Freezer Friendly Fruits and Vegetables

Not only can you find fruits and vegetables on sale during the summer and into the fall when they’re in season and cheaper, you can also create a family outing and pick your own. #winwin

How to Pick Fruit for Freezing

The freezer is your friend. It lovingly stores things for when you’re ready to eat them. Before you fill the freezer, it helps to know what fruits and vegetables work best for freezing, so let’s take a look. 

Start by choosing fruits and vegetables you and your family love. Then, plan to freeze it at the peak of ripeness. The food should be firm and without bruises to ensure the best taste when they’re used in future recipes. 

Tip: When picking fruit, don’t be afraid to take a little sniff to see how it smells. This is a good indicator of how it will taste.

How to Prep Fruit and Vegetables for the Freezer

Both fruits and vegetables should always be washed, dried, and depending on size, cut up before being frozen.

Fruits can often be frozen without much preparation, but the same can’t be said about vegetables. Most vegetables will require you to blanch them for about 5 minutes and then dip them into ice water to stop the cooking process before they can be frozen. We’ll talk more about that later. 

Freezing Fruit

Frozen fruits will become much softer and more watery after thawing, altering the texture but definitely not the yummy flavor. The best way to use them is in smoothies, blueberry cobbler or an easy strawberry oatmeal bar. 

No one we know likes brown fruit, so a trick for preserving fruits that are more susceptible to browning and bruising, like peaches and apples, is to use a bath of acid or Vitamin C. 

To do this, you can either create an acidic water mixture using the juice of one lemon and one quart of water, and bathe your cut fruit in the liquid prior to freezing. 

Or, the other method is to buy powdered ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) from the vitamin section of the grocery store. Then, mix 1 teaspoon with 6 tablespoons of water, and trickle this mixture over your fruit slices. 

Tip: Either way, make sure any fruit treated with either method is dried completely before you put it in the freezer.

Fruits that freeze Well

• Apples 
• Apricots
• Bananas
• Berries of all kinds 
• Cherries 
• Coconut 
• Cranberries 
• Citrus 
• Grapes 
• Nectarines 
• Peaches 
• Pears
• Pineapple
• Plums
• Raspberries
• Rhubarb
• Strawberries

Fruits that Don’t Freeze Well

Fruits that don’t freeze well include watermelon and citrus fruit. While you may find these fruits frozen, however, you’ll notice the texture is totally different when thawed.

Freezing Vegetables

Freezing vegetables make cooking in the fall and winter months a cinch. Most vegetables can be frozen, but the texture can be a bit different once they’re thawed. For this reason, it’s a good idea to use your frozen vegetables in a soups, casseroles and chilis like Crock Pot Turkey Chili. 

Vegetables That freeze well

• Asparagus
• Beans – most varieties
• Beets
• Broccoli
• Cabbage (only use for cooking)
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Corn
• Eggplant
• Greens (kale, mustard and turnip)
• Okra
• Parsnips
• Peas (black-eyed and green)
• Pumpkin
• Sweet potatoes
• Rutabagas and turnips
• Summer squash
• Tomatoes (stewed, only use for cooking)

Vegetables that Don’t Freeze Well

Vegetables you don’t want to freeze include lettuce, cabbage, cucumbers, endive, parsley and radishes.

What Fruit Can You Freeze for Smoothies

One of the most common things to do with frozen fruit is to make smoothies. Here are the best fruits to freeze to make smoothies:

• Bananas (peeled and cut into slices)
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Kiwi (peel and cut into slices)
• Mango (peel and cut into slices)
• Pineapple (peel, core and cut into slices)
• Cherries (take out the pit before freezing)

Can You Freeze Broccoli?

Yes, absolutely! This superfood is great for freezing. Broccoli, both the florets and stems, must be blanched for it to freeze well. If you freeze it raw, you’ll end up with bitter, drab green, shriveled stems. Ick! Blanching preserves the bright green color and tasty flavor. 

As mentioned, most vegetables should be blanched (briefly cooked in boiling water) and then taken out and put in ice water to stop the cooking process. This kills any bacteria that may be present and preserves their color and flavor. 

To blanch: Bring 1 gallon of water per pound of prepped vegetables (about 2 cups) to a boil in a large pot. Add the vegetables, cover, return to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Then, place in ice water to cool.  Dry completely before freezing

Remember, even though the majority of fresh fruits and veggies are freezer friendly, they’ll never be exactly the same as fresh. The taste will be very similar, but the texture tends to be different. i

In short, if you find yourself looking to save a little money and enjoy seasonal fruits and vegetables all year long, freezing them is a smart, budget-savvy way to store them for later. 

More Ways to Preserve Your Bounty:

Mixed Berry Jam

Strawberry Chia Seed Jam