General Question

Shippy's avatar

Can you freeze fruit?

Asked by Shippy (10015points) December 21st, 2012

Does anyone have experience regards freezing fruit? If so, which are the better ones to choose? And how do you prepare for freezing etc.

Also vegetables too.

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12 Answers

Tropical_Willie's avatar

Blueberries, Strawberries, Raspberries . . . Yes, I’ve frozen these, first on a cookie sheet than in as bag after they have frozen.

cookieman's avatar

Yes! As @Tropical_Willie describes. Buy them in-season, freeze – and you can enjoy them in smoothies or baked goods in the off season.

rooeytoo's avatar

We eat frozen blueberries all year long. I’ve not frozen them, I buy them. I sometimes freeze mangoes. I don’t like eating them that way but they are great for cooking or in ice cream. I think that is the main problem with freezing any fruit, the texture is changed and usually not for the better!

WestRiverrat's avatar

We freeze peaches, pears and apples instead of canning them.Sliced thin and frozen on a cookie sheet, then into a freezer bag. Most frozen fruit is best used as an ingredient in baking or ice cream.

Check out the freezer aisle(s) at a supermarket and see what they have frozen to get an idea of what you can freeze.

jaytkay's avatar

Freeze bananas when they’re too ripe for eating whole, and use them later for banana bread or smoothies.

And a second plug for cookie sheets. They let your food freeze faster and prevent clumping.

I buy blueberries and corn for freezing when it’s cheap and in season.

Also every fall I freeze a bag of dill. It’s pretty much just as good frozen as fresh from the garden.

marinelife's avatar

Berries freeze well. Rasberries, blackberries, blueberries.

Peaches freeze well.

Apples and citrus fruit do not.

Yeahright's avatar

I’m in the tropics, so I get tropical fruit all year around. I freeze pineapple all the time. Just peel it, core it, chop it, or slice it and freeze it in a Ziploc bag or in any plastic container. It’s excellent to make smoothies or just plain juice. Put it in the blender, half OJ and half pineapple. As @rooeytoo says the texture changes and frozen fruit is no longer good to eat in a fruit salad, but great to bake and for smoothies.
Other tropical fruits that freeze well are mangoes, guavas, and papaya/papaw. Passion fruit also freezes beautifully.

As for veggies I freeze carrots, corn, green beans, and green peas. I blanch them then freeze them in Ziploc bags, then use for soups, rice, pasta, salads you name it. They freeze very well. Also sweet peppers, I seed them and cut them in quarters (never whole).

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cazzie's avatar

@Shippy book mark this page for future reference. It is a full guide on preserving food.
http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/freeze.html

skfinkel's avatar

Another way to freeze some things is in an ice cube tray: coffee ice cubes help make iced coffee not dilute, fresh herbs can be frozen in ice trays in water, and then used for soups etc when needed (after put into cubes, can put in bags until needed).

Shippy's avatar

@cazzie Awesome thank-you.

Shippy's avatar

@skfinkel Love the herb idea. I love those freeze dried herbs and was wracking my brain to think of ways of doing something similar.

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