Frozen Fruits And Berries: Method Of Freezing And Preparation
No matter how much we want it, summer is coming to an end. You don't want to say goodbye to juicy berries and fruits at all. And you don't have to! We will tell you how to properly freeze fruits and berries and enjoy the taste for a long time. All you need is a convenient container or freezer bags and a freezer.
Regardless of whether you freeze berries or fruit, the principle is the same. Just follow a few simple steps.
How to prepare fruits and berries for freezing
Some fruits and berries must be cleaned and cut before freezing:
- Apples and pears must be peeled, cut into four parts and cored. Then sprinkle with lemon juice or apple cider vinegar so that they do not turn brown during the freezing process.
- It is better to cut apricots into two or four parts, and remove the stone.
- Blackberries, blueberries and raspberries can be frozen whole.
- Cherries will also be easier to use if you remove the stone before freezing.
- Melon can be cut into small cubes or pieces.
- Peaches, plums and nectarines must be peeled, cut and pitted.
- Before freezing strawberries, it is necessary to remove the green sepals and cut them in half.
A simple method of freezing berries and fruits
- Make sure that all the berries and fruits you have selected for freezing are ripe and undamaged.
- Rinse the berries and fruits with cool water and wipe them thoroughly with a paper or clean kitchen towel.
- Place berries or cut fruit in a single layer on a baking sheet. Choose a sheet that will fit in your freezer.
- Place the tray in the freezer. Berries and fruits should become firm, usually it takes a couple of hours, but you can leave them in the freezer overnight.
- Transfer berries and fruit to Zip-Lock bags for storage, expelling as much air as possible from the bag before sealing.
- Store frozen berries and fruits in the freezer until ready to use. They can be stored frozen for up to 6 months (or a year if you have a self-contained freezer).
How to use frozen berries and fruits
In addition to the fact that berries and fruits are very easy to freeze, they are also quite versatile in cooking.
First, frozen berries and fruits are perfect for making cocktails and smoothies. Their texture will make the drink thicker. You don't have to add ice, banana or yogurt. To achieve a smooth, thick consistency, add berries at the very end of cooking.
Berry smoothie recipe
Ingredients
- About 3/4 cup orange juice
- 1 cup frozen berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc.)
Preparation
- Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
- If you are using fresh berries instead of frozen, add a couple of ice cubes to achieve a thick smoothie consistency.
- Pour the smoothie into a tall glass and serve immediately.
- You can add a few spoons of yogurt. Low-fat or fat-free yogurt will also work, but whole milk yogurt will give the cocktail the necessary creamy texture better than others.
Variations
- Milk smoothie. If you want your smoothie to be creamier than fruity, use soy, almond, rice, or cow's milk instead of orange juice.
- Vegetarian smoothie. Use a whole, peeled banana instead of yogurt to add thickness. Other tropical fruits, such as mango or papaya, can also be suitable for this purpose. In addition, papaya will make the cocktail more frothy when whipped in a blender.
- Mint smoothie. Add a few fresh mint leaves to a berry smoothie to give it freshness.
- Protein smoothie. Add a tablespoon or two of almond butter for a lovely nutty flavor and extra protein.
- Green smoothie. If you want to add greens to your diet, you need a handful of spinach. This amount of spinach will not affect the taste, but will add a dark color to the smoothie and make it more useful.
Secondly, frozen berries and fruits are very often used in baking. Surprisingly, the frozen version is more suitable for baking than fresh. There is a simple explanation for this: freezing dries berries and fruits, depriving them of excess moisture, which can spoil the structure of the dough, making it runny.
Peach shortcrust pastry recipe
Ingredients
- Two sheets of puff pastry
- 9-10 frozen peaches
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 Art. l. corn starch
- 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. kitchen salt
- 1/8 tsp. chopped nutmeg
- 1 Art. l. lemon juice
- 1 Art. l. oil
- Milk for moistening the dough
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a large bowl, mix the thawed sliced peaches with the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and lemon juice. Mix well, cover with cling film and set aside.
- Place a sheet of puff pastry in a baking dish.
- Top with the peach mixture and a little oil.
- Brush the edges of the dough with milk to then join with the top layer of dough.
- Cover all this with the top layer of dough and seal the edges. Pierce the cake with a fork in several places.
- Brush the cake with milk and sprinkle with sugar.
- Transfer the cake to the oven and bake for about 50 minutes. You can cover the edges with foil if they start to darken. The pie will be ready when the crust turns golden brown and the peach juice begins to bubble.
- Cakes must be cooled before use.
You can make jam or jelly from frozen berries and fruits. Freeze ripe, fresh berries and put them aside until you have time to make jam, as not many people want to do this in the summer heat.
Finally, from frozen peaches, apricots, nectarines, cherries, mangoes, strawberries and blueberries, you can make long-term fruit puree.
Sauce
Ingredients for 1.5 cups of ready puree
- 500 grams of frozen fruit or berries (must be thawed before cooking)
- 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
Preparation
- In a food processor or blender, combine fruit, sugar and lemon juice. Blend for about 30 seconds until smooth.
- Strain the puree over a bowl through a sieve. Use a rubber spatula to mix and push the puree through a sieve. There should be no lumps in the puree.
- Taste and add more sugar if necessary.
- Ready puree can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or 2 months in the freezer.
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Strawberry Blanks: Jam, Jam, Compote And Liqueur
At the height of the strawberry season, when fresh berries are already full, we suggest preparing several jars of bright red summer berries for the winter!
So, we share recipes for making strawberries in our own juice, strawberry jam and jam, compote and tincture. We also tell you how to freeze and dry strawberries.
Strawberries in their own juice
Such a fragrant jam with a bright taste will be the best addition to homemade tea drinking! Arrange strawberries in jars, sprinkle with sugar and refrigerate until juice is released. Then cover the jars with lids and place in a saucepan. Pour warm water into a saucepan, bring to a boil and continue to boil for 15 minutes. Store jars of jam in a cool place. Enjoy!
See how to prepare strawberries in your own juice >>>
Strawberry compote
Prepare a fragrant compote with the taste of summer!
Ingredients:
1.5 kg of strawberries; 2.5 st. Sahara; 2.5 liters of water.
First of all, wash the strawberries thoroughly, remove the sepals. Arrange the berries in sterilized jars, filling them with about a quarter of the jars. Pour water into a saucepan, bring to a boil and add sugar. Once the sugar has dissolved and the water has returned to a boil, remove the syrup from the heat. Pour the syrup over the strawberries. Close the jars with tin lids and place in a deep saucepan, on the bottom of which lay a thick cloth in advance. Pour warm water into the pan almost up to the "neck" of the jar and sterilize for 10 minutes over medium heat. Then roll up the jars, turn over and cover with a towel overnight. Store compote jars in a cool place.
Wild strawberry jam
Wild strawberries have a special taste and aroma. Let's make jam out of it!
Rinse the strawberries well, remove the tails and transfer to a saucepan. Sprinkle the berries with sugar, cover the pan with a lid and leave overnight in the refrigerator. In the morning, bring the jam to a boil, boil for a few minutes and let cool completely. Then bring the jam back to a boil, continue to cook for 5 minutes, pour hot into jars and roll up. Help yourself!
Step-by-step recipe for wild strawberry jam >>>
Strawberry pour
Prepare a delicate-tasting, fragrant liqueur with strawberries!
Ingredients:
2 kg strawberries; 700 g of sugar; 1 lemon (zest); 1 vanilla stick.
Wash the strawberries well, remove the sepals. Transfer the berries to a three-liter jar, add lemon zest and vanilla stick, add sugar. Cover the neck of the jar with gauze and secure with string. Leave the jar in a warm place for 2-4 days before fermentation begins. As soon as the fermentation process begins, remove the gauze and install a water seal (you can make it yourself from a plastic cap and a tube). Move the jar to a dark place for 2-3 weeks until the fermentation process is complete. Strain the finished liquor several times through cheesecloth, bottle and cork with corks or lids. Store liquor bottles in a dark, cool place.
Fried strawberry jam
Have you tried fried strawberries? If not, then be sure to try it! Send strawberries and sugar to a hot pan, cook on medium until sugar is completely dissolved. Then reduce the heat and cook the strawberries for another 5-7 minutes. Add lemon juice, pour the jam into sterilized jars and roll up. Try!
Roasted Strawberry Jam Recipe >>>
Strawberry jam
Make a few jars of strawberry jam, which will perfectly complement your breakfasts!
Ingredients:
1 kg of strawberries; 700-800 g of sugar.
Wash strawberries and remove stems. Puree the strawberries in a blender until smooth. Pour the strawberry puree into a saucepan, add sugar, mix and simmer until the desired density is obtained. Pour the finished jam into sterilized jars, roll up and store in a cool place.
Jam from Victoria
This is a jam made from cultivated strawberries. Rinse the berries, remove the sepals. Sprinkle the berries with sugar in layers and leave for 7-12 hours. Then bring the strawberries to a boil, boil for a minute and cool. Repeat this process 3 more times. Pour the finished jam into sterile jars and roll up.
See how to make jam from "Victoria" >>>
frozen strawberries
A recipe idea for those who wish to preserve whole berries and add them to pastries, desserts and drinks.
Remove the sepals from the strawberries and rinse well, then drain in a colander to drain the water. After 5-10 minutes, transfer the berries to a paper towel in one layer and dry (the berries should be completely dry). Cover a tray or large cutting board with cling film, put the berries on it in one layer and send it to the freezer overnight. Then transfer the already frozen berries to plastic containers and store in the freezer until use. Thus, your berries do not stick together and remain whole. Also, before freezing, dry berries can be rolled in sugar or powdered sugar.
Note: frozen berries can be stored for up to 12 months.
Dried strawberries
It's delicious, be sure to try it!
Ingredients:
500 g strawberries; 400 g of sugar; 3/4 st. water.
Rinse the strawberries and dry well: first, drain in a colander, then place on paper towels. Remove the stalks and sprinkle the strawberries with 200 g of sugar. Place the berries in the refrigerator overnight. Use a colander to separate the berries from the released juice.
From the remaining sugar (300 g) and water, boil the syrup: pour sugar into boiling water and cook until it is completely dissolved, stirring constantly. Then send the berries to the syrup and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the berries and syrup cool completely.
Separate the berries from the syrup again with a colander. Spread the berries on the dryer trays and dry at 70 degrees. Depending on the variety and size of the berries, a different amount of time will be dried. Already dry berries can be left for several days at room temperature, then put in a jar or container.
Add sun-dried strawberries to pastries, cereals or simply serve with tea. By the way, you can cook compote from the remaining strawberry juice and syrup, make lemonade by adding water, a few mint leaves, lemon juice and ice, or soak a biscuit. Bon appetit!
Treat yourself and loved ones with delicious strawberry preparations!
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