Strawberry season is fabulous but far too short in my opinion … and any kid with a free pass to roam the garden and eat the goodies. In order to enjoy the spectacular yield of fruit throughout the year, we 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, dipped strawberries, 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 knife or a fruit topper.
Now that the strawberries are ready, let’s flash freeze them. Flash freezing is my preferred method of freezing the berries because it reduces freezer burn.
Flash Freeze
Flash Freezing Strawberries
Flash freezing strawberries also 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. Flash freezing is done by placing the strawberries on a cookie sheet and placing them into the freezer to freeze for 2 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.
