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How to Freeze Your Blueberries for Year Round Goodness

Posted in Food Storage | August 7th, 2011

Blueberries are considered one of the “superfoods.” They are among the highest value anti-oxident fruits, while being packed full of other vitamins and minerals, and are low in calories. They are also delicious. What’s not to love? Unfortunately, they are only in season for a short time each year. They also don’t travel very well. Blueberries picked fresh from your backyard are far more tasty than those found in your local supermarket, which have usually been picked unripe in order to make it to your store without going bad.

If you grow your own blueberry bushes in your backyard you will be guaranteed the best, freshest blueberries available for the period they are in season. But how can you have delicious blueberries year round? The best option is to freeze your own. Whether you grow them yourself or pick them from a “pick your own” farm, if you freeze berries you have hand picked you will know they are ripe and ready to eat.

What Not to Do

Don’t pile your blueberries into a container and stick them in the freezer, expecting to be able to defrost perfect berries later. They will clump together and not only will you have to defrost them all together, but they will most likely be bruised and even somewhat mashed.

Also, don’t freeze unwashed blueberries thinking you can wash them later. Defrosted blueberries are delicate and won’t stand up to rinsing.

So how do you freeze blueberries?

First, unless they are organic berries, wash them very gently, then just as gently dry them on some paper towels. You must do this very gently to avoid brusing: laying them on paper towels and gently patting them with more paper towels over the top is the best way.
Second, the best way to freeze them is laid out in a single, uncrowded layer on a baking sheet. Once they are frozen you can pack them in appropriate containers.

When using frozen blueberries, you can either add them still frozen to your recipe, such as blueberry crumble or blueberry muffins, or allow them to defrost in the fridge before stiring them through your yogurt or using them on your breakfast cereal. You can eat them still frozen (this is my five-year-old’s preference), or, you can try my favorite way of eating frozen blueberries: add them still frozen to your hot oatmeal, defrosting them, while quickly cooling your oatmeal enough to eat.

Kirsten McCulloch is an Australian freelance writer with a passion for living sustainably, from growing her own fruit trees (blueberries are on the agenda for next year), to making her own yogurt. She is also the editor of online magazine, Sustainable Suburbia.