The paradisiacal harvest time for strawberries flies by every year. The enjoyment fresh from the bed cannot be topped; if you freeze your strawberries, you can extend the enjoyment of the fruit by months. We have compiled the best tips.

Freeze whole fruit

If strawberries are frozen, this process is only for preservation. The fruits are not sterilized. As a result, only premium-quality strawberries that are treated with kid gloves during the harvest come into consideration. Nevertheless, the entire process puts a lot of stress on the fruit, so you should not expect freshly harvested strawberries after thawing. In an acceptable quality it succeeds in this way:

  • wash strawberries
  • pat dry with a clean kitchen towel
  • Cut off the sepals so that they can stand on the cut surface
  • place in a freezer bag and seal
  • ideally vacuum first

Even if the fruit is well dried, it will stick together in a plastic bag. If you want to eat them individually after defrosting, you can choose a more complex way. Arrange the strawberries on a tray so that they don't touch. In this form they go into the freezer. When the red fruits are completely frozen, they are transferred to a freezer bag.

How to freeze candied strawberries properly

So that the preserved strawberries later awaken from the cold torpor as a sweet temptation, they are sweetened before they freeze. Here's how to do it:

  • Halve the washed and cleaned strawberries
  • Pour into a plastic bowl and sprinkle with sugar
  • alternatively pour diluted syrup over it
  • mix gently with a spoon
  • Freeze in the shell or poured into a bag
  • Use within 2 months

A clever method uses ice cube trays. A piece of fruit is placed in each compartment so that water, sparkling wine or lemonade can be poured over it. The result is a refreshing ingredient for a variety of beverages. This freezing practice also works excellently with pureed strawberries. After the hand blender has turned the fruit into a creamy mass, fill it in the ice cube tray and freeze everything.

Unorthodox and ingenious - strawberries are frozen with dry ice

Probably the most innovative form of freezing strawberries is based on dry ice. This is liquid carbonic acid, which is pressed under very high pressure to form dry ice snow. Food-grade dry ice is now available in small quantities for private households.

The washed and cleaned fruits are mixed with the dry ice in a shatterproof cooling container and remain there for 20 minutes with the lid slightly open. Since dry ice changes from the solid to the gaseous state, the container must not be closed. Following the first phase of freezing, the strawberries are transferred to a bag and placed in the freezer.

tips and tricks

Frozen strawberries often take on a mushy consistency after thawing, which doesn't really invite you to snack on them. Simply enjoy the fruit straight from the freezer like an ice cream snack. Slightly thawed, they make a delicious ingredient for a summery dessert.

The garden journal freshness ABC

How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?

The garden journal freshness ABC as a poster:

  • as a free PDF file to print out yourself

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