Don’t wash your fruit! | Blueberries! | Peaches | Freeze Right
3 Things to Know this Week:
- Blueberries, Blackberries, Apricots are PRIME! Early Peaches THIS WEEKEND.
- Fruit picking everyday Mon-Sat 8AM-6PM, Sun 1PM-5PM – Last Orchard entry hour before closing
- We’re social: Connect for updates on Facebook [CLICK HERE]
Freezing is the easiest, if you do it correctly.
Life on the Farm: “Don’t wash your fruit… yet.”
We get this question all the time: “How do I freeze blueberries & raspberries?”
Here’s the plan:
- DON’T wash the fruit.
- Lay it flat, one level high on a tray.
- Freeze it on the tray.
- THEN put it in the bag.
Here’s why:
Don’t wash it – The water from washing the fruit will add moisture that, when freezing, will break down the structure of the berries. (Ever get frozen fruit out of a bag and it’s coated in ice crystals? That’s why.) You WASH the fruit, once you get it out of the freezer and are ready to use it!
Lay berries out flat – Freeze the fruit in a single layer high, so you end with individually frozen berries that are much easier to work with. If you freeze blueberries in a 1 gallon bag direct from fresh, you’ll end up with a 1 gallon “brick” of frozen berries when you try to use them.
Bag them last – Once the berries are individually frozen on the tray, then you can bag them. You’ll be able to pour out just enough berries for your recipes this winter without having to break off a hunk of “frozen blueberry brick”.
Raspberries & blackberries work the same way! Freeze individually.
Now, your action plan:
Get to the farm for the last two BIG weekends of blueberries and raspberries! We need you to pick the field clean and boy is it EASY picking! If you pick over 15 lbs of blueberries, the price goes down to $3.25/lb which is back to 2011 pricing!
We need you! Stock up, go home and freeze your berries so you can enjoy the farm all winter long.
See you soon on the farm,
Hugh
PS Even with freezing, my family never has enough for the winter – we eat too many! Stock up so you don’t run out this winter 🙂