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Fresh blueberries, clean and ready to freeze.[/caption]
Recently, I got to share how I can foods for my allergy-aware family.
And I realized I need to share how I freeze seasonal fruit too. It's just like canning: I know exactly what's going into my produce, and (even better) my kids love it!
One of my daughter Moriah’s favorite breakfasts is frozen blueberries. Last year we were gifted a large bag of them. I'm going to talk mostly about how I froze blueberries, but the idea is the same for any seasonal fruit.
When that tasty bag was gone I bought some blueberries at the store. Moriah refused to eat them saying they felt hairy in her mouth. When I tried them, I agreed that the ice crystals were different and they did have an off texture.
So, during this past summer, prepping for her first year in school, I wanted to make sure I have plenty of easy breakfast options so I decided to try my hand at freezing blueberries.
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Dont have a mat? Stack a Flour Sack Towels from Lehmans in Kidron or lehmans.pro. They can be bleached clean easily.[/caption]
I rinsed and picked out the bad ones and the stems. Then I placed them on a dish-drying mat to dry. This is one of my favorite multitaskers-they are so much better than dish towels because they wick the moisture down to the bottom and the top feels dry.
While the berries were drying I lined my deep edged cookie sheets, which I bought years ago from Lehman’s, with plastic wrap. (If you have any silicone baking sheet liners they would probably work as well.)
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My Magnum Cookie Sheet, with a single layer of berries. Get your Magnum Cookie Sheet at Lehmans in Kidron, Ohio, or at lehmans.pro.[/caption]
Once the berries are dry, I placed them on a single layer on the cookie sheet and put in freezer. This is where having a cookie sheet with edges is a really good thing-those blueberries can travel!
When the berries were frozen, I transfer them to an airtight container or zipper bag.
I froze black cherries when they were in season. You can freeze any seasonal fruit, really.
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Fruit Fresh is another thing you can use to keep preserved fruit looking good. At Lehman's in Kidron, Ohio, or at lehmans.pro.[/caption]
Ball® Fruit Fresh, an all-natural product, can keep fruit like apples, pears and peaches from browning. Apples and pears both freeze well, especially if you prep them into a cobbler before freezing.
You can just snack at your frozen fruit, or you also can use it straight out of the freezer in smoothies or in baked goods. It's completely OK to toss the frozen berries in your finished batter. Stir gently to combine, and portion into your muffin tins, cake pans or bread pans.
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