by Jared Garrett

Created on: May 26, 2007

Freezing strawberries is not difficult, but is a little time consuming. After much trial and error, I have found what works best. Why have I tried and erred so much? My family loves strawberries and you can get them cheap around these parts. So read on for how to freeze those lovely strawberries in such a way that when you thaw them, they are still recognizable.

First, wash them well. Don't scrub them with soap or anything. In fact, the best way to wash strawberries is to soak them in not hot and not cold water. Basically the temperature you want is the cool side of tepid.

Once the strawberries have soaked, rinse them off and cut off the leaves and stem. Go ahead and splurge on one of the nifty little tools designed for exactly this job. They are smaller than most paring knives and are basically a handle with a tiny, tooth-rimmed bowl on the end. Don't forget to put those leaves and stems in your compost!

Next, with the strawberries clean and trimmed, put them in an ascorbic acid bath. Here's how this works. You get a deep bowl full of freezing cold water. Then you add several tablespoons of fresh lemon juice or powdered ascorbic acid. Mix the combination well. Now you are ready to soak the strawberries for about ten minutes. Make sure the water is cold! It helps to have ice in there to keep the temperature low.

While the strawberries soak, lay out some paper towels and a sheet of wax paper that will fit easily on a shelf in your freezer. In fact, this is a good time to turn down your freezer, ie: make it colder.

After a nice, ten-minute freezing bath, take the strawberries out of the cold water and gently pat them dry on the paper towels. Then put the wax paper on the freezer shelf and transfer the strawberries directly to it, making sure to leave some space between each strawberry. This will help them freeze faster.

Once the wax paper is full and all of your strawberries are in the freezer, close the door and let them freeze for a few hours. After they are fully frozen, you can take them off the wax paper and stow them for a long time in a zip-top bag.

When you are ready to thaw and use the strawberries, take the bag out of the freezer and put it in the fridge. When thawed, they will be a little softer than fresh berries, but they will still be usable for a variety of recipes. Enjoy!

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