I thought it would be fun to do a "How To" series. When I first started out cooking, I wasn't sure how to do a lot of things. And then as I got better, I learned more tricks and techniques to help me out in my quest to be better in the kitchen. And so, without further a do...let's begin!
Before last year...I can't say I really thought to much about what was the best way to freeze berries. I just kind of through them in a ziploc bag (any ziploc bag) and put them in the freezer. Well as you can imagine...it never turned out well. That's also about the time I discovered my love of freezer bags. Freezer bags are awesome and they come in all different sizes and brands ( I prefer Ziploc, even though they can be spendy without a coupon).
When it comes to freezing berries, the sooner you do it, the better so you can store in the freshness. Start with taking your berries and rinsing them through so they are clean. I rinse mine and then I will continue to let them drain for about 10 minutes. After they have drained, I make a bed of paper towels and place the berries on the towels to help remove any excess water and pat them down with another towel.
Place them on a baking sheet...try not to let them touch, because then they will stick together because your going to place them in the freezer for a few hours. I did this yesterday while the kids were napping and I sat down to watch a movie I've had in dvr for probably close to a year now. I watched August Rush. Have you seen it? It's a brilliant movie and now I have to have the soundtrack!
Once the berries have chilled in the freezer for a few hours, take them out and relocate them to a freezer bag. I like to be ahead of the game and since berries have the tendency to unthaw quickly I had my freezer bag already labled and ready to go before I took the berries out...Can we say OCD?
Your set to go after that. Could it be any simpler? I think no. I also like to put the date on the bag as well as how many berries are in my bag and how many calories apprx.
Find a system that works for you and start freezing those berries. I know that as soon as the stores place the pints on sale for uber cheap this is what I'll be stocking my freezer with. How about you? What do you stock your freezer with?
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