How To Freeze Blueberries In Ziplock Bags
The best way to freeze blueberries is in freezing ziplock bags. I had 20 pounds of fresh blueberries from the local farm this season, and freezing is a great way to preserve the crop. I have a small chest freezer now and can preserve some berries for the winter. Yes, we have blueberries all year round at the store, but from the farm, it is much more aromatic and sweeter than the store berries out of season. I don’t have to mention much less expensive, too. Blueberries hold their shape very well after we thaw them. I take out frozen blueberries from my deep freezer and they are the perfect snack at the same time because they are not stone hard. Looks stone-hard but very pleasant when you bite it. Frozen blueberries are also a beautiful, delicious garnish for desserts and beverages. I take out berries and in a minute they have so pretty frost on them as you can see in the photo.
I like my blueberries prewashed before freezing. One of the reasons is that we can’t use frozen berries as is. We need to wash berries before use, and it makes many more complications to use frozen blueberries. I read just recently the directions on how to freeze blueberries on the website of the National Center for Home Food Preservation. They suggest not washing blueberries for freezing. Washing results in tougher-skinned blueberries. My family loves to eat frozen blueberries as-is, and we didn’t notice tougher skin by the time I read about this:). I will continue freezing my prewashed blueberries, and it is up to you which way you choose.
I have a vacuum sealer and tried to freeze in these bags too, works great. However, it is too expensive if we use original bags for a vacuum sealer, in my opinion. Zipper bags for freezing blueberries work very well for me. My berries taste good and look good. Check the photos below on the page.
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We Need
- Blueberries
- 1 tablespoon 9% vinegar
- Water
- Ziplock bags for freezing
- Strow
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Preparation Blueberries For Freezing
- Add to water 1 tablespoon of 9% vinegar.
The berries will not have any aftertaste of vinegar. Some sources suggest adding 1 tablespoon of salt instead of vinegar but I didn’t try myself.
2. Remove steams and damaged blueberries. Deeping berries a few times in mixture vinegar and water.
I wash half of the pound berries at the time because easy to inspect this amount.
3. I place berries in another strainer and let run down water before dry them with paper towels.
Don’t wash berries under running water, especially if it is a very rape blueberries. Running water can damage them.
4. I dry berries with paper towels. I also use a hairdryer (cold air) to dry blueberries and don’t have to use many paper towels.
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Freezing
5. Place dry blueberries in one layer on a cookie pan covered with waxing paper and place it in the freezer.
If you have the same size 2 cookie sheets, we can place 4 small ramekins on the corners and make 2 layers.
*I also used layered paper plates. I hold together paper plates with binder clips.
6. Frozen berries place in a ziplock bag.
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Pre-freeze Berries Before Place In The Bag Or Don’t?
I tried to freeze berries without pre-freezing on the pan sheet. My blueberries were very well dried before I put them in the bag. When I checked the ziplock bag berries had small crystals of ice in the bag. After almost a year berries in my freezer looks the same with a few crystals in the bag, not bad at all. However, I can easily notice the difference and bags with berries I freeze before I place them in the bag much better. So, try both methods and see what is works best for you. I prefer to take the extra step and freeze it before place in a ziplock bag.
In the photo below you can see the difference after 10 months. The first photo is pre-freeze berries. In the second photo, I freeze berries in the bag.
The Straw Methtod For Sealing Ziplock Bags
7. Place frozen blueberries in one layer in a ziplock bag for freezing. Place straw inside the bag. Seal the ziplock bag and leave only open where straw is. Suck the air out as much as possible from the bag. Very quickly remove the straw and seal the bag.
*I make a note on the bag before I place berries in it.
If I am not fast enough to seal the bag the air not completely out. I prefer to do one bag at a time and the rest of the frozen berries keep in the freezer. Open the bag and remove the air from the bag again. Very important to remove the air out as much as possible.
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8. Bags with blueberries I keep in double plastic grocery bags and my deep freezer chest. As you can see in the photo below my berries look so nice. I took the photo 3 weeks after I place my berries in the freezer.
I don’t want my bags with blueberries directly contacting other bags in my freezer. Additional couple layers of plastic also beneficial to prevent freezing burn on blueberries.
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How Long To Keep Frozen Blueberries In A Deep Freezer?
I keep my frozen blueberries in a deep freezer for approximately 6-12 months, as there’s no reason to keep them longer. The fresh blueberry season starts, and I make fresh frozen berries. If you have leftovers at the end of the season, I use them in a smoothie, waffles, or muffins.
Freezing is the most expensive way to preserve blueberries because of the cost of electricity. So, when you prepare blueberries for freezing choose the best ones. Not perfect berries use to make jam or jelly.
How I Use Frozen Blueberries
My blueberries are prewashed and ready to use without thawing. We can use frozen blueberries to make muffins, blueberry banana bread, pancakes, use in smoothies and garnish smoothies, blueberry milkshake, add to oatmeal, or other porridge, garnish ice cream or yogurt, and many other desserts. Frozen blueberries are so pretty garnish with the frost on them! The frost covers up the blueberry surface in a few seconds after I take them out of the freezer and makes them look so pretty.
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Almost never do you see something that’s this actionable these days.
Thank you ,Lena!