Frugal Friday: 10 steps for Freezing Berries

One of my favorite ways to save in the kitchen is through freezing produce.  We make a lot of smoothies in our household, but frozen fruit can be quite costly.  Over the past couple of months I have been freezing fresh fruit and I don't think I will ever go back to store bought frozen fruit, unless I catch a great deal of course.

Frozen berries are on of my favorite types of produce, and when I catch a great deal like $.99 a package for strawberries, I stock up and save a ton of money.

Freezing berries is simple and there is a lot of useful information on the web. My method for freezing berries is a combination of great tips that I found on livestrong.com, musingsofastrongblackwoman.com, ehow.com, and instructables.com. 

So without further adieu, here are 10 steps for freezing the perfect berries (Blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries)

1. Soak berries in 1 tablespoon of vinegar and six cups of water for 30 minutes. (If freezing strawberries I suggest removing the leaves and stem prior to vinegar soak to remove any excess dirt that may be trapped under the leaves.) 
2. Strain berries with colander and gently rinse any excess dirt for a 1-2 minutes.
3.  Pour berries onto a kitchen towel to remove excess water. (If freezing strawberries cut off the top portion and cut strawberries in half.)
4.  Line a cookie sheet with a single layer of wax or parchment paper. 
5. Place a single layer of berries on to tray.
6. Put tray in freezer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until berries are completely solid.
7. Remove cookie sheet from the refrigerator.
8. Place berries in zip lock freezer storage bag.
9. Close most of the freezer bag, leaving only enough space to let out any additional air that is in the bag.
10. Seal bag and put in the freezer.

Frozen berries can be kept in the freezer for a year without sacrificing the flavor.   They are a wonderful fresh snack in the summer time, and you can even add them to a smoothie in lieu of ice. Hope you enjoy.

Peace, Love, and All things frugal,

Najeema Iman, I AM Curly Locks