Friday, November 2, 2012

Freeze Berries







Berries are plentiful in the summer. Pick extra berries during this peak growing season and freeze them. Imagine how much you'll enjoy eating berries in winter months that you froze when you had more than you knew what to do with. Use them like you do fresh berries--on top of cereal, on waffles or in muffins. Follow the steps below to freeze berries to enjoy all year round.


Instructions


1. Begin with the freshest berries you can find. You will want to freeze nice, plump berries that have good, bright color.


2. Wash the berries in a bowl of cold water. As they float in the water, gently run the berries through your fingers. Any defective or over-ripe berries can be sorted out easily and discarded.








3. Drain the berries that you are going to freeze for 15 minutes in a large colander. Make sure the berries do not squash each other as they drain.


4. Spread the washed and drained berries on a flat pan that will fit in your freezer. The berries that you are going to freeze should be in one layer so they can quickly flash freeze.


5. Place the berries on the pan in the freezer overnight. They will freeze individually and will not stick together when you place them in a bag for storage.


6. Use a permanent marker to label self-zip gallon-size freezer bags with the date that the berries are frozen. Place individually frozen berries in the bag and store them in your freezer laying flat.

Tags: berries that, berries that going, going freeze, that going, that going freeze