How to Freeze Strawberries
No matter how tempting freezing strawberries in a classic way might seem, it's not a good idea at all. After thawing, strawberries become mushy and discolored, not resembling at all with the ones they were in the summer.
For some time now I've been thinking of freezing the strawberries as a puree or sauce, with sugar. Actually, with honey would be best. This puree is perfect for anything - ice cream, pancakes, dumplings, lemonade, creams - the only effort you have to make is removing from the freezer 2-3 hours before consumption.
The big advantage is that you don't have much to do, just blend, optionally pass through a sieve and pour into glasses. It perfectly preserves most of the vitamins, the aroma and the taste of strawberries. The disadvantage is that it will take up space in the freezer. I had this problem so I bought a big freezer to store everything I want, without worrying that I don't have enough room.
Yes, you can also make puree from any fruit you like. It's very good and you'll only speak well of me in the winter. For this batch, I used sugar but only because I ran out of all my good honey reserves. I recommend making it with honey, for a really healthy puree. There isn't an exact amount of honey or sugar. You can put as much as you like. Of course, the sweeter the nicer, but not too sweet, though.
As this year I have enough jam supply from last year, now I'm focusing on freezing. It's the perfect conservation method if you want maximum vitamins and flavors.
Hull strawberries and wash well. Drain in a colander.
Place in the blender, add honey or sugar.
I put sugar now, because I ran out of my good honey supply and it will take a while until the bees finish their work this year :)
Blend into a smooth and fine puree.
You can pass the strawberry or raspberry puree through a sieve, to remove the small seeds. I left them in here, they also have some healthy stuff and it's a shame to throw them away.
For finer cream recipes, you can thaw a small portion and pass it through a sieve then.
Pour the puree into small containers - small boxes or, like me, disposable glasses.
I recommend making small portions. This way, you can very well decide in the winter how much you need to thaw for each recipe.
Place the containers on a tray, cover with cling film on top and put in the freezer.
After freezing, move into bags, so that they can sit better in drawers.
It's a delicious puree, colorful, full of vitamins and aromatic. I use it for ice cream, pancakes, papanasi (Romanian cheese donuts), creams, puddings, healthy jellies, lemonade etc.
Enjoy!
