How to Freeze Berries - Perfect for Baking and Smoothies!

I don't know about your area, but here in Colorado we are seeing some awesome prices on fresh berries which means it's a great time to stock up!  I love to freeze stuff for later - cookie dough, veggies, meals, sauce, soup- and berries are no exception.  If you have never frozen berries before it's actually very easy and requires very little prep work.

My most recent addition to my freezer stock was raspberries I picked up at King Soopers (my local Kroger affiliate) for $1 per 6 oz clamshell.  At the beginning of the summer I did the SASS Yourself Slim Diet by Cynthia Sass and one of my favorite recipes from her book is a Raspberry smoothie with Almond Butter and Greek Yogurt - it's simple, healthy, yummy, and filling!  But it can be a little pricey to make since raspberries are a bit on the expensive side so I am happy to have a well-stocked freezer full of them!

Here is the procedure I use to freeze slightly adapted from PickYourOwn.org:
(You'll need Vacuum food sealer or "ziploc" type freezer bags, a pan or tray that will fit in your freezer, and a  strainer or colander)

1.  Get out your berries (the fresher, the better) and wash them.  I have found it's easiest to place the berries in a large bowl and cover with water.  Stir them gently with your fingers and remove and floating dirt or leaves from the top of the water.  Then I dump them into my colander and drain and dry for about 10 minutes. (Site says to wash blueberries AFTER freezing - I have always washed before and had no problems)

2.  Spread the berries out in a single layer on a cookie sheet or in a large pan covered with parchment paper.  I let them sit this way for another 10 minutes so they will dry again.

3.  Place the pan/cookie sheet in the freezer for about 8 hours to allow the berries to freeze.

4.  Gently pull apart any berries that are stuck together and place them in freezer bags labeled with the date and what's inside.  You can also use your FoodSaver if you have one, but mine always do fine in a regular freezer bag. (I do have a small FoodSaver that I use with ziploc brand vacuum bags, but I don't usually use it when freezing berries - I just try to get as much air out of the bag as possible by hand).

5.. Most of our frozen berries are used in smoothies, homemade ice cream, and muffins so we can use them straight out of the freezer, but if you do want to thaw them for snacking I have found leaving them in the fridge overnight works best.

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