Freezing Strawberries

Freezing strawberries is one of the ways you can preserve fresh berries to keep that delicious, sweet taste. The texture will be soft, not firm like fresh berries. From there, you can defrost them and enjoy them plain, bake them in a pie, use them on shortcake, or make jelly and jam.

Fresh picked strawberries from Garcia Farms in Poteet, TX.Fresh picked strawberries from Garcia Farms in Poteet, TX.

David and I have moved to a farm in Rossville, Texas, just outside of Poteet, the Strawberry Capital of Texas. The farms around here grow large, delicious berries that thousands of people come here for, especially during the first weekend in April every year for the Poteet Strawberry Festival.

David has made friends with a local farmer. We went over to his farm the other day and bought a flat of fresh strawberries on February 3. They are the sweetest berries we have ever had and they came from Garcia Farms in Poteet.

Freezing Strawberries Is Easy

Slice your berries into bite sized pieces and add sugar to them. Fold the sugar in and put them in your freezer bags.Slice your berries into bite sized pieces and add sugar to them. Fold the sugar in and put them in your freezer bags.

First, you need a nice flat of strawberries. Actually, you can start smaller with a few pints or some berries you just picked from your garden if that is what you have. Wash them under cold water to remove all of the sandy soil. Let them drain or place them on some paper towels. Get a small bowl for the green caps that you will cut off. Get a larger bowl for the berries you will freeze.

You will also need some sugar and freezer bags. I use the quart size bags for berries.

You want to cut the green caps off so the leaves are not in your berries when you eat them.You want to cut the green caps off so the leaves are not in your berries when you eat them.

Use a paring knife to remove the green caps (leaves). Then I cut the large berries in half longways and then slice them across into bite-sized pieces. If the berries are smaller, you can leave them whole or slice across into the size you want. Put the pieces in the larger bowl.

Once you are finished cutting the berries, clean up and then add between 1/4 and 1/2 cup of sugar to the bowl. Stir and then place enough berries into each freezer bag so that you can feed your family or make a pie, etc.

Look at the size of that berry!Look at the size of that berry!
Flatten out the fruit in your freezer bag so it stores nicely in the freezer.Flatten out the fruit in your freezer bag so it stores nicely in the freezer.

If you use a good, name-brand freezer bag, there is probably a white area where you can write the date that you are freezing strawberries. We use the frozen strawberries within six months.

Always mark your freezer bags when freezing items as they will be good for between six months and one year only.Always mark your freezer bags when freezing items as they will be good for between six months and one year only.

I got 12 quart bags for freezing strawberries out of a flat of giant fresh berries. These were bigger than any I ever bought in a store and they were incredibly sweet. You can also can strawberries in glass jars or you can dehydrate them and eat them as fruit chips.

Return from Freezing Strawberries to Our Small Farm

David of David's Garden Seeds® zipping along on his little tractor across the farm. He is having a blast!David of David's Garden Seeds® zipping along on his little tractor across the farm. He is having a blast!

We are David's Garden Seeds®. If you need great seeds, we've got about 1500 varieties to choose from.

Mrs. David's Garden Seeds in the greenhouse with Lucy the lap dog.Mrs. David's Garden Seeds in the greenhouse with Lucy the lap dog.