Spring berries are some of the most flavorful and colorful fruits. Their season is often short, so if you do not have time to preserve them as jams, jellies, vinegars, and syrups now, simply freeze them for later recipes.
When freezing any food , pack it to allow for 10% expansion (food is mostly water and water expands when turning to ice)
Both blackberries and raspberries have eight chromosomes so crosses are easily made. The hybrids resemble their parent plants but often have improved flavor, color, or thornlessness. They are all frozen the same way.
Rinse fruit and drain. If you wish to have pourable frozen berries, blott them dry on towels, freeze initially on cookie sheets, then seal in air-tight freezer containers or freezer bags. Alternatively, berries can be packed in sugar syrup, packed in dry sugar, or packed without sugar directly in freezer containers or freezer bags.
Rinse and drain. These can be packed directly in sugar-syrup or dry sugar, or without sugar, but they will be more intact when thawed if the skin is first tenderized. To tenderize the skin, steam for 1 minute then plunge immediately into cool water. After tenderizing, pack for freezing as above.
Rinse and drain, remove hulls. Strawberries can be frozen whole or sliced. They can be packed in syrup, dry sugar, or without sugar. Strawberries do not hold their shape well when frozen. They will hold their color better if packed in sugar.
CANNED BERRY PIE FILLINGS
The only thickening agent that can safely be used in canning is Clear Jel. This is a modified starch that remains thin enough when hot for heat transfer. If flour or regular corn starch were used to thicken a filling, the thickness of the gel would prevent adequate heat penetration to the center of the jar, and under processing would result. (Underprocessed jars are safety hazards.) The quality would also be poor because regular starch gels do not maintain desirable consistency when canned.
Return to Berry Menu