Whether you grow the fruit yourself or you want to store fresh fruit from the grocery store for an extended period, freezing your fruit is the best way to go. However, you may have been inefficiently freezing your fruit without realizing it.
If you want to extend the life of your fruit but aren’t sure how, don’t worry. Here is a guide on the best methods for storing fruit in your freezer.
Follow the Right Steps Before Freezing Your Fruit
Before freezing your fruit, make sure you understand how to do so correctly. First, ensure that your produce is ripe and contains no blemishes before you freeze it.
Thankfully, you don’t need to blanch fruit before freezing like you would with vegetables. All you need to do is spread out your fruit neatly on a pan or tray and put it in the freezer.
Then, when everything is frozen solid, you can take them off the tray and zip them up in a freezer bag or air-tight container. For best results, store your fruit in a freezer that reaches zero degrees Fahrenheit or lower.
Know the Techniques for Freezing Different Fruit
Each type of fruit will have different requirements for how you should freeze them. Nevertheless, most fruits thrive when you freeze them in sugar. This maxim’s notable holdouts are blueberries, cranberries, and currants.
For delicate fruit such as berries, freeze them on a baking sheet, transfer them to a container or freezer bag when they freeze, and prepare them in sugar if you’d like. As for fruit that tends to brown, such as peaches and apricots, you’ll want to treat them with powdered vitamin C instead of sugar.
Pack Your Produce Correctly Before Freezing
When choosing the right packaging for the fruit you want to freeze, always make sure that no moisture can leak out. Your fruit needs this moisture to preserve freshness, and if any leaks out, it means that your fruit is coming into contact with air. Air damages your fruit, so only choose air-tight and leak-free packaging.
Overall, you can expect your fruit to last somewhere between a year and 18 months if you freeze it correctly. Now that you know the best methods for storing fruit in your freezer, you can easily accomplish this task.
