Freezing strawberries when they are in season is the best way to enjoy them all round the year. Read my detailed post below and learn how to freeze these berries at home without getting mushy.
Take a large bowl filled with water and soak the strawberries in it for a minute. The dirt will settle down. Do not soak the berries for longer than 1 minute otherwise they will start to lose their flavor and quality.
Gently remove the strawberries from the top of the water and spread them on an absorbent tea towel. Air dry for 40-60 minutes.
Chop off the top with the leaves from the strawberries and remove any blemishes if they have them. At this stage, you can also cut the strawberries into half or chop them into small pieces.
Arrange the strawberries on a baking tray in a single layer. Make sure the strawberries do not touch each other on the tray to avoid clumping.
Freeze for 6-8 hours until each strawberry is frozen.
Collect the frozen strawberries and put them in a zip lock bag. Seal the bag and freeze the strawberries until you want to use them.
Notes
You can also puree or chop the strawberries before freezing.Some people hull the strawberries, that is remove the white part using a pairing knife, but I never do that and still get perfectly frozen strawberries.You can also line the baking sheet with a parchment paper so that the strawberries won’t stick to the sheet.Use a straw to remove as much air as possible before sealing the bag to avoid the formation of ice crystals. It’s also good to label the bag with the date of freezing.