Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Freezing Blueberries



Hi there!  Did you have a nice weekend?  We did and enjoyed our little weekend trip!

Today I thought I'd share how to store your fresh blueberries for the winter... this may very well be something you already do or are familiar with, but I didn't realize until last year you could freeze blueberries so I thought I would share (although it's not very exciting)! 

Last year we had a couple gallons of blueberries frozen from the summer and it was wonderful grabbing a handful from the freezer to add in muffins, pancakes, cobblers, you name it.  When my mother-in-law and father-in-law gave us a container full of fresh blueberries picked from their farm recently I was so happy to have plenty to enjoy and enough remaining to freeze for another time!


Simply spread the blueberries in a large pan to create one layer and place them in the freezer.  You can leave them in there for a few hours or overnight... you just want to make sure they are frozen through.

You actually don't even have to rinse your blueberries, but I do beforehand because I like to dump them immediately into my batter without having to worry about rinsing them.  Supposedly by rinsing them later they won't be mushy, but I didn't notice a problem this past year.


Once the blueberries are frozen, you can remove the pan and then bag or jar them and place your freezer-safe container back in the freezer.  Freezing them initially in a single layer prevents them from freezing together in lumps.


 I love fresh blueberries and I'm thankful to have some frozen again this summer to enjoy this winter!  One of my favorite things to make during the winter with frozen blueberries is blueberry muffins.  (Which reminds me to share the recipe I use with you, because it is simply delicious... the best I have found!) 

Have a great week, friends.

17 comments:

  1. That is the same way as I freeze the ones we get. Yours look wonderful! Ours aren't ready yet but I can't wait. I love them fresh, too, and try to eat as many of them fresh as I can before freezing them. xo Diana

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  2. I love fresh blueberries in my morning cereal, but they're too expensive to buy. So I buy frozen. Wish I could have my own and freeze them though. Thanks for the advice!
    Brenda

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  3. Look at all those yummy berries and you get to enjoy them the whole year! We have very few wild blueberries this year. I guess the spring weather decides what kind of crop we'll get. No apples on our trees this year either! It'll be farmers market for me.

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  4. Oh these look wonderful. You are so right it is great to have good ripe berries to pull out of the freezer to enjoy during the Winter months!!

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  5. Hey girl. Glad you had a good time away.

    I love freezing blueberries like that. I have heard it called flash freezing because you are freezing them quickly and then bagging them. We picked a lot this summer in Lynchburg and I froze a whole bunch of them for use this winter.

    I will look forward to seeing your recipe. I did make blueberry zuchinni bread recently and it was delish.

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  6. I'm so excited to explore your blog since I clicked over here from your comment on mine. Thanks so much!!!

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  7. Hi Andrea, I just started following your blog yesterday and I have really enjoyed it. Your two little girls are beautiful. My two boys are grown now and I can't believe how fast it all went by. Anyway, enjoy them and thanks for the scoop on the blueberries. Our family loves them too. Take care, Diana

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    1. Thanks for reading, Diana, and taking the time to leave such a sweet comment!

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  8. If only I had a freezer to do this. Great tips and how to.

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  9. Your blueberries look beautiful and I'm sure are just as delicious. How great to have so many to freeze.
    Mary Alice

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  10. What a deliciously great idea! Thank you Andrea!
    I have been very busy lately with making jam!
    And storing all the jars in the freezer to have some fresh summery jam in the winter.
    My little girl has blueberries in her diet because they help fight the eczema.
    I should freeze some for her for during the winter months.

    Thankful!

    Sandy

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  11. Great tip to lay them out on a tray first. Have you done this as well with strawberries? I suppose you could do the same. Hmm, you've got me thinking. I usually cut the strawberries and add sugar to freeze in bags. It is much cheaper to do this and use them through the winter months, since produce prices are much higher then and the fruit isn't as plentiful or as tasteful. Love your great photography as usual. I can taste the berries right now. Delicious!

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    1. I don't think it's necessary to freeze the strawberries beforehand on a tray... I've frozen them immediately after washing and cutting out the hull. Oftentimes I freeze them with sugar like you though... yum! Thanks for your sweet comment.

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  12. Catching up a bit on my reading this morning--so glad I clicked through to this. I never thought about freezing blueberries, and no, I wouldn't have known to do it this way. Glad you took the time to share. So often others don't know the things we think everyone knows.

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  13. Great tip about freezing them on a tray first! I think I'm going to try this with garlic, my sister-in-law did some that way and had "fresh" garlic all winter.

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  14. i am so glad to find this post. i love fresh
    blueberry but it's only short period of time
    i see at the store.
    now i know how to keep them for fall and winter.
    i should go get bags of it and store in freezer.

    p.s. my favorite way of eating blueberry is
    to sprinkle hand full of it on yogurt each morning.

    thank you ❤

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