Every summer, when the berry season comes, I freeze these precious gifts of nature. Yes, it takes me a little time, but in the fall and summer, it's enough to open the freezer door to prepare a delicious and vitamin-based dish.
For freezing, I use the so-called dry method: I lay out the prepared berries on cutting boards and send them to the freezer in this form. When they are completely ready, they are carefully transferred to portioned containers and bags. Ideal for any berries, especially small ones.
5 basic rules for freezing
I have deduced for myself five basic rules for freezing strawberries, cherries, blueberries and other berries.
Choose fruits carefully
Choosing berries is the first step. I choose ripe fruits, while they should not be overripe. I try to bypass not fully ripe berries, which, unlike fruits, will not be able to "reach" in the sun and will be sour.
Wash before freezing
It is better to use ice water for washing. But there are some peculiarities here too. For example, raspberries, currants, sea buckthorn, blueberries - the berries are very fragile. Therefore, do not wash them under strong water pressure. Just put the berries in a colander and dip it into a container of clean water. Run the colander gently while washing the fruit.
To dry, place the berries on a tray, covering it with paper towels and gently blot them on top of the fruits. Then leave at room temperature to dry naturally.
Freeze in portions
It is best to freeze the berries in small portions of 200-300 g - this is just enough to prepare one portion of the dish. I use either sealed plastic containers or special portioned pouches with a snap (they take up little space).
Do not re-freeze
It is undesirable to defrost and then freeze the berries again. So they will lose their taste characteristics and lose most of their vitamins.
In addition, such products can be dangerous: this defrosting / freezing process leads to the rapid growth of bacteria.
What do I often cook from frozen berries?
You can cook anything from frozen berries: jelly, compotes, pies, sweet desserts. But my kids love ice cream or sorbet the most, and I make myself a healthy smoothie.
Sorbet or ice cream
Sorbet is prepared on the basis of fruit puree without adding kefir or milk. And I use any berries that are in the freezer - raspberries, blueberries, currants.
Preparation:
- Take 1.5 cups of frozen berries, 30 ml of water and 1 tsp. natural lemon juice.
- Grind all ingredients with a blender.
- Pour the resulting mixture into a suitable container and place in the freezer for several hours.
In a similar way, I make ice cream for children based on natural yogurt:
- I take 2 cups of berries, mix them with 100 ml of yogurt, grind with a blender.
- To improve the taste, I add a little honey and vanillin.
- I pour the mass into jars and freeze (2-3 hours is enough).
Smoothie
I really love the vitamin smoothie made from frozen berries - it is tasty and satisfying, and thanks to the large amount of vitamins in its composition, it is also healthy.
And I have a lot of recipes: I make it with coconut milk, add finely ground nuts, oatmeal, honey.
Smoothies are prepared in just a couple of minutes:
- I take some berries, banana, pulp of any fruit, natural yogurt.
- I mix all the ingredients.
To avoid breaking the blender blades, I try to defrost the berries a little.