Freezing Blueberries--Saving July's Bounty for Winter

If you were able to brave the heat last weekend and pick some blueberries, you will want to freeze some to use over the winter when berry prices are high. Freezing blueberries is really easy and you will be glad to have the fruit to use later in the year!

To freeze blueberries, all I do is take out a cookie sheet and line it with either aluminum foil or wax paper. Then, I spread some blueberries out on the cookie sheet. Be sure not to wash the berries first. If you wash them first and do not dry them well, they may freeze into a mush. Also, washing them first may lead to a tougher skin. You can rinse them when you thaw them.

Next, I put some wrap over my cookie sheet. Then, I pop it in the freeze. Once the berries are frozen (they will be like little, hard marbles), I remove them from the freezer and put them in a freezer bag. When sealing, I make sure to squeeze out all of the air. Then, I really should label the bag with a date--but, of course, my laziness comes out! They are good about 6 months, so it may be handy to have a date on the bag.

I have been freezing my blueberries over the last couple of years and found this to be a great way to have fruit to add to my yogurt and use in muffins, pancakes, cobbler, etc. over the winter. I also used the same method to freeze raspberries.