How to freeze fruit
Ahhh… Summer is here. Time to let the kids loose in the sprinkler, slip off those shoes, slide back into a lawn chair to relax with some icy lemonade, close those eyes… BREET!! A screeching coach’s whistle wakes you from your relaxed reverie. What on earth… It’s me.
I’m suited up in my gym shorts to tell you summer is not the time to relax. Of course I’m sort of joking, summer is a time to relax, play, have fun. But if you’re frugal-living and healthy-eating enthusiasts, it’s also the time to harvest. And every single year, come November, December, January, when my family’s snacks consist of yet another carrot stick and dinner consists of yet another yam, I always wish I’d stocked my freezer just a little more.
Freezing is an easy way to preserve fruit without having to spend your sunny days canning or making jam.
In other words, my summer motto is:
Get as much fruit–frugally–into my freezer with as little work as possible. (So I can go slide back into that lawn chair with the lemonade…)
First, let me say: I love canned peaches, and I love strawberry jam. No doubt about it. If you enjoy canning and making jam, awesome! Will you send me some? But for my family, I try to keep food raw and whole as much as possible, without adding any sugar. So simply freezing fruit in gallon Ziploc bags is the easiest way to preserve raw, whole fruit we can use all year long.
Favorite Fruits of the Northwest:
Strawberries
Northwest strawberries are to die for. They are also among the top three worst pesticide-laden foods, so then again, maybe they are not worth dying for. If possible, skip the Costco ones and find a local organic or no-spray source. Pick Your Own’s site is a great source for finding local farms. You can call and ask about practices (many local farms have natural practices but have not been certified organic).
Related: How to pick strawberries with kids
Wash and hull strawberries and let dry on a towel on the counter. Then freeze in Ziploc bags. We pull out a bowlful, let thaw just slightly, and eat them as a sweet cold snack. They also make great smoothies.
Related: How to make strawberry shortcake from scratch
Black/Rasp/Boysen/Marionberries
We’re cheap, so we usually stick to blackberries because, well, they’re free. You know how we frugalistas flock to a crazy money-making coupon deal? Flock to blackberries like that! They are free food! Often you can find them surrounding parks, baseball fields, paths. Every year we hit some friends’ rural property and keep our eye out for bears.
My kids also eat these plain and frozen, although I prefer them in a smoothie mixed with a little bit of orange juice to sweeten. They also are a great addition to homemade applesauce or oatmeal. But have your kids wear black when eating them; they stain!
Related: Summer salad with beets, avocado and raspberries
Peaches/Nectarines
Peaches and nectarines are also a high-pesticide food, so look for an organic source, if possible. Azure Standard is our favorite. This helpful post has more information on Azure. If you value local, organic produce, it’s definitely worth looking into! To tell you the truth, we have never managed to freeze peaches and nectarines because we eat them too fast. I always think we’ll eat half and freeze half … never happens. But this year I’m determined; I’ll hide them if I have to!
The trick is ripening them. The easiest way is to stick them in a brown paper bag with several ripe bananas, then chip-clip the top and sit in a warm place. I do this with 20 lbs at a time, paper bags lined up all along my kitchen wall. They will ripen to perfection, then you can freeze. More helpful tips on freezing peaches and nectarines here.
Related: Coconut Streusel Peach Pie
Cherries
Frozen cherries are AMAZING. So good. I have to cut my kids off, or they would eat these all day long. They freeze easily and remain soft and easy to eat frozen. Oh, my mouth is watering! And Azure Standard has phenomenal deals on organic and transitional cherries.
But… you have to pit them. Yes, this takes work. You will usually find me on a sunny afternoon, outside while my kids are in the sprinkler, sitting in that lawn chair, pitting cherries (this cherry pitter from Amazon can pit 4 cherries at a time and gets awesome reviews!). It’s worth it. Again, if they are Bing cherries, have your kids wear black (or nothing!).
Related: Sweet Cherry Tart recipe
Blueberries
These are our favorite. Simply wash, let dry a bit, and toss in a Ziploc bag. These are delicious plain, or tossed into smoothies or applesauce. My kids love eating frozen blueberries year round.
Related: Blueberry French Toast Bake
Apples
Finally, our classic NW favorite. Although apples keep well in a cool place, I do freeze them for applesauce. To make it WAY easier and more efficient, leave the peels on. They will cook down, then after you blenderize the applesauce you won’t even know they’re there.
A simple corer/slicer (Amazon) makes this job fast and fun (again, we do it outside on the deck), and you can freeze them sliced/cored in Ziploc bags. Then just dump them into a large stock pot and cook down for several hours.
Amazing homemade applesauce in no time. No canning required, just grab a bag from the freezer and make a fresh batch whenever you want. Toss in some frozen blackberries or blueberries for a real treat.
Be sure to read our huge list of fresh berry recipes as well.
Here’s what I love about summer freezing: You can do all the prep outside. No need to slave over a hot stove. Sit out in that lawn chair and pit, peel, core. I even use my garden hose to wash! This keeps the mess outside, out of my kitchen, and keeps me out enjoying these blessed summer days. We don’t get very many here in the Northwest, so enjoy them while they last!
Alright, now I’ll put my whistle away. Have fun freezing this summer!
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Kari Patterson is pastor’s wife, preschool mom, writer, speaker, reader, blogger and frugal living enthusiast. She writes all about the beautiful mess of life over at KariPatterson.com.
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I’m in WA, Bills berry farm located in a Grandview has upick strawberries $2.25/lb so cheap compared to most places. Their big and juicy and sweet I got 12 lbs today and made freezer jam and freezing some and enjoying the rest fresh.
After I wash my berries, I put them on a cookie sheet and freeze them before putting them in the Ziploc. This prevents them from sticking together in a ball and remain individual when you pull them out. Works great.
I had such a hard time with blackberries last year because of the bugs! So many tiny white worms! I washed forever to get them all out and ended up giving up.
Great post, Kari! I’ll have to look for deals here in CA. Usually, people pick for novelty, not thrift, so fruit like strawberries cost $7 a pound to pick yourself. I know, it’s crazy!! But I will keep looking. Thanks for your post!
A Few Weeks ago a store had FREE Bananas and they had a lot of big boxes of banana i got like 12 boxes of bananas for free i donated 6 to the food box 2 to my neighbors and my sister took some and i peeled 2 boxes and put them in bags and in the freezer they went and now i have smoothies, banana bread and bananas galore for all summer long.. I Really enjoyed reading these articles you always have some fresh ideas Love it. Nothing better than Some Free Fruit i must say i tend to drive by and check out that store for more Freebies out of habit now… What we do for FREE Stuff… LOVE IT…
The Store was a Mexican store in Hillsboro i don’t know the name of it but it is on 1st street between walnut and oak. they always have cheap Fruit and Veggies. .25cent avocados and more.
THANK YOU for the tip! This is in my town, and I know exactly what store you are talking about. I will check them out!
When freezing fruit, I usually lay them out on a tray individually, i.e., strawberries with space around them, peach slices, etc. Leave them in the freezer for a few hours, then gather them up and put them in a ziplock bag. That way, you can remove just a few pieces for a smoothie or to go with something without defrosting the entire bag.
Grapes are fantastic frozen also.
Yes! Love frozen grapes!
I have never frozen grapes… do they get a mushy consistency?
Great post! We live on an acre in a rural area and always have an abundance of blackberries. Last year was my first year freezing them and boy am I glad I did, we ended up with berries that lasted us ’til March!! (and that is only because I got burned out on picking…probably could have had a couple more months worth if I would have picked longer into the summer)
Yes! Love it. The blackberries are the best deal, so delicious.