Blueberries are well known as a fragrant, appetizing and very healthy berry. The valuable properties of its fruits become especially in demand during the cold season, when the body is in dire need of vitamins and other vital substances. For anyone who cares about their own health and strives to protect their family from diseases, it will be important to know how to properly freeze blueberries.
Do frozen blueberries retain their beneficial properties?
Freezing is a quick and convenient way to keep berries in good condition and prepare them for consumption in the winter. An important advantage of such storage of the product is the complete preservation of the beneficial properties of blueberries, including:
- strengthening immunity;
- support in the tone of the organs of vision;
- memory improvement;
- normalization of digestion;
- prevention of early aging;
- elimination of excess weight.
Many traditional healers recommend consuming blueberries to remove toxins from the body, lower blood sugar, and treat genitourinary diseases.. In cosmetology, blueberry fruit extract is added to products intended to rejuvenate facial skin, eliminate irritation and inflammatory elements.
Preparing blueberries for freezing
After purchasing or purchasing blueberries yourself, it is important to properly prepare the fruits for freezing. To do this you will need:
- Carefully sort the berries.
- Remove leaves, small debris, unripe or spoiled fruits.
- Rinse (to do this, place the blueberries in small portions in a large container of water, after which the cleaned specimens are carefully transferred to a colander).
After washing, place the blueberries on a clean paper towel. You can start freezing when the berries are completely dry.
Washing the berries is not a necessary step in preparing for freezing. If the berries are picked with your own hands, in a clean corner of nature, you can refrain from washing them.
Ways to freeze blueberries for the winter at home
There are several options for freezing blueberries. The berries can be harvested whole for the winter and crushed into a puree. You can also freeze the juice extracted from the fruit. At your own discretion, you can choose recipes with or without sugar.
It is necessary to freeze harvested blueberries as quickly as possible. It is known that after 2-3 days of storage in the refrigerator, the destruction of the vitamin substances in it begins.
Sugarless
This method of harvesting blueberry fruits is considered the simplest. Dry berries, properly prepared for freezing, are filled into shallow containers (tray, plate) covered with cellophane or cling film. Next, they are quickly placed in the freezer and left there for 2-3 hours.
After pre-freezing is completed, the blueberry fruits are transferred to a clean bag. Before placing it in the freezer, you will need to release the air and tie it tightly. Then the berries are left to be stored in the chamber until the desired time.
With sugar
For this type of freezing, you will need to prepare 2 components - whole blueberries and granulated sugar (2:1). Washed and dried berries are placed in containers, sprinkled evenly with sugar. Next, the containers are closed with tight lids and placed in the freezer.
Helpful tip: Candied blueberries are convenient to use for culinary purposes. With berries frozen in the described way, delicious dumplings and fruit drinks are obtained.
Frozen puree with sugar
Mashed potatoes with sugar are used by many housewives in the process of preparing sweet pastries and various desserts. Preparing it for the winter will require a little more time and effort. Often, for such freezing, berries are used that have been slightly crushed and have lost their original shape, but have not lost their taste properties and beneficial composition.
Blueberry mass can be sweet or sweet and sour. In the first case, the ratio of fruits to sugar will be 1:1, in the second - 2:1. Berries sprinkled with sugar are ground in a blender.Then fill the prepared containers, seal them tightly and place them in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator.
Sugar free puree
This puree is not only tasty, but also safe for people whose diet should be free of sugar. The first stage of freezing is chopping clean berries using a blender. After this, the resulting puree is laid out in prepared containers (medium-sized containers, disposable cups), securely covered with lids or cling film, and sent to freeze in the refrigerator.
Blueberry puree, frozen without added sugar, will be a good addition to complementary feeding for young children. If you plan to use berries for this purpose, during processing with a blender it is necessary to thoroughly grind the fruit skins.
Freezing blueberry juice
Thanks to this freezing method, it is possible to preserve healthy blueberry juice for a long time and enjoy the aromatic drink on cold winter days. Homemade juice always wins compared to store-bought counterparts. Another important point is that the drink, prepared with your own hands, is completely natural, without synthetic additives or dyes.
The berries are processed in any available way (preferably using a blender). Next, clean containers are filled with juice and placed in the freezer compartment. To completely preserve the berry drink, each vessel must be tightly closed (as in the recipe described above, you can use cling film or lids).
Be careful! When distributing blueberry juice, it is important not to fill the cups completely - the freezing liquid tends to expand and spill over the edges of the vessel.
Storage
There are several important rules for handling blueberries that help preserve the natural taste and aroma of these delicious berries:
- To store fruits for the longest possible time, you should use the method of shock (quick and deep) freezing.
- In order to preserve all the important qualities of frozen blueberries, it is recommended to store them separately from fish and meat products.
- In order not to forget when the preparation was carried out, it is recommended to sign bags or containers with blueberries, juice or puree stored in them (indicating the date of freezing).
By following these recommendations, you can safely store blueberries for at least one year. Sometimes this period can be extended for another 1-2 months.
How to properly defrost blueberries
Unlike freezing, which is carried out in an accelerated mode, with the optimal power of the freezer, defrosting should be slow and natural. Microwave ovens or other devices should not be used for this purpose.
The berries removed from the refrigerator are placed on plates and then left in the refrigerator on one of the lower shelves. When the blueberries have thawed a little, they are taken out and left to “simmer” at room temperature.
If you plan to make baked goods or compotes with blueberry fruits, pre-freezing is most often not carried out. Thawed berries must be used in full - they cannot be re-frozen..
