How to freeze cherries for the winter in the freezer: 5 ways to freeze berries at home

How to prepare berries for freezing

Cherries purchased or collected from your garden should be washed before freezing. This can be done in a large basin or pan or under running water.

After water procedures, the cherries are dried on towels. You can put the tray with berries in a draft, this will blow them over faster.

Let's not forget that cherries, like any other berry, must be sorted before freezing. Only ripe, firm fruits without signs of rot or dents can be placed in the freezer.

Methods for freezing cherries for the winter

With a bone

The washed and sorted berries are laid out on pallets in one layer and placed in the freezer for a couple of hours. During this time, the berries will set and can be poured into containers or bags for freezing.

These cherries can be used for cooking compotes, for decorating confectionery, or simply defrosted for dessert.

Pitted

The freezing procedure differs from the previous recipe only in that the seeds must be removed from the berries before placing them in the chamber. There are special devices for this. If you don’t have one at hand, you can use a regular pin.

Cherries frozen in this form will not look very attractive after defrosting, but they are completely ready for consumption.

Watch the video from the Marmalade Fox - How to freeze cherries, blueberries and other berries. Tricks from the Marmalade Fox

With sugar

The berries are pitted and laid out in layers in containers. Each layer is sprinkled with sugar. For 1 kilogram of berries you will need 100-200 grams of granulated sugar.

This kind of freezing is very convenient to use as a filling for baked goods or dumplings.

In its own juice

In this form, it is better to freeze the berries without seeds. When sorting through the berries, approximately 1/3 of the berries, those that are the softest and overripe, are set aside separately. Subsequently, they are made into a puree, punched with a blender. If desired, you can add sugar to the berry mass to taste.

The other part of the cherries is placed in containers, filling them approximately halfway. Then the berries are poured with puree, covered with lids and put away in the cold.

This preparation is convenient to use as an independent dessert or sauce for pancakes and pancakes.

Lubov Kriuk will talk about freezing cherries in his video - Freezing cherries is an excellent proven method for the winter

In syrup

To prepare the syrup you will need water and sugar in equal proportions. Place the water on the fire and bring to a boil.Add sugar and wait until it is completely dissolved. Before pouring syrup over the cherries, it must be thoroughly cooled to below room temperature. To do this, place the container with the syrup in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

The berries need to be washed and the seeds removed. Place the cherries in clean containers, occupying no more than 2/3 of the volume.

To save space in the freezer, you can first put a clean plastic bag in the container. The berries and syrup are poured directly into the bag. The finished freezing will take the form of a container. In the future, you can remove it and tie the bag tightly, releasing the air.

How to store cherries in the freezer

The shelf life of frozen berries is from 10 to 12 months, provided that the temperature inside the freezer is maintained at a constant temperature of -18ºС.

Freezes should be stored tightly packed, otherwise the berries may become saturated with foreign odors from foods stored nearby.