Summer is the perfect time to freeze your favorite fruits so you can avoid buying them in plastic bags later. Load up at your local farmer’s market, pick your own or buy them (plastic-free) at the grocery store. Buying local fruit in season is not only better for the environment (fewer food miles) but also cheaper! Here’s how I freeze blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc.
How to freeze fresh fruit
Directions:
1. Rinse fruit, remove stems and place in a single layer on a dinner plate. To prevent fruit from sticking, you can place a sheet of parchment paper on the plate first (though I don’t do this). Since I have a small freezer, I put my berries directly on plates then cover them with an upside down plate so I can stack several on top of each other.
2. Once the fruit is frozen, remove the fruit and put it in a mason jar (or other air-tight container). Freezing the fruit first prevents it from forming a big clump in your jar so they’ll be easy to scoop out later 🙂
3. Store your jars in the freezer for as long you would store-bought frozen fruit!
I’ve had “freezer safe” reusable containers burst in the freezer, so I’m wary of using mason jars to freeze produce. Have you had any issues with mason jars breaking in the freezer? Is there a specific brand you buy?
Hi! No I haven’t had any mason jars break in the freezer. I think the key is to leave room in the jar and not fill it up too high. Water expands when it freezes so there needs to be some room in the jar to accommodate this. If you freeze the fruit on a plate or cookie sheet first, they won’t stick together and or expand any further. I also freeze vegetable remnants to make veggie stock. Since these are loosely put in the jar, there’s plenty of room for them to expand when freezing. With soups and sauces, I recommend leaving a couple inches at the top. Hope that helps! 🙂