How to properly freeze strawberries at home for the winter

Garden strawberries, or strawberries, are a fragrant berry loved by both adults and children. This fruit has a pleasant taste and contains a lot of vitamins, organic acids and minerals. One way not to lose them is to freeze them. There are several ways you can freeze strawberries for the winter. We are sure: you have not even heard of some of them.

General principles for the preparation and storage of berries for the winter

The berry tolerates low temperatures well and does not lose its beneficial qualities after freezing. Thawed fruits can be eaten neat or used as an ingredient in drinks, desserts and baked goods.

Garden strawberries will retain their qualities and appearance if harvesting correctly.

Tips:

1. Use fresh, freshly harvested fruits without signs of decay or overripe.
2. Collect berries for freezing in the early morning, before dew falls.
3. Clean as much as possible dry, without rinsing with water.
4. Dry well wet strawberries before freezing.
5. Arrange the berries in a container so that there is a gap between them.
6. Avoid temperature extremes during freezing storage.
7. Do not re-freeze fruits.

It is not recommended to keep strawberries in water for a long time - the fruit quickly absorbs moisture, which is rather difficult to remove. Usually, the result of soaking garden strawberries is sticking, icing of the workpiece.

Collection and preparation of berries for freezing

The harvest time for strawberries depends on the type of berry. Most often this is the beginning of June. Determining maturity is not difficult. The fruit should be completely red, no green spaces, firm to the touch.

You need to pick berries daily.

To extend the shelf life of fresh strawberries, you need to remove them with a stalk, so the fruits stay dry longer and do not grow moldy.

It is better to put garden strawberries in cardboard or wooden boxes - they allow air to pass through.

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Preparing berries for freezing:

1. The crop is sorted out, the stalks and sepals are removed.
2. Remove sand and dirt with a wide soft brush so as not to damage the fruit.
3. If necessary, rinse under running cool water.
4. Dry on a paper towel.

Ways to freeze strawberries at home

You can freeze the fruits in any convenient way. Usually the preparation technique depends on the further application.

Wholly

Most often, garden strawberries are frozen whole. The correct way to do it is dry freeze:

1. Ripe fruits are cleaned of leaves, stalks and sand.
2. Rinse and dry if necessary.
3. Lay out the strawberries on a tray or large dish covered with a plastic bag or wrap.
4. Freeze open in a freezer.

After complete freezing, garden strawberries are placed in a bag or plastic container.

Halves

You can freeze strawberries that have been cut in half. The principle of processing is the same as when harvesting whole berries. The halves are laid out with the cut side up and frozen for 2-3 hours. The hardened fruit is packed in bags or containers.

Strawberry puree

Overripe, crumpled or large berries are used to prepare strawberry puree:

1. The fruits are washed, cleaned of debris.
2. Grind in a blender.
3. Sugar is added - 100-200 g per kilogram of berries.
4. The resulting mass is distributed in disposable cups, frozen.

This berry can be used as an independent dessert. You can add honey, cinnamon or other fruits to change the taste. Slightly defrost the puree before use.

With granulated sugar

You can prepare berries with granulated sugar without crushing them to a state of soft mass. Strawberries of the same size are placed in containers and sprinkled with a layer of sugar. Alternate layers until the container is completely filled. Shake lightly and freeze.

With syrup

Berries frozen in sweet syrup will be a delicious dessert:

1. Put the peeled berries in a container in several layers.
2. Prepare sugar syrup at a ratio of 4: 1.
3. Cool the liquid and pour over the berries, let it brew for 20-30 minutes, freeze.

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The shelf life of such blanks is slightly less and is 6 months.

In ice

Strawberries frozen in ice are used to decorate and cool drinks or desserts at the same time. In cosmetology, such berries are good to use instead of a face tonic.

For cooking, strawberries are chopped and placed in ice molds. Pour cold boiled water, send to the freezer.

Whole strawberries in strawberry puree

You can also add whole berries to strawberry puree. Before freezing, the fruits of garden strawberries are dipped into the sweet fruit mass and gently mixed.

You can freeze the product not only in cups, but also in any convenient molds or small jars.

Defrosting rules

Defrost garden strawberries slowly, gradually increasing the temperature. Initially, the container with the blank is placed in the refrigerator for 30-40 minutes. Then the berries can be pulled out and thawed at room temperature.

The process usually takes 1-2 hours.

Acceleration of the process using a microwave oven or hot water is not recommended, such a berry will quickly lose its shape and mass of nutrients. Strawberries do not need to be thawed if their appearance is not important for cooking.

Shelf life of frozen strawberries

The shelf life of the frozen blank is 6-9 months at a temperature in the chamber from -18 to -25 degrees. The humidity in the cooling unit is 90-95%.

At higher temperatures, frozen strawberries should be consumed within 1 to 2 weeks.

During storage, it is important to avoid defrosting, otherwise the strawberries give juice, which, when re-frozen, turns the workpiece into a lump.