Blueberry season has arrived and if you’re like me then you’ll want to preserve their freshness without a lot of hassle. Freezing berries is one of the easiest ways to keep them fresh and ready for baking or smoothies all year-long. One of my closest friends grew up on a blueberry farm and so I try to go and pick a gallon or two each season from them to preserve for the winter.
I’ve been reading a book called, Blueberries for Sal to my son about how a mom and daughter go to the mountains to pick blueberries to can for the winter. It’s a really adorable book with great illustrations. During the whole time that we were picking berries my son said, “Mom are you going to can these for the winter?” So of course I said, “No I’m going to freeze them because it’s easier.” 🙂
How to Freeze Blueberries
Step 1: Rinse berries and let air dry.
Step 2: Lay berries out on baking sheet. Remove any bugs, stems, or green/squashed berries.
Step 3: Gently dab berries with hand towel removing any remaining moisture.
Step 4: Freeze berries on tray for two hours.
Step 5: Remove tray from freezer and place berries into a labeled freezer bag. Remove as much air as possible. Seal bag and freeze Flat.
Berries will last 3-6 months in regular freezer and up to 1 year in a deep freezer.
Very helpful tip! Fruit can go bad rather quickly in the summer and I love pulling it out in the winter to use.:-) I wish we had blueberries to pick around here! We are working on Mustang grapes that grow wild on our property. That is my kind of homeschooling.;-)
Can you possibly help me, I get pinterest almost every day. I am not good using a computer ( fighting 7 years brain cancer), when I click on a interesting recipe, I do not know how to go to the full recipe. I would love to have the complete recipe for the lemon blueberry cake. How can I find this recipe. I would love to be able to print these if I can find them Sorry found you by accident.
Hope you can Help.
Marianna
I'm sorry, but I don't have a Blueberry Lemon Recipe on my site. All I can say is go to Pinterest and do a search. If the one you click on doesn't have the full recipe then click on another one.
I pick lots of blueberries to freeze, but I make sure all the leaves and twigs are out and then freeze them in a freezer bag and mark :WASH" on them, They keep their shape a lot better this way.
Blueberries have a natural coating. If you wash before freezing then you wash it off. I do not wash my blueberries at all. But I do pick at a farm that does not spray chemicals on them. The way I look at it is that my hands have been the only ones to touch them. I do wash berries I buy from the store.
I love your website! Very cute!
I have been picking and freezing blueberries for years and i use brown paper grocery bags..just double them up.. pour in the fresh berries and roll down top of bags...i usually put a strip of tape on to hold the top closed..then freeze...the berries do not stick together and do not pick up moisture. The bag will hold 2 gallons of berries and when you want some just dip your cup in...so easy and fast
If you don’t have that many to freeze, could you use the brown paper lunch bags, doubled up? What made you use the brown bags as opposed to the plastic freezer bags?
Your method says to rinse the blueberries. It is my understanding that rinsing will remove the patina from the berries and consequently they will lose flavor. It is my practice to spread the berries in a pan, let them sit on the counter covered with a dishtowel and let them complete the ripening process. Pick out any stems, leaves, etc... then carefully put them in containers that will be as airtight as possible. I use gatorade bottles, juice bottles, etc. When you take them out, rinse them carefully. Since blueberries are not sprayed with chemicals, they should be fairly clean. Berries are good up to a year, and can be used for jellies after that.
I have been freezing blueberries for over 50 years and I just clean the twigs leaves etc from them...do not wash.. pour them into a double brown paper bag . Roll top down and tape put in freezer...they will not stick together and come out like marbles..just scoop what you need from bag...will keep for over a year
You don't need to freeze blueberries on a cookie sheet, you can skip that. Blueberries aren't as fragile as say a raspberry, and their skin is tough enough to retain structure when frozen in a bag, even after being washed. Additionally, when you pull the bag out of the freezer for the first time, just give it a tap and they will roll like marbles.
Excellent information. As soon as I saw your picture, I knew a step was out of place. Do Not Wash Blueberries because it causes berries to deteriorate too quickly. Let stay in container for one or two days. (Spread my berries on baking sheets in 2-3 layers.) This allows the red berries and light black berries to ripen and adds a better ripeness. Wash the berries as needed to sample, bake, or freeze.
I have grown blueberries and blackberries for 25 years in my back yard and give away jelly gifts to friends who praise the taste.
I grew up working on a blueberry farm. My mom did this & it usually caused them to crack & bleed, very messy. The people who work the farms Say you pick your berries, simply freeze them. Wash them before you eat- saves the mess!
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