Monday, May 2, 2011

Strawberry Pickin'!

So, it is strawberry season here in Eastern North Carolina and we have been to two different strawberry patches to pick our own strawberries! It is so fun to do, and much cheaper by the pound - as in between $1-$.125/lb! After we went the first time, and brought the 7 lbs. home, I got to thinking....how do I freeze these guys? So, I thought if doing what I did with the blueberries we picked last year. I rinsed them, dried them, cut the stems off, and plopped them in a freezer bag. Well, when defrosting them, they turned to mush. So, I realized that would not work....although I could use the mush for some strawberry freezer jam.

I found a freezer jam recipe that does not need pectin. I haven't tried it yet but here it is if you're interested:

Strawberry Jam

Prep Time:
20 Min
Cook Time:
20 Min
Ready In:
40 Min

Servings (Help)

Calculate

Original Recipe Yield 5 cups


Ingredients

  • 2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled
  • 4 cups white sugar
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice

Directions

  1. In a wide bowl, crush strawberries in batches until you have 4 cups of mashed berry. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, mix together the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to high, and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil, stirring often, until the mixture reaches 220 degrees F (105 degrees C). Transfer to hot sterile jars, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch headspace, and seal. Process in a water bath. If the jam is going to be eaten right away, don't bother with processing, and just refrigerate.

Footnotes

  • To test for jelling
  • Place three plates in a freezer... after about 10 minutes of boiling place a tsp of the liquid of the jam onto the cold plate. Return to freezer for a minute. Run your finger through the jam on the plate... if it doesn't try to run back together (if you can make a line through it with your finger) it's ready to be canned!
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ANYWAYS, if you don't want mush or jam and you just want to eat them, here are the instructions I followed from ehow online. We'll see how they turn out....

Instructions

things you'll need:

  • Strawberries
  • Freezer bags or containers
  • Knife or huller
    • 1
      Fresh you pick strawberries

      During strawberry season go to the nearest you pick farm and pick your own strawberries. The best time is in the morning while the strawberries are still cool. Choose the strawberries that are fully ripened with no green or white tips. Be careful not to crush the strawberries and keep them out of the sun.

    • 2
      Fresh strawberries

      When you get your strawberries home you will want to freeze them as soon as possible. Wash you strawberries in cool water and pat dry with a paper towel. Do not soak strawberries. Hull the strawberries with a small knife or huller.

    • 3
      Whole strawberry to enjoy anytime

      Place strawberries on a cookie sheet in a single layer and place in the freezer until hard. When strawberries are frozen place them into clean freezer bags or containers. Now you can enjoy fresh whole strawberries anytime.

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1 comment:

Heather S. said...

I keep forgetting to tell you that I tried the same fruit freezing last year with the same mushy results :) We've tried to eat as much as possible, but it's really just not that tasty. I figured the only use for the fruit was jams or pies! But I recently discovered a great use for them. I get vanilla yogurt (I like the Greek kind) and mix a handful of the mostly-thawed fruit in there - tasty! You don't even mind it being mushy because it's mixed in the yogurt. Plus you know it's real fruit in your yogurt :) so if you or your little bug like yogurt you should give it a try!

June 3, 2011 at 10:03 AM

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