berries, cellophane bags and small plastic containers with lids, which can be purchased in disposable tableware departments, are perfect.

Thanks to their rectangular shape, they fit very well into freezer spaces. But if the number of berries is alarmingly large, you can save a little freezer space by using plastic containers to shape plastic bags convenient for storage. It's very easy to do.

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Place each bag, into which frozen berries have already been poured, into a rectangular plastic container and place in the freezer. Once the contents of the bag have frozen into a rectangular shape, the container can be released to be reused as a freezer mold. The resulting rectangular bags are placed quite compactly in the freezer.

Delicate berries - strawberries, raspberries and blackberries are best stored in containers. This way they will not wrinkle when frozen and will retain their shape when defrosted. Currants, cherries and gooseberries, as well as many others, can be frozen dry and stored in plastic bags.

You can grind the berries and freeze them as a puree. With or without sugar, it’s up to you.

Cherries and sweet cherries

These berries need to be washed and dried. If they are used to prepare compote, the seeds do not need to be removed. And for future dumplings or pies you will have to do this. Cherries can be placed in bags and frozen. To keep the product intact, it must be placed in 1 layer and quickly frozen. Then pour into containers or bags and put in the freezer.

You can also sprinkle cherries with sugar and pack them in containers lined with polyethylene. It is preferable to store such products at -12 degrees.

Freezing berries: main rules

Freezing berries, like any preparation, has its own rules and tricks. And if you follow them, then in winter you will have a vitamin treat that embodies summer. So, let's talk about the rules and secrets of cryogenic preparations.

Firstly, select only moderately ripe berries for freezing. Because the unripe ones have not yet acquired taste and nutrients. It is better to put overripe ones into jam or liqueur. Because after defrosting they will look, to put it mildly, unsightly. Or rather, they will simply turn into mush. And an important condition: the berries must be freshly picked. Ideally, no more than 4-6 hours after removal from a bush or tree.

Secondly, pay attention to the storage temperature. All beneficial properties are best preserved if the berries are frozen and stored at a temperature of -18...-23 degrees. This temperature is provided by household freezers, vertical or chest freezers. With this regime, without loss of taste, aroma and healing properties, you can preserve berries for up to a year.

If the freezing and storage temperature is -8º C, then the berries should be consumed no later than three months after harvesting.

Thirdly, it is important to choose the right container in which the berries will be frozen and stored. Not only plastic containers are suitable for this, but also regular cellophane or zip bags. It is important that when laying the berries they are not tamped or compacted. So as not to violate their integrity. The size of the package also matters. It should be such that in winter you can use all the berries from it at once. Because you cannot re-freeze and then defrost the product. It will not only lose its shape and appearance, but also lose its nutritional value.

In addition, the container must ensure maximum tightness. Because during storage, moisture may “freeze out” from the product. As a result, not only does excess ice form on the walls of the chamber. But the quality of the berries also decreases. Which can also absorb the odors of other products stored in the chamber.

ATTENTION!!!

The freezing process should be quick. Therefore, you should not immediately “fill” the entire chamber with berries. It's best to do this in small portions to avoid large temperature fluctuations in the freezer. Only this will ensure the safety of vitamins and nutrients.

Vegetables

You can cook not only frozen berries. Vegetables are also prepared this way. Moreover, they retain their taste, appearance and valuable properties.

The following vegetables are suitable for preparation.

Green peas, corn kernels, green beans. The products are blanched, after which they are cooled and dried, and then put into bags.
Bell pepper. The vegetable can be frozen whole for stuffing, as well as sliced.
Carrot. It must be grated on a coarse grater and put into bags.
Eggplant. The vegetable is prepared raw and baked. It can be cut into cubes or circles.
Zucchini. It is cut into circles or cubes.
Cauliflower and broccoli. The first vegetable needs to be boiled, divided into inflorescences, cooled and dried. There is no need to cook broccoli.
Tomatoes. Small ones are frozen whole, large ones - in circles or cubes.

Mixtures can also be prepared in this way. It is better to freeze each product separately first and then combine them.

Freezing fresh fruits and berries for the winter

Our fruits and berries are washed and dried - we can begin the first stage. For this we need a baking sheet, choose it according to the size of the freezer so that it fits and “lies” flat without tilting; if there is no baking sheet of a suitable format, then use a sheet of thick cardboard.

Now we cover it with parchment and lay out the products in one layer. It's okay if our berries touch each other a little. This method helps us freeze each piece individually, which simplifies both the storage process and further use.

Storage and defrosting

Berries should not be stored near meat, fish and other “odorous” products, otherwise they will perceive their smell. You need to freeze quickly, so you shouldn’t fill the entire chamber. It is advisable to do this in small portions. Then you will be able to save a lot of vitamins.

Before freezing, you need to prepare the chamber. Many refrigerators have a freezer pre-prep function. It is advisable to turn on the “Freezing” option one day before placing the product and turn it off a day after that. Then you need to set the “Storage” mode.

It is advisable to set the temperature from -18 to -23 degrees. At this temperature, the fruits are quickly and reliably frozen and stored for 8–12 months. But you can set it from 0 to -8 degrees, but then the products are stored for no more than 3 months.

Defrosting should be done gradually, placing the berries in the lower section of the refrigerator. But you don’t have to do this either if you cook compote. Without defrosting, the products are added to porridge during cooking. There is no need to freeze it again.

Berries after freezing can be used for various purposes. Compotes, fruit drinks, and jelly are prepared from them. They are used as components of cocktails and refreshing drinks. These fruits and vegetables are also used to make pie filling. They are added to cereals and baby food. The berries can be used in the preparation of ice cream, cottage cheese desserts and casseroles, as well as jellies, mousses and sauces. Moreover, in any form they retain their beneficial properties.

Various recipes

Every recipe for freezing berries has basic techniques - you can't skip them.
Additionally, you can make adjustments, but only minor ones. How to freeze berries for the winter at home:

First of all, we wash the fruits and remove the branches or roots.
Next, in order for the fruits to dry, they need to be placed on a tray with gauze. It is better if the fruits lose moisture naturally. The product is left in a well-ventilated area or outside, avoiding direct sunlight.
On a tray, the fruits are transferred to the freezer. They should become hard.
Once the fruits have hardened, they can be transferred to a container and stored there.

As an option, we make puree from the fruits and then freeze them - in one stage without preliminary freezing. You can add sugar or other sweetener to the puree.

What do berries lose?

Modern technology allows us to minimize losses, but they still remain.
Only the fresh product retains 100% of its usefulness: neither dried nor frozen products can compare with the composition of fresh products. Be sure to read:

Chestnut: in the east - a traditional dessert, in the north - a poisonous enemy

Heat treatment affects the composition and taste - so after freezing, rowan berries become sweet, and green fruits become bitter, their astringency increases. The reason for this is the loss of water that is in the juice; it is this that dilutes the pronounced taste. After freezing, the aroma and taste become brighter, but the juiciness is less.

As for the beneficial properties of the product, the technology for freezing berries cannot guarantee the preservation of all properties. Thus, vitamin C, which is abundant in lemon or sea buckthorn, disappears even at the moment of preparing the product: it is a very unstable and easily disintegrating component.

Elena Solomatina

Nutritionist

According to average data, about 16% of vitamins are lost during cooking, including C, A, B. A similar situation is observed during freezing. Vitamin B12 remains the most stable and is not afraid of any heat treatment.

— Elena Solomatina Dietitian

Equipment for blast freezing berries, for example, produces a frozen product that is many times healthier than fresh fruits out of season. Even minimal losses that cannot be avoided cannot be compared with the benefits.

Pie

Useful preparations allow you to prepare a layer cake with frozen berries. There are many different recipes. For the simplest one, you will need 500 g of berries and the same amount of dough. You also need sugar (1/2 cup), starch (3 tbsp) and an egg. Puff pastry can be purchased ready-made. It must be divided into 2 parts. One of them needs to be rolled out to the size of a baking sheet. Grease the container with oil and transfer the dough.

The berries must be mixed with sugar and left for 15 minutes. Then you need to remove the liquid and add starch. Now you can add the filling. After this, we lay out the second rolled out layer on which to make cuts. The baked goods are treated with egg. Place the pie in the oven for 30 minutes, which must be preheated to 200 degrees. Do not immediately remove the cake from the mold, let it sit a little. The result is a delicious dessert that will be an excellent addition to any tea party.

To summarize: how to properly freeze berries

Now you know how to transfer a piece of summer to the harsh winter, and also how to get such valuable and healthy vitamins during the cold. And, most importantly, you received instructions that will help you prepare berries for the entire cold period until the next season!

You can prepare many interesting, tasty and healthy dishes from berries, so make sure you have vitamins on your table all year round!

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See also on the blog: How to freeze cherries, blueberries How to freeze mushrooms

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