Strawberries are small forest berries, which, thanks to the work of scientific breeders, have turned into large garden strawberries. However, along with the size, the taste has also changed. Wild strawberries are a sweeter berry, so less sugar is required for their preparation. As for the freezing process, there are both standard methods for freezing berries, and those that apply only to certain varieties. Especially for readers of the Good Recipes website, we’ll tell you how to freeze wild strawberries. The main thing is that you have frozen strawberries in your freezer at any time of the year; it won’t be difficult to find recipes for their preparation, be it strawberry compote, pie or jam.

Frozen strawberries: preparation process

When freezing whole berries, only firm, ripe fruits with an even color and without external defects are suitable. Strawberries dry out very quickly, so it is advisable to start working with them immediately after picking. It is recommended to pick berries in the morning immediately after the dew has disappeared. Only washed berries are suitable for storage. Since strawberries are quite dense, they can be washed under running water, which cannot be said about strawberries. It is also necessary to carefully select the berries for defects and remove the sepals.

When frozen, wet strawberries will form an ice ball; to prevent this from happening, the washed and selected berries are laid out in one layer on a paper towel. Ideally, you should change the towel after a few minutes. Carry out the entire procedure in a dry, well-ventilated place.

How to freeze strawberries with whole berries

Almost all freezing methods involve preserving the shape of the berry. There are several ways you can do this:

Quick or shock freezing is carried out in 2 stages.

Ingredients:

• fresh strawberries.

Cooking process:

At the first stage, the berries are laid out in one layer on a baking sheet or board. There should be a small distance between the fruits so that they do not stick together during the freezing process. The berries go into the freezer for about 4 hours. Once the fruits are frozen, the risk of sticking will disappear, and the berries can be packaged in plastic containers or bags for easy storage.

One-step freezing with sugar. The berries are immediately laid out in containers, but laid out in layers. All layers are sprinkled with a small amount of sugar. In this case, there is no exact proportion of mixing berries and sugar, so everyone can proceed from their own tastes. Before putting the strawberries in the freezer, shake the containers slightly, which allows the sugar to be distributed more evenly.

Frozen strawberries in syrup

This method is somewhat reminiscent of making raw strawberry jam. 0.5 kg of sugar is diluted into 2 liters of water. This mixture is brought to a boil over low heat with constant stirring. Once the syrup has cooled, they will need to pour the prepared strawberries into the containers. Containers with berries are sent to the freezer for a day, but the lid does not close. Only after a day is the container sealed.

Frozen strawberries in their own juice

Storing berries in their own juice. This freezing option is very similar to making syrup, but without heating. Initially, the berries are covered with sugar. On average, you can take up to 200-300g of sugar per 1 kg of berries. The covered berries should stand in a dark place for several hours. Usually the whole process takes about 2-4 hours. When the berries release their juice, they can be packaged in convenient containers for storage in the freezer.

Raw frozen strawberry jam

Preparing strawberry puree does not always result in the berries turning into a homogeneous mixture. In this way, you can also store whole berries, which, when defrosted, will be easily separated from the main mass.

1 method of storing ground strawberries implies that all the berries will be crushed through a meat grinder or in a blender. Berry porridge is mixed with sugar in any ratio and placed in containers that can be stored for up to 6 months, as with any other freezing option. With longer storage, the berry begins to freeze, which is reflected in the taste: a watery taste with a very distant hint of fresh berries.

Method 2 of grinding strawberries requires preliminary selection of berries. Substandard care for purees, ground with or without sugar. The remaining berries are laid in layers, mixed with puree. You just need to make sure that the puree is liquid enough. In most cases, berries are not dried to prepare berry porridge.

With any freezing option, strawberries are packaged in portions, since repeated freezing of the berries practically reduces their taste and the amount of useful elements to zero.
With whole frozen strawberries you can make pies and pies, compote or jelly. But it’s still worth remembering that the body will receive more benefits from defrosted berries without heat treatment.

Nadezhda Goeva told how to freeze strawberries for the winter, with a recipe and photo by the author especially for the Good Recipes website.

The aroma of ripe strawberries evokes pleasant emotions, especially when fluffy snowflakes fall to the ground outside the window. This summer berry is a favorite delicacy of adults and children, and thanks to the freezing process, you can treat your loved ones to it at any time of the year. Appetizing strawberries, grated with sugar, will become an exquisite filling for homemade baked goods and will enrich the body with many useful elements. So how do you freeze it for the winter? Are there procurement rules?

Why frozen strawberries are so popular

Fresh strawberries, of course, contain more vitamins, but even after freezing they remain useful.

1. This product contains a large amount of vitamin C. Scientists have proven that five berries contain as much vitamin C as one orange.
2. Strawberries contain useful substances necessary to maintain normal functioning of the body: folic acid, B vitamins, sodium, potassium, calcium and dietary fiber.
3. The natural sweetness of the berry will undoubtedly appeal to children, and its unique aroma can instantly whet the appetite and save them from depression.
4. Strawberries are an excellent sugar-lowering agent and help rid the body of toxins and waste.

In the absence of allergies, strawberries can be used as a valuable component for the preparation of various homemade cosmetics. But for this you need berries frozen without the use of sugar. In addition, the product has a number of other advantages:

• You can enjoy strawberries regardless of the season;
• frozen berries contain less cadmium, lead and pesticides;
• bacteria harmful to the human body cannot develop in them;
• There are only slightly fewer nutrients in frozen berries than in fresh ones, while the taste and incomparable aroma are preserved;
• frozen strawberries are an excellent addition to ready-made porridges, cottage cheese, milkshakes, ice cream and yoghurts, and compotes made from them are a real vitamin pantry;
• This product makes excellent mousses, sauces and jellies that can become a real table decoration, as well as fillings for sponge cakes, muffins and yeast pies.

At home, freezers are mainly used to store frozen strawberries, which provide an optimal temperature of -18°C. In such conditions it can be kept for no more than 8–9 months.

Sometimes food stored in household refrigerators may be defrosted untimely, for example, due to an unscheduled power outage. Thawed berries cannot be re-frozen and can cause harm to health. The optimal solution in such a situation would be to completely defrost the product, after which the strawberries must be subjected to heat treatment. Then the cooled berries can be frozen again.

1. To defrost strawberries, you can use airtight containers that need to be immersed in cold water for 45 minutes.
2. An even better option is to place the berries in a regular refrigerator compartment, the temperature of which is 4°C. In this case, the defrosting process may take approximately 7 hours. This will preserve the original shape and taste of the berries.

General rules for freezing berries

There are several types of strawberries, each with individual benefits. However, whichever one you choose for freezing, you should follow the general rules.

1. If you harvest your own, try to pick ripe strawberries early in the morning before dew appears or just before sunset. It has been noticed that the harvest harvested at this time better retains its beneficial properties and aroma, and also has a more refined taste.
2. Before starting the freezing process, the berries must be carefully sorted, removing spoiled and deformed specimens to the side.
3. If the strawberries are of impeccable freshness, you can do without the washing procedure. It is enough to lightly blow the berries with a hairdryer. This will preserve the natural protection, which is valid for 3 hours after collection. It is a thin film consisting of special substances that effectively protect berries from harmful bacteria.
4. If you bought strawberries at the market, it is advisable to wash them thoroughly by placing them in a colander and immersing it in water. This way you will preserve the integrity of fragile berries.
5. Strawberries need to be dried to prevent excess water from freezing.
6. When packaging strawberries in plastic bags, it is necessary to remove as much air as possible, which can cause frost. Putting the date on the bags will allow you to track the expiration date of the product.
7. When placing strawberries in the freezer, you should avoid possible proximity to strong-smelling foods, especially fish.
8. If for some reason you need to defrost the freezer, a blanket in which you just need to wrap the berries for a short period of time will help protect the strawberries from contact with warm air.

Something about strawberry varieties

There are three types of strawberries:

• garden (the largest berries);
• meadow (field);
• wild strawberry).

Meadow strawberries are often confused with wild strawberries, which have smaller and more fragrant berries. A distinctive feature of strawberries is that they are easier to separate from the green calyx. It also has a lot of beneficial properties and a whole range of vitamins. Strawberries are distinguished by a pronounced sweet taste, tart aroma and density. They are very difficult to tear off from the branch, which makes the cleaning process somewhat difficult.

The first ripe berries appear on June 15. When harvesting wild strawberries, they are cut directly with their branches and bouquets, since it is very difficult to quickly tear the berry from the stalk. Wild strawberries are characterized by increased fragility and softness, for this reason they need to be handled as carefully as possible so that the berries do not bruise and do not release juice.

Methods for freezing strawberries

There are several ways to harvest strawberries that guarantee good results.

Freezing whole berries without sugar

1. Take the strawberries prepared in accordance with the general rules, spread them in a thin layer on plastic boards or on large kitchen plates covered with cling film.
2. When arranging strawberries, try to provide a small distance between the berries. This will prevent them from sticking together.
3. Then place the boards or plates filled with berries in the freezer and leave there for about a day. If your refrigerator has a Super Freeze function, it is advisable to use it. Then the process will last no more than 3 hours.
4. Remove the berries, place them in dry plastic bags, and then place them back in the freezer.

Freezing whole berries with added powdered sugar

It has been noticed that during the freezing process, strawberries can partially lose their original sweetness. It is for this reason that many people prefer to freeze it with powdered sugar. Proportions: for 1 kg of strawberries you need to take 200 g of powdered sugar.

Freezing strawberries with sugar

There is another way to freeze strawberries with sugar. When used, the berry produces juice. For this recipe, for 1 kg of strawberries you need to take 300 g of sugar.

Berry grated with sugar

For this method you will need:

• blender;
• strawberry;
• sugar - 300 g per 1 kg of berries.

Operating procedure:

In this case, sugar can be added both during the preparation of the puree and after it is defrosted.

For better storage, you can add 2 tablespoons of vodka to the strawberry puree.

You can also pour ready-made syrup at room temperature over the berries, and then place the containers in the freezer. To prepare the syrup, take:

• 1 liter of water;
• 300 g sugar;
• 5 g citric acid or 1 tablespoon lemon juice.

Mix all ingredients and put on fire. Remove from heat at the first sign of boiling.

Strawberry jam with honey for the winter

To prepare such a preparation for 1 kg of berries you will need:

• 2 glasses of honey;
• 1 apple;
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice.

Operating procedure:

• Grind the prepared strawberries in a blender until pureed;
• Grate the peeled apple on a medium grater;
• mix the apple mass with strawberry puree, add honey and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice;
• put the mixture on the fire, bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes;
• Place the prepared strawberry jam in food containers, cool and place in the freezer.

How to freeze meadow and forest berries with sugar

To freeze field strawberries, which are distinguished by the hardness of the fruit, you can use the following recipe.

1. Mix pre-prepared berries with sugar: for 3 cups of strawberries you need to use 4 cups of sugar.
2. Place the berries and sugar in half-liter jars, filling the containers only ¾ full.
3. Pour sugar into the remaining free space up to the neck of the jar.
4. Close the containers with lids treated with boiling water.
5. Place the jars in the refrigerator or cellar.
6. After 2 weeks, you can again add sugar to the neck of the jar, since during this time the jam will settle a little.

Recipes Using Frozen Strawberries

Frozen berries can be used in preparing a variety of dishes.

Frozen strawberries with sugar and sour cream

One of the simplest options is pureed strawberries with sugar and sour cream. To prepare it, you can use whole frozen fruits or previously prepared puree.

1. If you prefer to work with whole berries, defrost them first and soften the strawberries using a blender or other means at hand.
2. If the strawberries were frozen without sugar, add 2 tablespoons of sugar per 400 g of berries.
3. Then add 3 tablespoons of sour cream and stir the resulting puree. Your dessert is ready.

Frozen berries with whipped cream

You can also make an original dessert with whipped cream from frozen strawberries.

For this you will need:

• strawberry puree - 400 g;
• heavy cream - 400 ml;
• 2 yolks;
• powdered sugar to taste.

When all the ingredients are prepared, you can start preparing the sweet masterpiece.

1. Add the yolks to the defrosted strawberry puree.
2. Place the resulting mixture on the fire and bring to a thickening point, stirring constantly.
3. Whip the cream until thick and add to the cooled strawberry mixture.
4. Adjust the taste of the dessert by adding powdered sugar.
5. Place the delicacy in vases and place in the freezer until frozen.
6. Serve dessert to the table.

Using simple recommendations, you can easily freeze strawberries for the winter. The main thing is to adhere to the basic rules, because thanks to them it becomes possible to preserve as many useful vitamins as possible in these berries. Such preparations will allow you to feel the taste and aroma of summer even in the middle of a cold winter, as well as diversify your home menu.

Some argue that wild strawberries are much more aromatic and tastier than strawberries grown in the garden. And therefore, as soon as this fragrant forest berry ripens, they rush into the forest after it. Moreover, strawberries are found in large quantities in light forests, on the edges, clearings, clearings, on dry grassy slopes, among bushes.

And if a rich harvest of wild strawberries has been harvested, then the question immediately arises: how to process them in order to preserve them until the next harvest, or at least until winter.

Most often, jam is made from wild strawberries. But if the volume of the freezer allows, then the berries can be frozen.

Which strawberries can be frozen

Strawberries that have been picked quite recently are suitable for freezing - they have not yet had time to bruise and release juice.

It is best to freeze strawberries that have already ripened and become a rich red color, but have retained their elastic pulp, since overripe strawberries, although they can be frozen, after defrosting they become very soft and turn into “porridge.” But even unripe frozen strawberries after thawing turn out to be tasteless, acquiring the taste of grass and becoming very sour.

• Before freezing, strawberries are sorted, sepals and spoiled berries are removed, and then washed.
• To wash or not to wash – every housewife decides this question for herself independently. But if we take into account the deteriorating environmental situation and the fact that frozen strawberries are added to many dishes without heat treatment, then it is still better to wash the berries. To do this, place the strawberries in a colander and dip them several times in cold water or wash them in the shower, being careful not to damage the delicate skin of the strawberries.
• Then the berries are placed on sieves (metal sieves are not recommended) and wait until the water has drained.
• After this, the berries are dried in air for half an hour. You should not keep them longer, because they will again become wet from the juice.

Wild strawberries can be frozen in several ways.

How to freeze wild strawberries with whole berries

• The prepared strawberries are placed on a tray covered with film in one layer at a short distance from each other and placed in the freezer for several hours.
• As soon as the berries are frozen, they are poured into small plastic containers with lids or plastic bags with a zipper, closed well so that foreign odors do not leak inside, and put into the freezer.

How to freeze strawberries with sugar

Housewives often complain that frozen strawberries take on a bitter taste. But this is a feature of the berry. To eliminate the bitter taste, you can freeze strawberries with sugar.

• Washed, sorted and dried strawberries are placed in plastic containers, and then each layer of berries is sprinkled with sugar.
• The containers are closed and placed in the freezer.

How to freeze strawberries in syrup

Option 1:

• The prepared berries are poured into an enamel saucepan or bowl, sugar is added at the rate of 300 g of sugar per liter of water and left until the berries release juice.
• Strawberries along with juice are transferred to plastic containers (containers, molds, cups), without adding 1-2 cm to the top, tightly closed with lids and put in the freezer.

Video recipe for the occasion:

Option 2:

• Prepared strawberries are packaged in plastic containers.
• Separately, boil the syrup at the rate of 300 g of sugar per liter of water.
• The syrup is cooled and poured over the berries.
• The containers are closed with lids and then placed in the freezer.

How to freeze strawberry puree

Strawberry puree can be frozen with or without sugar.

Overripe berries are suitable for puree, but without barrels spoiled by rot.

• Prepared berries, which do not need to be dried first, are crushed in a blender.
• Mix with sugar to taste.
• Pour into plastic containers, which are covered with lids and sent to the freezer for further storage.

How to freeze whole strawberries into puree

• Strong, ripe berries are placed in plastic containers.
• Overripe berries are made into a puree, which is mixed with sugar to taste.
• This puree is poured over whole berries, covered with lids and sent to the freezer.

Strawberries frozen by any method can be stored in the freezer for up to six months. It is not recommended to store it for longer, as there will be significantly less useful substances in it.

Strawberries are the kind of berry that you cannot pass by without positive emotions. Bright and incredibly attractive, she beckons: buy me and eat me! And we buy and eat and have a lot of fun!

But do not forget that the time to enjoy this royal berry, alas, is quickly running out and it is worth thinking about how to preserve, or rather, prepare strawberries for the winter.

We don’t need to reinvent the wheel, because everything has already been invented before us and there are many options for preparing strawberries for the winter. You can close it in the form of compotes, freeze whole berries or puree, cook jam, confiture, jelly, or make marshmallows. In general, the choice is varied and it is naturally yours.

In this case, you will be offered the option of preparing frozen strawberries.

Two ways on which we will spend a minimum of time. We can simply, easily and very quickly prepare strawberries with whole berries with sugar, as well as in the form of puree, i.e. grated berries. With this method of harvesting, the berries will retain all their positive qualities and remain divinely tasty.

Ingredients

• For the pureed strawberries with sugar:
• Strawberries - unlimited quantity;
• Granulated sugar - to taste;
• Plastic cups.
• For frozen whole strawberries:
• Strawberries – 1 kg;
• Granulated sugar – 1 kg;

Preparation

First method - Frozen strawberries with sugar in the form of puree

For packaging we use ordinary plastic cups.

This method of freezing strawberries is good because berries of any size can be used as the starting material, even slightly crushed ones, as long as they are not spoiled. The main condition is that you like them to your taste.

In this case, sweet juicy and very tender strawberries were used.

The first thing you need to do is wash the berries. We will do this in small batches, loading it into a colander and rinsing it under running water.

After the strawberries are washed, we begin to remove the tails.

Next, we need to turn the prepared berries into a fragrant sweet puree. This is easy to do if you have a blender at home. And if there is none, use the second method of freezing strawberries with sugar, which we will talk about a little later.

Place the berries in a bowl and add granulated sugar to taste. If the strawberry is sweet, then we add very little sugar, and if it is sour, then more.

We turn on the button and in the blink of an eye we turn the berries into a delicious puree.

The final point remains - pour the puree into plastic cups (you can use sour cream cups with a lid, very convenient). Place our strawberry puree in the freezer to freeze.

The next day, we pack the already frozen puree into plastic bags or cover it with cling film and put it back in the freezer for storage.

The second freezing method is frozen strawberries with sugar and whole berries.

For packaging we use plastic containers of any size.

If you come across strawberries that were grown on sandy soil, it is better to immediately pour them into a bowl and cover them with cold water for a couple of minutes. This way we will get rid of the dirt.

After this water bath, the berries should be washed again by placing them in a colander and placing them under running water.

Remove the stems from already clean strawberries. Then the whole berry (if very large, cut in half) is placed in a deep bowl in a thin layer.

Cover it with sugar. Do this, constantly alternating layers of strawberries and sugar.

Leave the berry for a while until it releases juice.

Now all that remains is to carefully transfer the strawberries and sugar into containers, close the lid and freeze.

Such a strawberry will not be frozen into ice; it is as if it is in its own sweet juice. Incredible deliciousness! Try it!

Frozen strawberries with whole berries can be used to make pies, compotes, and it’s delicious just to eat them after defrosting them.

Frozen strawberries, pureed with sugar, can be used for various desserts, ice cream, added to cereals, pastry cream and dishes for small children.