Freezing fruit
Medium term storage
Freezing Fruits
- Select fruits at ideal maturity. You want them ripe but firm, not bruised, overripe or beginning to spoil.
- Berries, sour cherries and rhubarb freeze the best.
- Pears and sweet cherries become too soft on thawing so consider using them in a recipe instead.
- Peaches, apples and apricots require ascorbic acid treatment to prevent discoloration.
- Wash fruit thoroughly and then pack unsweetened or use either a dry sugar pack, dry pack with ascorbic acid, syrup pack or syrup pack with ascorbic acid.
- Blueberries, cranberries, currants, gooseberries, rhubarb and saskatoons freeze well without sugar or syrup. Freeze in premeasured quantities.
- Fruits may be stored for 1 year at -18°C
Prevent browning with natural preservatives
Some fruits brown during frozen storage (ie. apples, peaches, apricots). This can be avoided by adding natural preservatives such as salt, sugar, or lemon juice/ascorbic acid. Fruit can also be packed in sugar syrup to prevent browning.
Table 1: Measurements for different concentrations of sugar syrup
|
Type of syrup |
Sugar |
Water |
Yield |
|
Thin |
250 ml |
500 ml |
About 650 ml |
|
Moderately thin |
250 ml |
400 ml |
About 550 ml |
|
Medium |
250 ml |
250 ml |
About 375 ml |
|
Heavy |
250 ml |
200 ml |
About 325 ml |
Table 2: Preparing and packing fruits
| Fruit |
Preparing |
Packing |
|
Apples |
Pies & puddings: peel, core, slice Applesauce |
Pack in dry sugar using 50 ml sugar to 1 L fruit Sweeten if desired and pack cold |
|
Apricots |
Pudding or as fruit: halve and pit Pies: cut in quarters and pit |
Pack in moderately thin syrup Pack in dry sugar using 175 ml sugar to 1 L fruit |
|
Blueberries |
Stem |
Pack without sugar |
|
Cantaloupe |
Halve, remove seeds and soft fiber. Cut in 2 cm cubes or balls |
Pack in dry sugar using 125 ml sugar to 1 L fruit |
|
Cherries (sour) |
Pit |
Pack in dry sugar using 250 ml sugar to 1 L fruit; or pack in heavy syrup to cover |
|
Currants, Cranberries, Saskatoons |
Stem |
Pack without sugar or syrup |
|
Fruit juices |
Extract juice for jelly making |
Pack without sugar |
|
Fruit salad/fruit cocktail |
Prepare as individual fruit |
Pack in thin syrup to cover |
|
Gooseberries |
Remove stems and blossom ends |
Pack without sugar or syrup |
|
Peaches |
Dip in boiling water ½ - 1 min, then in cold water. Remove skins and pits. Slice |
Pack in moderately thin syrup to cover; or pack in dry sugar using 175 ml sugar to 1 L fruit |
|
Plums |
Halve and pit |
Pack in dry sugar using 175 ml sugar to 1 L fruit; or pack in thin syrup to cover |
|
Raspberries |
Leave whole |
Pack in dry sugar using 175 ml sugar to 1 L fruit; or without sugar |
|
rhubarb |
Cut stalks in 3 cm lengths Make into sauce |
Pack without sugar Sweeten to taste and pack cold |
|
Strawberries |
Leave whole, cut in quarters or slice Leave whole |
Pack in dry sugar using 125 ml sugar to 1 L whole berries, or 175 ml sugar to 1 L quartered or sliced berries Pack without sugar. |
Ref: Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. (1990). Freezing Foods. Food Advisory Services. Canada Department of Agriculture.