Freezing and Defrosting fruit?

freda

Blackberries, raspberries, redcurrants etc - freeze brilliantly. If you want to keep them separate, freeze on a flat baking tray and decant into pots, but I don't usually bother as a good whack on the kitchen top will break off enough from a bag of frozen fruit. Tend to defrost with a bit of juice leaking out, so defrost in a bowl not straight onto your flan if you don't want the base to go soggy. No need to defrost if you're making them into fruit pies or crumbles, just put them straight into the baking dish and go for it.

Cooking apples - freeze really well. To save space, stew them first. If you're not worried about space, peel and freeze in portion size bags. I tend to add a little lemon juice to stop them going brown while I'm making up the bags. No need to defrost when you're making a pie/crumble - just break them up and chuck in the dish.

Eating apples - as above, but don't stew them! Freeze in slices, then use in cakes etc.

Rhubarb - freezes just perfectly. Again, save space by stewing. Or, if not necessary, just chop into chunks and freeze in bags. No need to defrost if you're putting it in a pie.

Strawberries - as previously mentinoed, won't defrost in the shape or texture of strawberries, they go slushy. But can be used in smoothies, pies (great with rhubarb), for making sauces etc.

Banana - I do freeze this, peeled and chopped into chunks, then use in smoothies or banana cake with no problems. Dont let them defrost 100% though, or they go slushy which can be offputting...

What else.... banana slices frozen after being dipped in chocolate (and then coated with nuts/100s and 1000s) are yummy as part of an ice cream dessert (just let them defrost slightly so they are edible). Grapes are nice frozen and defrosted anough to make them edible but still slightly frozen. Cranberries freeze well to make sauce out of at a later date.

Lemon and lime slices freeze brilliantly for a quick slice to perk up a glass of water, or in a g&t

Thats about all I can think of, will edit to add more if I think of anything.



You can also use frozen red fruits, blended, to make a yummy fruit sauce for ice cream.

emay

freda wrote:

Lemon and lime slices freeze brilliantly for a quick slice to perk up a glass of water, or in a g&t

In the summer I regularly have a bag of Orange, Lemon & Lime slices in the freezer - make a nice change to ice cubes in a jug/glass of water, as long as you don't mind all the bits floating in it as they start to defrost!!

overlykeensaver

this is really interesting, how do you freeze oranges please? whole, or chopped into segments?

ShirleyPark_2

I used to cut up bananas and freeze them and then eat them while they were still frozen, or allow to defrost for a couple of minutes.

gems2381

I buy fresh fruit from the market (way cheaper than supermarkets) but it goes bad before the end of the week. I only want it to use in smoothies so is it ok to just stick it in the freezer?
I buy strawberries, raspberries, pineapple etc.

Pink.

Hi gems,

Those will all be fine to freeze. The soft fruits go very soft when defrosted but as you're planning to use them in smoothies that won't matter. I find that they're better added straight from frozen anyway.

Pink

gems2381

Thanks Pink-winged, I was planning on chucking them in from frozen. I bought frozen raspberries and blueberries from Tesco yesterday and I've realised they aren't cheap and I be better off freezing them myself.

belfastgirl23

I've been freezing pineapple lately and it works fine except for one small thing. It all clumps together and it feels like you'd need a hammer to get off a small portion for a smoothie. So you're best either freezing it on trays (if you have the patience ) or taking the box out a couple of times during the freezing process and giving it a good shake. It's also worth cutting up smaller than you normally would

I think it's a lot cheaper than buying frozen and a lot less packaging etc!

gems2381

I think i'll try shaking it, much less hassle! Thanks for the warning

cuddlymarm

Hi

Can anyone tell me if its possible to freeze melon and pineapple. I'm doing Slimming World so I have bought a good mix of fruit but I am only halfway through the melon and am not going to get through it before it goes off so I wondered if next time I could freeze portions and then get out as needed.

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