Strawberry season is fabulous but far too short in my opinion. In order to enjoy the spectacular yield of fruit throughout the year, I need a long-term storage method. There are many different ways to preserve strawberries, but by far learning how to freeze strawberries is the simplest long-term storage method. Freezing strawberries has another benefit, it helps the berries maintain their fresh flavor.
Frozen strawberries are great for a myriad of uses such as baking, smoothies, canning and even just eating plain. Let’s take a look at just how simple it is to freeze strawberries so we have them all year round.
Strawberries
The first step is to prepare your strawberries by washing and drying them. Next, remove the green ends with a strawberry huller or a paring knife.
Flash Freeze
Freezing Strawberries
Freezing strawberries separately keeps the berries from sticking to each other. This makes it so you can take out individual berries and use them without having a huge block of frozen berries stuck together that you have to chisel off a berry from. It is done by placing the strawberries on a baking sheet with a silicone mat and placing them into the freezer to freeze for 4 hours before placing them in the long-term storage freezer bags.
After the berries are frozen, place them in a freezer bag and remove as much air as possible. I then label the storage bag with the date and contents. Then I lay the bag as flat as possible in the freezer so it will stack better.
Note: If your strawberries will fill your bag it may be easier to label them before putting the berries in.
