Equipment used for freezing strawberries: – Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe! How to freeze strawberries- a step by step guide with photos to show you exactly how to freeze fresh strawberries so you can enjoy them all year round!
▢ 4-6 lbs fresh strawberries
Gently wash strawberries under tap water. Pick out any squishy or damaged berries. Spread out on an absorbent towel and allow to air dry. You can gently dry them with a second towel. Hull the strawberries: cut around the stem in a circular motion to remove the stem and the bit underneath. You can also cut straight across the top of the strawberry if you are in a rush. Arrange on a large baking sheet. I love these baker’s half sheets, Freeze overnight, or until berries are firm. Transfer to a heavy duty freezer bag labelled with the date and contents. Pictured in this post are these reusable silicone freezer bags, Freeze for up to 1 year.
Serving: 1 /8 of batch, Calories: 72 kcal, Carbohydrates: 17 g, Protein: 1 g, Fat: 0 g, Saturated Fat: 0 g, Cholesterol: 0 mg, Sodium: 2 mg, Potassium: 346 mg, Fiber: 4 g, Sugar: 11 g, Vitamin A: 25 IU, Vitamin C: 133.3 mg, Calcium: 36 mg, Iron: 0.9 mg © Sweet Peas & Saffron – Content and photographs are copyright protected.
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Contents
Do strawberries get mushy when frozen?
Freeze Strawberries To Use In Baked Goods – Alright, so now you’ve got a freezer full of frozen strawberries– what’s the best way to use them? Frozen strawberries have a softer, slightly mushy, and less firm texture than fresh strawberries. Frozen strawberries work very well in a variety of recipes for sauces, smoothies, desserts that are pureed prior to baking (like ice cream, sherbet, and cheesecake), baked goods, and quick bread (like pancakes and waffles).
- To use frozen strawberries in baked goods and quick bread recipes that call for fresh berries, dust the frozen berries with cornstarch or flour! As frozen strawberries defrost during baking, they will release more juices that fresh strawberries and can negatively affect the texture.
- Protip: For every 1 cup of frozen strawberries, toss with 1 tablespoon cornstarch or flour.
This will help thicken the juices released by the strawberries! Also, don’t defrost the strawberries prior to adding them to your dough or batter. Add frozen strawberries directly into the batter and into the oven! If you let them defrost first, liquid they shed can throw off the dry to wet ratios in the recipe.
- Add them to smoothies
- Make strawberry jam
- Strawberry syrup
- Use in cocktails: mojitos, lemonades, margaritas, and smashes
- Strawberry BBQ sauce
- Scones, Muffins, Pancakes, Waffles, Coffee Cake, and Cinnamon Rolls!
- Homemade ice cream
- Add to oatmeals, porridges, and puddings
- Cobbler, Pie, Cheesecake, Crisp, Donuts, French Toast
- Make homemade popsicles, decorative ice cubes, or berry curd
Should you wash strawberries before freezing them whole?
Frozen Strawberries 101: – Do I need to wash my strawberries before freezing them? Yes, it’s highly recommended that you do rinse them down before freezing them. Do I need to thaw my strawberries before using them? This really depends on what you’re using them for.
- Smoothies and some baked goods do not require strawberries to be thawed, and you can put them straight in frozen.
- If you are planning on using your strawberries in baked goods such as muffins, you may want to chop them up smaller before freezing.
- If you are serving in a meal prep breakfast like over steel cut oats or parfaits you can simply portion them out into the containers with the other ingredients.
They will thaw in the fridge overnight. How do you thaw frozen strawberries? The best way to thaw frozen strawberries is either to let them sit at room temperature, or to place the entire freezer bag in some cold water. The gentler they thaw, the less liquid they will release.
How do you thaw frozen fruit without it being mushy?
Fruits – When serving frozen fruits for dessert, serve them while there are still a few ice crystals in the fruit. This helps compensate for the mushy texture frozen fruits have when thawed. Frozen fruit in the package can be thawed in the refrigerator, under running water, or in a microwave oven if thawed immediately before use.
- Turn the package several times for more even thawing.
- Allow 6 to 8 hours in the refrigerator for thawing a 1 pound package of fruit packed in syrup.
- Allow ½ to 1 hour for thawing in running cool water.
- Fruit packed with dry sugar thaws slightly faster than that packed in syrup.
- Both sugar and syrup packs thaw faster than unsweetened packs.
Thaw only as much as you need at one time. If you have leftover thawed fruit, it will keep better if you cook it. To cook, first thaw fruits until pieces can be loosened; then cook as you would cook fresh fruit. If there is not enough juice to prevent scorching, add water as needed.
When using frozen fruits in cooking, allowance should be made for any sugar that was added at the time of freezing. Frozen fruits often have more juice than called for in recipes for baked products using fresh fruits. In that case, use only part of the juice or add more thickening for the extra juice.
Suggested Uses for Frozen Fruits
Frozen fruits can be used the same as fresh fruits in preparing pies, upside down cakes, sherbets, ices and salads. Some fruits, especially boysenberries, make better jellies when frozen than when fresh, because freezing and thawing cause the juices to be released from the cells and the natural fruit color dissolves in the juice. Serve crushed fruit the same as raw fruit after it is partially or completely thawed; use it after thawing as a topping for ice cream or cake or a filling for sweet rolls or for jam. Use thawed pureés in puddings, ice cream, sherbets, jams, pies, ripple cakes, fruit filled coffee cakes and rolls. Use frozen fruit juice as a beverage after it is thawed but while it is still cold. Some juices, such as sour cherry, plum, grape and berry can be diluted 1/3 to ½ with water or a bland juice.
Do strawberries defrost well?
The answer is yes. You can use them frozen but you can thaw them too. Place the container of strawberries you want to defrost into the refrigerator and leave them until they are thawed. Then use them as you wish.
Why do frozen strawberries spark in the microwave?
I got a little lazy while making breakfast recently; instead of sautéing some sliced onions on the stove for my vegan omelet, I decided to cut down on dishes by popping them in the microwave, No harm in that, right? Wrong. The next thing I knew, it looked like fireworks in that little electric box.
At first, I thought I was going crazy— could a raw vegetable really start a mini-fire in the microwave? Well. Let’s just say that after some digging, it became very clear that tinfoil isn’t the only thing that doesn’t belong in a microwave. Thankfully, I averted serious damage by pulling out the onions at the first sight of sparks, but research has taught me that other foods may lead to the same unwelcome Fourth of July sich in my kitchen.
“Arcing,” according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, usually happens with foods that contain high amounts of minerals, including iron, magnesium, and selenium. Since those minerals act like “tiny pieces of metal,” microwaves bounce off them just like they would a fork, causing the sparking effect. Sparks aside, other foods—particularly those that are round or have skin—can actually explode in the microwave. It’s something past research has shown happens because the inside gets heated first, causing a buildup of steam. When all that pressure needs to escape, it does—with a boom.
Why are my frozen strawberries sour?
When you freeze them, the resulting ice crystals break the cellular structure of the fruit. The result is that thawed fruit is mushy. Subsequently as they warm up again, a lot of the juice leaks out and you’re left with less flavor.
How do you thaw frozen fruit without it being mushy?
Fruits – When serving frozen fruits for dessert, serve them while there are still a few ice crystals in the fruit. This helps compensate for the mushy texture frozen fruits have when thawed. Frozen fruit in the package can be thawed in the refrigerator, under running water, or in a microwave oven if thawed immediately before use.
- Turn the package several times for more even thawing.
- Allow 6 to 8 hours in the refrigerator for thawing a 1 pound package of fruit packed in syrup.
- Allow ½ to 1 hour for thawing in running cool water.
- Fruit packed with dry sugar thaws slightly faster than that packed in syrup.
- Both sugar and syrup packs thaw faster than unsweetened packs.
Thaw only as much as you need at one time. If you have leftover thawed fruit, it will keep better if you cook it. To cook, first thaw fruits until pieces can be loosened; then cook as you would cook fresh fruit. If there is not enough juice to prevent scorching, add water as needed.
- When using frozen fruits in cooking, allowance should be made for any sugar that was added at the time of freezing.
- Frozen fruits often have more juice than called for in recipes for baked products using fresh fruits.
- In that case, use only part of the juice or add more thickening for the extra juice.
Suggested Uses for Frozen Fruits
Frozen fruits can be used the same as fresh fruits in preparing pies, upside down cakes, sherbets, ices and salads. Some fruits, especially boysenberries, make better jellies when frozen than when fresh, because freezing and thawing cause the juices to be released from the cells and the natural fruit color dissolves in the juice. Serve crushed fruit the same as raw fruit after it is partially or completely thawed; use it after thawing as a topping for ice cream or cake or a filling for sweet rolls or for jam. Use thawed pureés in puddings, ice cream, sherbets, jams, pies, ripple cakes, fruit filled coffee cakes and rolls. Use frozen fruit juice as a beverage after it is thawed but while it is still cold. Some juices, such as sour cherry, plum, grape and berry can be diluted 1/3 to ½ with water or a bland juice.