How To Store Strawberries In Freezer

“How To Store Strawberries In Freezer” – Has this question occurred to you lately? If yes, you’ve come to the right blog.

All good things come to an end quickly and so is the season of strawberries! As you know, I call this beautiful fruit the queen of fruits. Yes, Mr. Mango is the king of the fruit kingdom and Ms. Strawberry is the queen.  This queen acts too pricey and thus appears for a very short period of time. Though for the past 2 years or so, strawberries are available for a longer period, almost 3 months but still that period is not enough as such a beautiful n wonderful fruit should be there all year-round.

Strawberries can be easily stored for a few days in the refrigerator. But if you want to store these for a longer period of time then the freezer is the answer. You can store strawberries, just like peas, easily in the freezer for up to 8 to 9 months.

Why Store Strawberries?

Nothing to beat the taste of fresh fruits when in season. Savor as many strawberries as you can when in the season. Then why am I talking of storing these? The simple reason is ”ye dil maange more” (this heart always asks for more :)-)

Actually, as you know, here in India, we get strawberries in winters, and desserts made with strawberries are more enjoyable in summers and we use it in so many desserts to give the beautiful pink color and its tangy flavor. At that time, instead of using readymade strawberry crush isn’t it better to use our own? So, it definitely calls for storing this beautiful fruit in our freezers.

My love for strawberries is increasing with each passing day. This is also because now I am using strawberries not only for making Strawberry shake but a host of other delicacies too like Strawberry Mojito, Strawberry Muffins, Strawberry Pannacotta, Strawberry Gelato, Strawberry Coulis, and many others. Apart from these, I also use the strawberry puree as a filling in some of my cakes, especially the Black Forest cake.

When there is so much to do with this little cute fruit then how to manage in the little time it appears for? Well, the time may be short but not its supplies. Markets are flooded with this fruit when in season and one can get as much as one wants. And this solves our problem!

We can arrest (store) it in our freezers for as long as we want. That’s the best way to enjoy this fruit at any time of the year. Now in summers, along with mango shakes, we enjoy strawberry shakes too! Are you also looking for as to how to use this amazing fruit in summers too? Then continue reading and you will be glad you did.

How To Store Strawberries In Freezer?

Strawberries can be easily stored in the freezer but those will be good for desserts and smoothies only. If you want to enjoy biting into the fruit then this is the time! Go now and eat as many you can!

Freezing strawberries is the easiest and best way to store them for months. There are a number of ways you can store strawberries. But as you know I like to keep things simple so I am sharing my ways of storing strawberries and there are 3 effective ways it can be done.  The three ways in which strawberries can be stored are:

• Whole Strawberries
• Chopped Strawberries
• Pureed Strawberries

 

A. Storing Whole Strawberries

• Wash the strawberries. Yes! very important!
• Wipe these with a soft cloth.
• Hull them. For this, either remove it by hand or cut a thin slice from the top. And another easy way is to pierce a skewer from the bottom (narrow end) and take it out from the top which will take away its hull too.
• Now keep these in a plate/tray/mat and put them in the freezer. Why do we keep these like this? This is done to avoid strawberries clumping with each other as this makes it difficult to take out at the time of use.
• Let it remain in the freezer like this till frozen.
• Now, fill these frozen strawberries in a ziplock bag and again into the freezer. Since these are frozen, they will not cling to each other and it will be easier to take out and use.

 

B. Storing In Chopped Form

This is one good way to enjoy strawberries when not in season. This method is good as these can be eaten as it is once frozen. Also, they do not get mushy when defrosted. So, these are good for adding to desserts like fruit cream or making jelly, pannacotta etc. Simple steps to store it in the chopped form are:

• After washing, hulling the strawberries, roughly chop these into small pieces.
• Spread these pieces on a plate/tray and freeze. Take care that these are not overlapping.
• Once frozen, these pieces will get hard and then you can put these in a ziplock bag or any container.
• Put the container/ziplock bag back in the freezer.
• These stay good for up to 6 months.

C. Storing In Pureed Form

Apart from eating whole as a fruit, for making desserts or shake, we always use strawberry puree only. Then why not preserve strawberry puree only? And how to do that? Listing here, simple steps that I follow every year in the month of February/March and then enjoy it till Ms. strawberry appears again, that is around October/November.

• Wash the strawberries. Yes! very important!
• Hull them. For this, either remove it by hand or cut a thin slice from the top. And another easy way is to pierce a straw from the bottom (narrow end) and take it out from the top which will take away its hull too.
• Pop these strawberries in the blender and 1, 2, 3…run the blender for few seconds till it is pureed fully.
• Do not add any water. 
• Once it is pureed, put this puree in the ice trays and transfer these to your freezer! Don’t worry, we are not going to block your ice trays as I know you need them a lot during summers.
• Once the puree is frozen, take out the beautiful pink cubes and parcel them in zip lock bags. And these zip lock bags in the freezer again. And your ice trays are free.
• Now, whenever you require, take out a few cubes and use them as required.

Important: Avoid freezing strawberries in your freezer if you face the problem of power failure in your area!

 

How To Use Frozen Strawberries?

Almost in all the desserts made with strawberries, its puree is used.  Somewhere we can use the frozen cubes as it is like in strawberry shakes but in all others, we have to thaw the frozen cubes to get back to its puree form.

• Strawberry Shake: These strawberry cubes are great for making a strawberry shake. Without thawing, Just put a few strawberry cubes and milk in the blender and churn it. Even ice cubes can be avoided. No need to thaw. 
• Strawberry Coulis: Strawberry coulis is made from strawberry puree. So, just thaw the strawberry cubes a little and go ahead with the way you make it.
• Strawberry Mojito:  Again puree is needed. So, either thaw the frozen cubes or put frozen whole strawberries in the blender.
• Strawberry Yogurt: Puree is needed so use either way as mentioned above.
• Strawberry Pannacotta: Puree is needed.
• Strawberry Muffins: Puree is needed. For little pieces, chop thawed strawberries into tiny pieces.

 

FAQs

Q. Do I add water while making its puree?

A: No! Do not add any water. Just put washed and wiped strawberries in the blender and that’s it. As these are juicy therefore in seconds they will turn into a fine puree.

Q. Do I add sugar while making its puree?

A. This is optional. You may add sugar. But my suggestion is that make it without sugar as sugar can be added later according to the recipe you are going to use it.

Q. Can I freeze the puree straight in a box without using ice trays?

A. Of course, you can.  But then be prepared to use a hammer to break the small piece you need later. Once frozen, the puree gets rock hard and it is really difficult to take out little. Thus, it’s better to have red cubes which you can take out as many as you want.

Q.  Will frozen whole strawberries get mushy when taken out?

A. Unfortunately Yes.  As soon as the frozen strawberries are thawed they get mushy and are not good to be eaten as a whole. But these mushy ones are still good for making puree. however, if you wish to eat it then do it straight away after taking out of the freezer. Do not let it thaw then.

Q. For how long strawberries can be stored in the freezer?

A. Till they appear again in the market. Yes, you can easily store the strawberries in the freezer for 8 to 9 months.

Q. Can I store strawberries in the refrigerator?

Strawberries are really delicate and cannot be stored in the refrigerator. However, you can keep them for 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator but that too depends on the weather.

Q) How To Store Strawberries In The Refrigerator?

If you have bought strawberries in bulk then either freeze them as discussed above or consume it within 4 to 5 days. To do so, take care of the following:

• Wash and hull the strawberries.
• Remove those which are even slightly rotten.
• Put the washed strawberries in a colander for half an hour or so till they are dried completely.
• Put them in an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator.
• Tip: Keep the airtight container in the chiller tray in the refrigerator. The chiller tray is the one below the freezer and topmost in the refrigerator. 

 

Some other Strawberry Recipes that you may like:

• Strawberry Jelly With Agar
• Strawberry Mojito
• Strawberry Muffins
• Strawberry Pannacotta
• Strawberry Coulis

 

Let’s Connect!

Thank you for reading this post. Hope you have liked this method of showing you how to store strawberries in freezer and will store lot many of these before they disappear from the market. If you try this method then do share your feedback.

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