freezing strawberries

What is the best way to freeze strawberries. I bought a pile of them forgetting that we are going on vacation. I have never made anything with frozen strawberries. Any suggestions?

I don't know it it's the best way, but my method of freezing strawberries (also blueberries, but not raspberries) is to dry the hulled berries on paper towels and then spread the berries evenly, not touching each other, on waxed paper lined cookie sheets and put them in the freezer for a few hours unti they're frozen solid; then put them in plastic bags. They will stay separate and are good for about 6 months.

I do the same, but find that I can let them go as short as 20 mins. on the tray, then pop into a freezer bag and do the next bunch. My freezer is small, and 20 mins. is enough to freeze the outside enough so they don't stick to each other in the freezer bag where they finish their freezing solid.

This seems to be the preferred method around here as well. In terms of what to do with them, Frozen Strawberry Daiquiris are the primary use of them in my house.

[email protected] wrote:I don't know it it's the best way, but my method of freezing strawberries (also blueberries, but not raspberries) is to dry the hulled berries on paper towels and then spread the berries evenly, not touching each other, on waxed paper lined cookie sheets and put them in the freezer for a few hours unti they're frozen solid; then put them in plastic bags. They will stay separate and are good for about 6 months.

When they thaw, are they watery/broken down or are they in good condition?

We, too, use the tray method for freezing strawberries.

Partially thawed berries are good for eating straight. When fully thawed, the berries will break down to some extent and lose juices. Thaw in refrigerator with a dish to catch juices. The thawed berries are fine for purees or in cooked dishes. If you are cooking the berries, you may skip the thawing depending on the dish. Good Midwest berries handled this way will beat anything from California fresh or frozen.

HI,

Has anyone made strawberry (rhubarb) pie with frozen strawberries?

I picked 6 gallons of strawberries, what I didn't consume or give away, I froze this year. I still had plenty of strawberry jam from last year and didn't feel inclined to spend the 4th of July slaving over a hot stove. My strawberries this year from Thompson's were smallish but very, very flavorful.

ekreider wrote:We, too, use the tray method for freezing strawberries.

Partially thawed berries are good for eating straight. When fully thawed, the berries will break down to some extent and lose juices. Thaw in refrigerator with a dish to catch juices. The thawed berries are fine for purees or in cooked dishes. If you are cooking the berries, you may skip the thawing depending on the dish. Good Midwest berries handled this way will beat anything from California fresh or frozen.

I remember an episode of Alton Brown's "Good Eats" where he explained the best way to freeze strawberries. He said that the slow freezing process of the normal household freezer will produce ice crystals which will shred the cell walls of the berries. This produces watery, soupy results when thawed.

His solution was to use dry ice. He packed the strawberries directly in dry ice in a cooler for 30 minutes. They came out as hard as a rock and he promptly moved them to freezer bags and into his freezer. He said that the faster freezing method of the dry ice prevents any crystals from forming, leaving the cellular walls of the berries in-tact.

I find they are firm if partially thawed, a bit mushy if totally thawed. I toss them whole and frozen onto my cereal and eat it an hour later at work. I made up straw/rhubarb pie filling and froze it in a container, it made a fine pie when thawed and put into a pie shell

Mix them into yogurt, make smoothies, etc.

I'm not expecting my frozen berries to be the perfect things they were when I froze them.

My wife often mixes frozen strawberries with rhubarb when stewing rhubarb. It works very well. Little or no water is needed because of the strawberry juice. We have a clump of rhubarb in the yard, so the combination makes a nice change.

Flash freezing is ideal but impractical in most homes. Liquid nitrogen works even faster than dry ice.

We have a 15 cu. ft. freezer that has freezing coils under each shelf. The tray with a small batch of strawberries is placed directly on the shelf. Freezing is a lot faster than the average freezer portion of a refrigerator.