Freezing berries and fruits is the best way to provide yourself with vitamins throughout the winter. Cold is a natural preservative. Frozen berries and fruits retain their benefits as much as possible. And frozen currants, for example, contain many times more vitamin C than fresh ones! You can freeze whatever you want. Usually these are strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, mulberries, currants, sea buckthorn, even watermelon. Fruits: apricots, plums, pears, peaches, grapes. We will tell you in this article how to freeze berries and fruits in such a way as to preserve their benefits as much as possible.
10 rules for high-quality freezing of berries and fruits
Choose the berries to freeze carefully
Freezing begins with the selection of berries. For freezing, choose ripe but not overripe fruits. You should not pick or buy unripe berries for freezing. They, unlike some fruits, do not ripen later in the sun. Do not freeze damaged fruit. Choose berries that are richly colored.
When purchasing, pay attention to the containers. Wet spots inside indicate that the berries are overripe. If it happens that some berries have already gone bad, sort them all out, throw away the spoiled ones and just the soft ones to avoid the further spread of mold.
Frozen seafood
Most of the seafood we buy has been previously frozen, unless you are lucky enough to live very close to the coast or catch your catch yourself. Unlike chicken, fish is safe to freeze - just make sure it's packaged really well - so if you don't plan to use it within a day or two of buying it, stick it in the freezer. Fish and shellfish will last two to six months when frozen .
| Frozen seafood | Shelf life in the freezer |
| Oily fish - mackerel or salmon | 3 months |
| White fish - cod, flounder | 6 months |
| Cooked crab | 2 months |
| Crab raw or live | 3 months |
| Raw crayfish | 4 months |
| Lobster cooked | 2 months |
| Lobster raw/live | 3 months |
| Cooked shellfish | 3 months |
| Raw shrimp | 4 months |
| Octopus or squid raw | 4 months |
Wash berries properly before freezing
Wash the berries in very cold water. Place the strawberries in a colander first and rinse gently under cold water before removing the stems. If you tear them off before washing, the water can affect the texture and flavor of the berries.
Do not rinse blackberries, raspberries, mulberries, currants, sea buckthorn and blueberries under running water, as the pressure of the water can damage them. Instead, place the berries in a colander and place them in a bowl of cold water. Gently move the colander through the water, then drain.
To dry the berries, after washing, carefully arrange them in a single layer on a tray lined with paper towels. Blot the top with another dry paper towel and let dry naturally.
Rinse the strawberries carefully under cold water before removing the stems. © Rachael Ray Show
Ensure the packaging is sealed
Place the berries for freezing in special food containers (they are marked as freezing acceptable) or in reusable plastic zip bags with clasps. To prevent the berries from absorbing foreign odors in the freezer, seal them tightly.
Try to get as much air out of the bag as possible before sealing it. There is such a simple way: close the bag, leaving a small hole, insert a cocktail straw into it and try to extract as much air as possible from the bag with your lips. After this, immediately take out the tube and close the bag so that the air does not have time to get back.
Do not refreeze!
Berries and fruits should not be frozen and thawed again, as this will cause them to lose vitamins. But the most important thing is that berries and fruits can deteriorate during the process of repeated freezing and thawing and lead to food poisoning.
When defrosting, microorganisms actively begin to multiply, which lead to rotting. Unfortunately, low temperatures do not kill them, but stop their life activity for a while. But when defrosted again, they begin to multiply with renewed vigor, which can be dangerous to health.
Also, the water that forms on defrosted products turns into large ice crystals, which destroy the structures of the berries and spoil their appearance.
Maintain shelf life
Frozen berries can be stored in the freezer for up to 12 months, provided that the temperature does not exceed minus 18 degrees. If the temperature in the freezer is minus 12 degrees or higher, then it is advisable not to store the products for longer than 4 months.
Another caveat is to store the berries in the back of the freezer, as the temperature often fluctuates on the doors or closer to the edge when opening the freezer. This reduces the shelf life of products. It is better to store in these places what you are going to use for cooking soon.
Freezing ready-made meals in the freezer
It is best to specially prepare some dishes for future use. Sometimes you accidentally end up with too many servings. We have to come up with something. You can freeze almost any food, the recipe does not matter. Recommended shelf life is 1-3 months. It is advisable not to let it sit, use it as soon as possible.
What can be frozen:
- stews, all kinds of stews, roasts;
- cutlets, meatballs, dumplings, other options with chopped minced meat;
- meat, poultry in pieces, homemade ham, boiled pork, sausages;
- boiled, baked vegetables;
- rice, buckwheat, other side dishes.
It is recommended to pack in tight bags, film, containers. Immediately divide into portions for single use. Removing an individually wrapped cutlet is much easier than trying to separate it from a frozen lump in a bag.
You need to freeze immediately after cooking and cooling. Do not keep the dish in the refrigerator for several days.
Freezing and preparing prepared foods
Each product has its own freezing method
You can freeze berries and fruits in different ways:
- mixes and separately;
- in the form of puree;
- cut into pieces or crushed;
- with or without sugar, syrup.
But it happens that for different berries or the purposes for which they are prepared, it is necessary to use different freezing methods. For example, strawberries and watermelon significantly lose their taste when frozen and become less sweet. Peaches frozen whole or in pieces darken and lose vitamin C. Therefore, it is worth considering some nuances when freezing these fruits.
Peaches can be frozen whole, with pits, wrapped in paper and placed in sealed bags to prevent them from picking up odors. But it is typical for peaches that they darken after freezing, so they are often frozen in the form of puree (with or without sugar) or under syrup.
If you want to keep the peaches beautiful and in their natural color, peel them and place them in water acidified with lemon in a 1:1 ratio for 10-15 minutes. This will not affect their taste, only their appearance. To easily remove the skin from peaches, you need to blanch them (dip them in boiling water) for 30 seconds, then quickly transfer them to cold water for a few seconds, then the skin will come off easily.
You can even freeze watermelon, but it will completely lose its structure and will no longer be crispy. But it can be used for desserts, smoothies, and to cool drinks instead of ice. To make it sweet, you should sprinkle the pieces (or balls scooped up with an ice cream spoon) with sugar at the rate of 350 g of sweet powder per kilogram of watermelon. It is also delicious to freeze watermelon in sugar syrup (500 g of sugar per liter of water).
Harm and possible contraindications
Cherry pits contain hydrocyanic acid, so you should not swallow them. For the same reason, winter cherries with pits are never stored for more than a year.
- There are the following contraindications for using the product:
- allergy;
- gastrointestinal diseases (duodenal ulcer, gastritis);
- diarrhea;
- may cause heartburn, especially in people with high acidity of gastric juice;
- high blood sugar;
- for some liver diseases, since the berry stimulates its work;
- low pressure.
Frozen cherries need to be properly selected and defrosted. Then they will be beneficial, and they can be used not only in cooking, but also for medicinal purposes. They retain almost all the properties of fresh fruits. The berries have contraindications, but in many cases they can be used externally to prepare cosmetic masks.
Requirements for containers
For freezing berry preparations, two types of containers are used:
- Plastic bags - it is advisable to purchase special freezing bags for these purposes. They have a dense structure and are therefore resistant to mechanical damage. They have a lock on the side for ease of use. It is not advisable to use this container for berries with a soft texture.
- Plastic containers - choose containers that are resistant to low temperatures. The container must have an airtight lid. The containers are convenient to stack on a shelf and do not take up much space.
For any type of container, it is recommended to purchase special stickers on which the date of packaging should be indicated. The shape is convenient to use rectangular plastic containers. Choose dishes with strong walls and a tight-fitting lid. It’s convenient to freeze the product in portions, so you don’t have to defrost the whole package.
How many vitamins are lost?
Users are increasingly interested in the question of whether frozen berries are still healthy. Subject to freezing conditions, the vitamin and mineral complex in the berries is almost completely preserved. Scientific studies have shown that vitamins are best preserved when berries are quickly frozen at a temperature of -25. Only in this case, the liquid that is inside the fruit will not have time to form into crystals and damage the cells.
When blast freezing, berries lose up to 20% of their beneficial properties; when preserved, the loss is 50%; when dried, it reaches 70%. The usefulness of the product is also affected by the time of harvest. The faster it gets into the freezer, the more vitamins it will retain. Vitamins of group B and C are lost most quickly. They disappear from fruits with pronounced acidity. They are eaten first. These berries include: sea buckthorn, strawberries, currants.
Benefits of cherries:
Cherries contain a large amount of vitamins and minerals, making them very beneficial for the body.
Cherry strengthens the cardiovascular system. The high content of iron, magnesium, copper and B vitamins in cherries helps with anemia and diseases associated with the hematopoietic system. Cherry strengthens the entire circulatory system. Due to the high content of coumarins, the blood clotting threshold is reduced, making the formation of cholesterol plaques on the walls of blood vessels less likely. Eating cherries reduces the risk of thrombosis, heart attack and stroke.
Cherries also contain vitamin C, which helps strengthen the immune system and increases the body's protective properties. The berry has high antioxidant properties, prevents premature aging of cells, rejuvenates the body and improves tone.
Cherries are also useful for bacterial diseases of the gastrointestinal system. The benefit lies in the ability of this berry to kill harmful bacteria and microorganisms. Cherries stimulate appetite and stimulate the secretory functions of the stomach, gall bladder and pancreas. Causes an expectorant and laxative effect.
Benefits for women:
Cherry slows down the aging process and improves a woman’s skin. Reduces the risk of varicose veins. Helps reduce discomfort during menopause. Thanks to its folic acid content, cherries help pregnant women with the proper development of the fetus. A large amount of vitamins and minerals adds strength to both mother and baby, and reduces the risk of developing pathologies and diseases.
Benefits of frozen cherries:
Frozen cherries contain the same vitamins and minerals as fresh ones. Frozen berries are just as beneficial for the human body as fresh ones. In order to preserve beneficial vitamins, macro- and microelements in cherries, it is necessary to properly freeze and defrost the berries. Recommendations for freezing and thawing cherries are given in this material.
But in order for cherries to bring only benefits to the body, they should be eaten in moderation, and people with contraindications should limit or eliminate their consumption.
Shelf life
Fresh frozen berries can be stored for 9-12 months. These fruits include: cherry, cranberry, lingonberry. They are stored for up to 9 months, retaining their beneficial qualities: blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries. The lower the temperature, the longer the harvest lasts. The table shows the relationship between temperature and storage time:
Dry freezing
This freezing method does not affect the quality of the product. It allows you to freeze the product evenly without losing its original appearance. Store freshly harvested crops in containers or plastic bags, which are placed in the freezer. Store under the same temperature conditions as during normal freezing.
Purees and syrups
Berries of non-standard shapes and sizes take up a lot of space on the shelf in the freezer, so experienced housewives turn them into puree. Crushed fruits undergo oxidation faster, so their shelf life is reduced. It is advisable to store such a product for no more than 8 months.
Lovers of sweet desserts use a time-tested method - they place a fresh harvest in the freezer with sugar syrup. This consistency does not harden well, so the shelf life of berries in this form is reduced to 6 months.
Frozen cherries with sugar for the winter
If you like desserts, sweet berry fillings, or just occasionally add powdered sugar to the cherries so that they are not sour, you can use this freezing option.
- The berries were washed and dried.
- Next, we remove the pits using a small paper clip (or an invisible hair clip or pin).
- In a cup, mix cherries with granulated sugar or powdered sugar.
- After mixing, put into containers, close and put in the freezer.
And some do this:
After drying and cleaning, some of the berries remain whole, and some are crushed into a puree. In a bowl, berries are mixed with puree and sugar, which are then frozen in plastic containers. The result is an original, refreshing cherry dessert.
Each of these methods has its connoisseurs, so choose what you like best, what is more convenient, etc.
Advantages and disadvantages of the storage method
Preserving the harvest from your garden in the freezer is the only right decision that will help preserve the maximum benefits of the berries. One of the main advantages of this method is the opportunity to enjoy a seasonal product in winter. Frozen berries do not contain harmful microorganisms and contain less lead, pesticides, and cadmium. Bacteria cannot grow in frozen foods. Loss of nutrients and vitamins occurs in minimal quantities.
The disadvantages of the method include:
- Failure to comply with storage periods can lead to poisoning and stomach upset;
- fruits are able to absorb foreign odors;
- no possibility of re-freezing.
But these troubles can be avoided by observing shelf life and properly packaging products in containers designated for these purposes. Frozen berries are second in quality only to freshly harvested ones. In other cases, this method of storing food is considered justified. By following the tips and storage rules, you can enjoy healthy fruits from your garden all year round.
Share link:
Source
Berries are a valuable source of vitamins. They cannot be stored fresh for a long time, so housewives try to process the harvest as much as possible, making a variety of preparations for the winter: homemade compotes, preserves, jams, marmalade and much more. Now, thanks to modern freezers, there is a convenient opportunity to freeze berries, fruits and vegetables at home, which, compared to canning, allows you to preserve more nutrients.
Berries provide the necessary supply of vitamins, micro- and macroelements
Rules for choosing when purchasing
When purchasing fresh cherries to freeze, you should consider how you intend to use them. Small fruits are good for filling pies, and large ones are purchased for fresh consumption. The darker the berry, the sweeter it is and contains more nutrients.
It is better to buy fruits with cuttings. This way they are better preserved and can be used to determine the freshness of the product. Fresh berries have green cuttings, not dry. It is recommended to sample one berry and check it for worminess and taste. The fruits should not be too soft or sticky, and should not have a wine smell, signaling the beginning of fermentation processes. Cherries with such signs should not be considered as a purchase.
When buying frozen cherries in a supermarket, you should focus on the packaged product and pay attention to the freezing method, packaging and storage times, and the tightness of the packaging. Properly frozen fruits should crumble inside the bag
Basic rules for freezing
Preserving the freshness of raw materials by placing them in the freezer has another advantage - such fruits, as a rule, contain less pesticides, cadmium and lead. According to experts, seasonal products that have been frozen are more useful than those grown in industrial greenhouses.
Careful selection of raw materials
The initial stage of freezing is the selection of suitable fruits. They are sorted out, giving preference to specimens of rich color. Both unripe ones, which do not have sufficient taste and aroma, and overripe ones, which are unable to maintain their integrity and taste properties, are not suitable. The latter are also more prone to damage and deterioration.
Preparation
To properly freeze berries, this process must be approached selectively, using a different method for each type. Thus, the delicate skin of raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, sea buckthorn and mulberries may be damaged when washed under running water. Therefore, they are not washed at all, or they are placed in a container of water in a colander and, after moving it a little from side to side, they are taken out, allowed to drain, and then the raw materials are laid out to dry.
Strawberries have their own secret - they are sent for “water procedures” along with the stalks. Removing them in advance will reduce the texture and flavor of the berries.
Advice from experienced housewives: rinse the fruits in very cold water and dry in one layer on trays or trays covered with cotton towels; It is important to let them dry well naturally.
Sealed packaging
The prepared raw materials are laid out in special food containers or plastic bags with zippers, which allows you to maintain tightness and prevent the penetration of foreign odors. Before sealing the bag, it is advisable to remove the air from it. Use a very simple method: without closing the clasp all the way, leave a small hole for a cocktail straw, through which try to extract as much air as possible from the bag, then immediately close it.
Frozen berries: what berries, how to freeze correctly, storage, benefits
Summer has come, and the berries at the dacha have begun to ripen. And the question arose about their storage. Sometimes you pick up a bucket of strawberries, raspberries or currants and don’t eat them right away; when you cook the jam, the vitamins are destroyed, then the jar sits in the cellar and grows moldy. Freezing berries will help any housewife in this direction.
How to properly freeze berries
Let's look at the main points of freezing berries.
1) First of all, let’s decide which berries are frozen?
All berries without exception can be frozen. Everything that grows in our latitudes: strawberries, cherries, gooseberries, currants, raspberries, blackberries, sea buckthorn, lingonberries, cranberries, etc.
The berries must be washed with water in a colander and removed from the stems.
The process of freezing strawberries is simple: in bulk or in sugar syrup.
Bulk - you scatter the berries on a tray in the freezer, and then collect them in a bag, already frozen, and put them in a permanent place in the freezer.
In sugar syrup: cut large berries into two parts, and place small ones whole in a plastic container (we usually take 800 gram or 1 kg plastic mayonnaise containers). They put one layer and sprinkled it with sugar, then put the second layer again and sprinkled it with sugar, etc. - all the way to the top. Be sure to close the lid and store it in the freezer.
Raspberries are frozen only in bulk. In sugar syrup, when it defrosts, it is tasteless. There is no need to wash the raspberries - then they will become limp, choke and give out juice. You immediately pour it into the freezer tray, and then an hour later you pour the berries into a bag, tie them up and store them.
The second option for freezing raspberries is directly in a bag, like currants (see photo below).
Freezing currants can also be in bulk and immediately in a bag.
First, the currants must be washed and scattered on a towel on the kitchen table to dry for 2-3 hours. And then use a spoon to put it into the bag in parts. Approximately 13-15 spoons per bag.
Attention!
During the freezing process, the berries come into contact with air oxygen. And this contact can adversely affect the preservation of vitamins in the berries. Therefore, it is advisable to store the berries in an airtight container in which the air is removed, or in a bag, as in the photo below.
Take a bag of berries and a straw.
Insert the straw into the bag and press the top of the bag with your hand so that your hand squeezes the straw tightly.
We suck in all the air from the bag. We quickly remove the straw so that air does not enter back into the bag. We tie the bag, holding it tightly so that air does not enter.
We recommend reading: What Humidity Does a Mushroom Need in the Refrigerator?
These are the bags of berries that are ready for freezing.
D) Gooseberries, cherries, sea buckthorn, cranberries, lingonberries and other berries should be frozen correctly in the same way as currants.
2) The shelf life of frozen berries ranges from 8 to 12 months.
Recently, for example, we got strawberries that were frozen a year ago, last July. And it tasted just as good as if we had picked it a week ago and frozen it too.
Yes, as a result of the freezing process, berries lose a certain taste that is inherent in fresh fruit. But if you take an alternative to freezing - drying, jam, then in these cases the taste is lost even more.
Attention!
Frozen berries should be stored without allowing them to defrost and then re-freeze. In this case, they yield juice, lose vitamins, and become tasteless.
3) Are frozen berries healthy and to what extent?
Yes, they are useful. In general, the process of preserving substances by freezing has long been confirmed by science. In cardiac surgery, the patient is even covered with bags of ice so that if the heart stops during the operation, the brain does not die. And with a decrease in body temperature, the activity of the processes decreases, but vitality remains. Science also knows some representatives of the animal world that, when water freezes, stop their vital activity, and when they thaw, they resume life.
It's about the same with berries. During the freezing process, vitamins are practically not destroyed! They are destroyed only when defrosted after long-term storage.
Therefore, in order to preserve the usefulness of berries when frozen, it is recommended to store them for no more than 10-12 months.
Some are also interested in the calorie content of frozen berries.
The calorie content is very low, and does not differ from the calorie content of fresh berries. After all, during the process of freezing and storage, the berries did not become fattier, were not fried, and did not increase in size due to the accumulation of proteins, fats or carbohydrates.
4) What to make from frozen berries?
My wife makes compotes in the same way as from fresh berries, for example - this is a compote from frozen apples and chokeberries. When making a cake, she takes frozen cherries out of the freezer. When making manna with sour cream, he takes out frozen strawberries.
And if there is no jam in the cellar, he takes out any berry and makes jam.
In order for the berries to retain vitamins during defrosting, they must be defrosted correctly.
5) How to properly defrost berries from the freezer?
Never defrost berries in the microwave! The fact is that the microwave destroys water molecules in the tissues of the berry, as a result of which vitamins are also destroyed. That is, all the usefulness of freezing such berries is down the drain.
It would be correct to defrost the berries at room temperature if they were stored in the freezer in bulk in a bag, for example, this applies to raspberries or strawberries. If the strawberries were stored in sugar syrup, then the container with the berries can be placed in a pan with warm water - this will defrost the strawberries faster.
Well, berries such as cherries, sea buckthorn, gooseberries, lingonberries, cranberries can be defrosted in a colander - pour them into a colander, place them under warm water, and gradually defrost in this way. After such defrosting, the berries seem to have just been plucked from the bush.
In general, we have been using the “services” of the freezer for 12 years. And we are not overjoyed that we have it. By September, it is completely filled with only berries - all six compartments. And in the refrigerator, the three-compartment freezer is also half filled with berries. If there is some kind of celebration or holiday in our house, all guests know that on the table there will always be fresh (that is, frozen) berries from our own dacha, as aromatic and tasty as if they had just been picked, or some dish from these berries are like compote or cake.
Bulk - you scatter the berries on a tray in the freezer, and then collect them in a bag, already frozen, and put them in a permanent place in the freezer.
Fast freezing – slow defrosting
To preserve the beneficial properties and high taste of the berries, it is important not only to quickly freeze them, but also to properly reverse the process. Defrost gradually, preferably on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. Under no circumstances should you use a microwave! There will be no benefit from such fruits.
Frozen fruits are added directly from the container to baked goods or hot dishes, such as porridge or compote, without prior defrosting.
Advice from experienced housewives: to prevent the juice released from the berries from spoiling the baked goods, you need to mix them with starch. For 1 kg of frozen fruit, an average of 2 tbsp is required. l. starch.
Freezing methods
Fruits can be frozen whole or cut into pieces, with or without seeds, filled with juice, water or syrup, in the form of mashed puree with or without added sugar.
Bright colorful ice cubes with berry “filling” will decorate any cocktail
Advice from experienced housewives: if you plan to cook compotes or prepare desserts with the addition of assorted fruits and berries, freeze various fruits in one container.
Individual approach
All berries are good in their own way, and each of them requires a specific approach. The following recommendations will help you avoid mistakes and perform freezing efficiently:
| Berry | Tips for Preparing and Freezing |
| Strawberry | Choose large, ripe fruits, without damage or dents. The stalks are removed only after washing. The dried berries are laid out on a tray in one layer and slightly frozen in the freezer, after which they are poured into bags or containers. Soft overripe strawberries can be crushed in a blender, mixed with sugar, poured into molds and frozen |
| Strawberries | The berries are washed, dried, laid out on a tray and, sprinkled with sugar, sent to the freezing compartment. Later they are packed into final containers. Strawberries in syrup are considered a special delicacy. It is placed in containers, filled with hot sugar solution (take 300 g of sugar per 1 liter of water), cooled and sent to the freezer. Another way is to freeze strawberries in their own juice. In an enamel bowl, the berries sprinkled with sugar are kept on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator until the juice is released. After this, carefully mix, transfer into portioned forms, fill with the resulting juice and freeze. |
| Raspberries | Take fresh, clean, unripe fruits. You don’t have to wash them, but just cool them by placing them in small containers and leaving them in a cool place (refrigerator) for 3-4 hours. Raspberries can be frozen either with or without sugar, but keep in mind that when a preservative is added, the color of the berries changes. Large, strong fruits can be harvested like strawberries - first freeze a little and then pour into portioned containers |
| Currant | After washing and drying, red and white currants are torn from the branches, and the stalks of black currants are removed. Since these fruits have a thick skin, they can be immediately poured into containers or bags, without first freezing on a tray. After defrosting, blackcurrants taste almost the same as fresh ones |
| Blackberries and blueberries | Large, ripe fruits are washed, removing the stalks. Freeze in bulk on a cardboard tray with fairly high sides, then pour into plastic bags or containers and place in the freezer |
| Gooseberry | More often they take yellow-green fruits, remove debris, inflorescences and stalks, wash and dry. Freeze in bulk on a tray or tray, then transfer to the final container and freeze |
Advice from experienced housewives: to prevent fruit and berry preparations from absorbing foreign aromas, do not store them near “odorous” products.
