Is it possible to freeze Victoria for the winter? How to freeze strawberries correctly: useful tips and recipes

Summer is just around the corner, probably for many who have their own garden, even a small one, growing strawberries. Many people call her Victoria. Delicious berry, and it is noteworthy that it can be eaten as early as June. And the berry turns red almost all summer. But you can freeze strawberries for the winter.

After all, in winter you also want to eat it, feel this pleasant taste and remember summer. Of course you can go and buy it. Nowadays this is not a problem. But it's still not the same. I want my own strawberry, it’s the most delicious.

And it’s good that there are several ways to prepare this berry for the winter. Let's look at a few recipes that we use ourselves.

We just recently tried this simple recipe, but really liked it. The most remarkable thing is that this is done very simply, and all the most ingenious things are simple.

For this, however, we need:

Now we need sort out the berries from debris and stalks. And we measure with glasses how many berries we have. I think those who make jam understand why. This is necessary in order to know how much sugar to add. It turns out for every glass of berries - one glass of sugar.

Sugar is needed for so that the berry is sweet, since after freezing it loses its sugar and becomes sour. So if you want it sour, just add less sugar. But we will write a standard recipe.

After measuring with a glass, twist the berry on a combine, or a meat grinder, or in any way convenient for you. Then add sugar. How many glasses of berries are obtained, so many glasses of sugar and put, stir until sugar is completely dissolved.


twist the strawberries and mix the sugar

Now it's easy pour into glasses and that's all. That's it, nothing else is needed, and why? Why not freeze the berries entirely? It just doesn’t work out that way, no matter how you slice it.

If you are freezing fresh berries, it is better to take a small container so that you can get one portion and eat it, leaving the rest alone. Frequent freezing and thawing causes loss of taste.

Now, at any time, take out a glass and enjoy. The result is ice cream with a natural strawberry flavor, just a combination.

Still very Strawberries are delicious. This berry is wild and the taste is even richer. It’s just hard to assemble and sort through it, try it, it’s just great. Especially the kids will be delighted.


frozen strawberries in cups

Judge for yourself, except for berries and sugar, there is nothing and no need, all vitamins and aromas are preserved 100%, this is how everyone recommends preparing strawberries for the winter, and those who have tried it don’t even want to make jam anymore.

This way you can freeze any berry, of course, if you have somewhere to store the frozen ones all winter.

Freezing whole strawberries.


frozen strawberries with sugar

But the option with twisted strawberries is not suitable for everyone. Or maybe you just want to freeze some of the whole berries. The recipe is also simple and quite common.. But there are several nuances that must be observed.

Here's how we'll freeze strawberries for the winter:


Wherein There are two ways to freeze strawberries for the winter, depending on the purpose of freezing:

  1. For food, that is, just to eat. For this you need sprinkle with sugar. For example, when putting it in a bag, put one layer of berries, sprinkle with a tablespoon of sugar, then a second layer and another tablespoon of sugar. Don't skimp on sugar, add a little bit of sugar.
  2. For compotes or baked goods. Then no sugar needed. Just freeze the berries.

That's all, again simple and brilliant. You don't have to remove the stalks if you don't want to. Doesn't matter to quality or taste.

Dry a paper towel is required so that there is less moisture and when defrosting the berries do not lose their shape too much. By the way, they say that some varieties are not suitable for freezing, they say that when defrosted, strawberries lose their shape and become unpalatable. To be honest, we have never had anything like this. Although we tried freezing different varieties of strawberries.

It is also necessary to freeze each berry, that is, so that they didn't touch each other. Then you can defrost as much as you need, pouring it out, and you won’t have to break the whole stuck monolith of berries, gouge them, and everything else.

Also see how to make ice cream at home yourself.

A hybrid option is to freeze strawberries for the winter.

My grandmother suggested this recipe to us. They were frozen so often back in Soviet times. It turns out delicious too.

We will need:

  • Freezer containers or large cups.
  • Sugar, depending on the volume of the berry.
  • Patience can’t eat everything :)

What are we doing:


It turns out to be a kind of hybrid of the first two recipes, but they are all very tasty, try them all, you won’t regret it.

That's all for us, we wish you bon appetit, share this news with your friends on in social networks, write comments. If you want to always be aware of our new articles, subscribe and once a week we will send you the most interesting articles. Bye everyone.

How to properly freeze strawberries (Victoria) for the winter so that they are as fresh as fresh updated: November 9, 2019 by: Subbotin Pavel

Irina Kamshilina

Cooking for someone is much more pleasant than cooking for yourself))

Content

Any housewife knows that preparing strawberries for the winter is difficult when choosing to freeze, because the raw material has a delicate, fragile structure. It will be useful to know the tricks that apply when freezing so that the berries remain the same as they were picked from the garden and do not lose their taste properties and their beneficial substances.

How to freeze strawberries for the winter in the refrigerator

In the question of how to freeze strawberries at home, you should take into account the preparation of the berries and the correct method of carrying out the procedure. Consider the following steps:

  • Selection of berries: they should be ripe, but without signs of overripeness, dense, dark, dry. Do not take large specimens - it is better to take small ones so that they are frozen completely and stored longer.
  • Preparation of berries: they need to be sorted, rotten or damaged ones removed, washed with still water, dried well, placed on a tray in 1 layer. There is no need to remove the stalks to prevent juice from forming.
  • Preparing dishes: plastic containers and trays are ideal for freezing. They need to be washed and dried well. You should choose a tray size that will be defrosted and eaten at one time, because re-freezing is impossible. It is better not to take cellophane bags so that they do not tear or become deformed during storage.
  • To prevent the formation of frost, properly remove air from the containers, close them tightly, you can use vacuum options, from where the air is pumped out with special mini-pumps.
  • Mark the date of freezing on the dishes to prevent the dessert from spoiling.
  • Choice of temperature: the optimal range for freezing is considered to be 18-23 degrees below zero. At this temperature, the delicacy is stored properly all winter. If you freeze at a cold temperature of minus 8 degrees, then storage will be only 3 months.
  • Defrosting: This should be done gradually, first bring the defrosting temperature to zero, and then gradually remove the trays to room temperature. With the most gentle freezing, the thawed delicacy will change its consistency and color: it will become softer and lighter.

Dry freezing strawberries at home

The secrets of how to properly freeze strawberries for the winter in the refrigerator lie in pre-processing. Prepared dry berries should be folded into one layer and left in the freezer of the refrigerator for a day. They will freeze better, after which they can be put into containers in bulk and stored. Pre-freezing can maintain the integrity of the shape and prevent the strawberries from sticking together when defrosting. The process can be carried out on a plate or board previously wrapped in cling film, wax paper or paper towels.

If you can get dry ice (solid carbon dioxide), then you will be able to quickly freeze while maintaining the original properties, which will not be lost during thawing. To do this, take a package of dry ice, crush it and mix with pre-prepared berries in a metal container. Lay a towel or paper in the refrigerator, place an open container with dessert on it for 20 minutes, then transfer it to a container and store. Instead of dry ice, you can use liquid nitrogen, but with it the defrosting process will take much longer.

Freezing strawberries in syrup for the winter

An option on how to properly freeze strawberries for the winter in the freezer would be to fill them with sugar syrup. To prepare it you need:

Preparation:

  1. Wash, dry, and cut fresh berries if necessary.
  2. Make syrup, pour raw materials into it.
  3. Place in the freezer, close it after a day, and store it.
  4. Sour or giant varieties are suitable for this recipe.

Frozen strawberries with sugar for the winter

For those who want to know how to properly freeze candied strawberries for the winter, there is a recipe option that replenishes the sweetness with a partial loss of taste after freezing. It involves using 1 cup of powdered sugar or fine sand per 1 kg of berries. For production, properly prepared raw materials must be dried, pre-frozen for 2 hours, and then placed in containers, sprinkled with sugar. Then you need to carefully mix to dissolve the sugar and store.

Freezing strawberries as puree

Another option on how to properly freeze pureed strawberries for the winter involves using the appropriate tools. The berries for the recipe are washed, dried, mashed in a blender to a puree-like consistency, poured into a container and frozen. For sweetness, you can add sugar in the proportion of 300 g per 1 kg of berries. There is an option for freezing the puree using ice molds, which will create an original package suitable for decorating dishes. The shelf life of this puree is six months.

How to freeze berries in ice

To decorate drinks: champagne, syrups, lemonades, the berries are frozen using ice. To do this, you should wash them, peel them, cut them if necessary, place them in ice molds, fill them with clean cold water, where you can add lemon or mint for piquancy. Once frozen, the ice cubes are ready for use in the summer or for long-term storage in the freezer.

Topping options include lemonade, iced tea, and if you add whipped banana and freeze using ice cream molds, you get a treat that kids love. It can be stored for up to 2 months, but more often than not it does not survive this long because it is quickly eaten. There are many variations in production, so it will be useful to experiment when getting a delicacy for the winter.

Video: the best way to freeze strawberries

Housekeeping lovers will find it useful to clearly see how to freeze strawberries so that they remain whole and properly preserve their taste, aroma and their healthy vitamins. There are many options for quick freezing, from which you can choose a method suitable for the variety. To better understand the preparation process, watch the following videos below, which show ways to use plastic containers, bags, cups, as well as the option with puree.

Freezing is the oldest method of preserving food, which people used in ancient times. This method has survived to this day, however, it has greatly changed, becoming much more convenient. Modern refrigerators are capable of maintaining the freshness and quality of absolutely any food for a very long time. Strawberries with sugar are a dessert that no lover of sweets will refuse.

In order to preserve this sweetness for a long time, it is frozen. However, not every housewife knows how to freeze Victoria correctly. We will look at the ways in which you can freeze berries using strawberries as an example.

Freezing options

There are two main options for freezing strawberries today: without added sugar or with added sugar. The option of freezing strawberries without sugar in their natural form is a pretty good solution, however, over time, the Victoria will become much softer, the berry will become lethargic, and it will also become less sweet. Therefore, many housewives prefer storing strawberries with added sugar.

Freezing Victoria is a very simple task. These berries are usually used to make puree, because it only requires two ingredients: sugar and strawberries in a ratio of 1:4. Let's figure out how to properly make strawberry puree from Victoria. First you need to spread the strawberries evenly in a colander or sieve, wash the fruits thoroughly, and drain all the water. Next, you need to peel all the leaves from the berries. The washed and peeled Victoria should be placed in a blender. Sprinkle sugar directly into the blender bowl.

After you have beaten the berries, the resulting mixture should be poured into a bowl or mold. Next, you just need to put the form with Victoria puree in the refrigerator and after complete freezing, your guests will always be able to enjoy this unusual dessert. You can prepare as much dessert as there is free space in the refrigerator freezer.

Which container should I choose?

The standard storage option is to place frozen berries in a jar. But if you don’t have special additional compartments in your refrigerator for such purposes, then a jar of Victoria puree will take up a lot of extra space. This method is not practical enough due to the fact that there will be no free space left for other products. This problem can be easily fixed. Victoria puree can be stored not only in glass containers. You can also use plastic utensils here: disposable glasses, small plastic containers and even ice cube trays. After using such containers, you can safely throw them away.

Another good solution to the problem is plastic bags: not yet liquid mixture after blending, pour into a plastic bag (preferably several).

The convenience of this solution lies in the fact that the liquid mass can take any shape, so you can place such a bag of strawberry puree in any free corner of the refrigerator freezer.

Freezing for the winter

Not everyone will like Victoria puree. Many people prefer to eat the berries whole without chopping them. For such cases, there is another recipe for preserving strawberries at home throughout the winter. In this case, in addition to strawberries and sugar, you will need a third ingredient - water-based syrup. The ratio of sugar and berries is 1:4. Below we will look at the stages of preparing strawberries.

At the very beginning, the berries should be sorted, washed and peeled. Prepare sugar syrup on the water. Carefully place Victoria into the prepared container. Wait until the sugar syrup cools a little and pour over the strawberries so that the topmost berry is hidden under the liquid.

Freezing rules

Freezing strawberries with sugar is a very easy task that does not take much time. The ratio of sugar to berries is different for all housewives. Some people like a very sweet dessert, others prefer a sour one, because it contains vitamin C. Those who have never encountered the preparation of Victoria are guided by generally accepted proportions: one kilogram of sweet strawberries corresponds to half a faceted glass of sugar.

Another important point: It is better not to disturb the strawberries in any way, so as not to damage the berries. However, this method of preparation will take a little longer, since sugar will have to be added in small portions at regular intervals. If you freeze Victoria for a long time, then it is worth remembering that the maximum shelf life is 10-12 months. You can put a small piece of paper in the bowl with strawberries on which the freezing date will be written.

Please note that if you keep strawberries frozen for more than a year, they will lose everything. beneficial features, will cease to be tasty and may even become harmful to human health.

Victoria as a semi-finished product

Before you choose the form in which you want to freeze the product, you need to figure out for what purposes you will use these strawberries in the future. Very often, Victoria is stored frozen in order to use it in the future as a semi-finished product or an additive to dishes. In many establishments it is used to make cocktails or as an addition to dessert. In such cases, the strawberries are not consumed whole, but cut into small pieces, because this way they look much neater in the bowl.

It is advisable to store strawberries only in the freezer. If you try to freeze Victoria in the main compartment of the refrigerator, the process will take a very long time, and the berry juice will simply leak out. Before sending the product to freeze, you should wait until the sprinkled granulated sugar dissolves a little on the berries.

Thanks to the manipulations done, each piece of Victoria will be covered with a frozen sugar crust, thanks to which it will be preserved for a long time.

Double effect without cooking

Sometimes many housewives get tired of the monotony, and they want to try to preserve Victoria so that there is both strawberry puree and whole berries. This cooking method is more interesting than freezing separately. For this dish you will need two empty dishes. Victoria berries need to be washed, peeled and dried in advance. Place whole, beautiful strawberries in the first container, and crushed, soft fruits in the other.

Add sugar to taste into the second bowl with deformed strawberries. Usually this is 3-4 tablespoons per kilogram of ripe fruit. Next, chop the berries in a way convenient for you: with a mixer, blender or by hand. As you work, your fingers will turn burgundy. To avoid this, use disposable medical gloves. Once you have a thick, homogeneous mass, you need to pour it into a separate container. Next, you need to transfer the whole berries into the strawberry puree and mix very carefully. The container can be covered with a lid and placed in the refrigerator to freeze. This dish can be easily cut with a knife.

Many housewives who try to freeze strawberries for the first time make a lot of mistakes, and the result does not impress them. So, below are some useful tips.

  • Before cooking, strawberries are washed and peeled. It is very important that the strawberries are completely dry when freezing, otherwise you will just get a piece of ice instead of the desired dessert.
  • The dish in which you place the berries should be wide with a flat bottom.
  • Be careful with sugar. It should cover every berry.
  • The container should be covered with a lid. After a couple of hours, the frozen berries can be put into a bag, so it will be more convenient to store them, and they will no longer be deformed.
  • Before consumption, the berries must be removed from the refrigerator and defrosted for 30 minutes at room temperature.

One of the ways to freeze Victoria is shown in the following video.

How to freeze strawberries © depositphotos.com

How to freeze strawberries? In the refrigerator, if there is a freezer, preserving a fragrant and healthy piece of summer until the coldest weather is not a problem at all.

To freeze strawberries correctly, and when defrosting you get whole, bright, beautiful, tasty berries, and not cloudy jelly with an unattractive color and taste, follow the following recommendations.

Editorial tochka.net will tell you how to freeze strawberries in several ways, so that on cold winter days you can enjoy this wonderful spring berry. After defrosting strawberries, you can eat them in their pure form or use them in cooking, baking, compotes and cocktails.

READ ALSO:

How to freeze strawberries - choosing berries

Before freezing strawberries for the winter in the refrigerator and storing them for a long time, it is important to choose the right berry. Strawberries should be moderately ripe, not overripe, firm and dense, not watery and dry.

To prepare berries for the winter, it is advised to pick strawberries in dry and hot weather, so that there is no rain for a couple of days before picking, then they will be more tasty.

It is best to choose small strawberries - they freeze better.

How to freeze strawberries correctly - preparing berries and dishes

For freezing berries, it is best to use plastic dishes and even plastic bags, but be careful - they can tear in frost. The dishes must be clean, free of foreign odors and dry.

There is some controversy over whether strawberries should be washed before freezing. It is believed that washed berries lose their taste. If you are confident in the purity of the selected berries, you can use unwashed strawberries.

We believe that before freezing strawberries in the freezer, the berries should be washed, because this is a basic hygiene issue. The main thing is to do this quickly so that the strawberries do not have time to become saturated with water. Rinse the strawberries in small portions with plenty of water. And try to do this carefully so as not to damage the delicate and capricious berries.

Frozen strawberries photo © depositphotos.com

So, carefully and quickly place the washed strawberries, preferably in a plastic sieve, because... When in contact with metal, the berries may darken. Let the water drain and remove the stems.

Place the strawberries in one layer on a napkin so that the berries do not touch each other, for about 1 hour, so that they dry thoroughly. Now you can continue working with strawberries.

How to freeze strawberries - method No. 1

Wrap a wide plate or cutting board in a plastic bag, spread the strawberries in a single layer and place in freezer for a couple of hours so that the strawberries “set”.

Then take the strawberries out of the freezer, remove the bag along with the berries from the plate, and the strawberries will be already packed in the bag. Place these bags in the freezer for long-term storage. It’s convenient that the bags come in portions and the berries in them don’t stick together.

How to freeze strawberries © depositphotos.com

How to freeze strawberries with sugar - method No. 2

For 1 kg of strawberries you will need 200 g of powdered sugar (or fine sugar).

Strawberries lose some of their sweetness when frozen. To ensure that the berries are sweet and tasty when defrosted, they can be frozen with sugar.

Place clean and dried strawberries on a surface wrapped in cling film and place in the freezer for 1-2 hours.

Then remove the berries from the film and place them in containers, sprinkling them in layers with powdered sugar. Place the containers in the freezer, where frozen strawberries will be stored for a whole year.

How to freeze strawberries for the winter - method No. 3

Another way to freeze strawberries is to store them in the freezer in a pureed form.

To do this, use a blender to puree the prepared clean and dry strawberries. Pour into a plastic container and place in the freezer.

You can immediately cover the strawberries with sugar at the rate of 300 g per 1 kg of berries, or you can add it in the winter after defrosting the strawberry puree.

Bon appetit!

How to properly freeze strawberries? A similar question is often asked by zealous housewives who want to pamper themselves and their family with tasty and healthy berries not only in season, but also in the colder season. Information of this kind is quite important, because improperly organized storage can lead not only to a deterioration in taste characteristics, but also to a decrease in the amount of vitamins and minerals in the product.

What are the benefits of strawberries?

Of course, knowing how to freeze strawberries at home is very important, but you also need to understand why this should be done, that is, how can the berry be useful?

First of all, it should be noted that berries are low in calories, mostly consist of water and contain almost no fat. But they contain glucose, fructose, healthy peptins, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and other useful minerals. In addition, strawberries contain numerous acids, such as oxalic, malic, and ascorbic.

Before we move on to specific recipes on how to properly freeze strawberries, let's talk about general principles collecting and preparing berries for further storage. The main useful postulates for this process are as follows:


Recipe 1: freeze whole

What is the best way to freeze whole strawberries? This recipe is one of the simplest. To begin, select and clean the berries, wash them if necessary, and then dry them completely. Then prepare the container for initial storage. For these purposes, even an ordinary tray will do, on top of which a clean cling film is placed, on which the berries are stored in one layer. Then the improvised container is placed in the freezer for a couple of hours, until the berries become firmer.

The next step in how to freeze strawberries at home is to place the berries in clean bags (made of cellophane) and place them in the freezer on a permanent basis. Please note that the preparatory stage described above is very important, without it the berries will simply stick together in the bag into a sticky mess.

Recipe 2: Strawberry puree

When answering the question of how best to freeze strawberries, it is necessary to take into account the final goals for which the preparations are made. If you plan to use the berries for further preparation of purees, yoghurts, smoothies or even ice cream, then the following solution will suit you perfectly.

So, strawberries can be crushed until smooth. To do this, it is necessary to select large ripe berries without damage, wash them thoroughly, and, if necessary, remove the sepals and tails. Then the strawberries are dried and sent to a blender. In addition to berries, you should add sugar to the bowl of the device. Each housewife determines its quantity according to her own taste, but in most cases, about 300 grams of sand are taken per 1 kilogram of raw materials.

A small but important tip: after you have beaten the berries to a puree, the resulting mass can be rubbed through a sieve, in which case you can get rid of small soft seeds. However, such an action is not mandatory. Divide the strawberries into the prepared clean molds and place them in the freezer.

Recipe 3: berries with granulated sugar

In the article above you can find a recipe on how to prepare strawberries pureed with sugar. Frozen berries can be stored for the winter with granulated sugar and an even simpler method. This recipe requires only fresh and unripe strawberries, without rot or other external damage. It should be placed in a clean container, sprinkled with sugar on top (in the ratio of 1 kilogram - 200 grams), and then close the selected container with a tight lid. They still place it in the freezer.

Recipe 4: berries with syrup

The answers to the question of how to properly freeze strawberries can be not only standard, but also very unusual. So, if you want to make the preparation for a short period of time (up to 6 months), try implementing the recipe with syrup. To do this you will need:

  • select large ripe berries, wash and dry them thoroughly;
  • place the selected raw materials in a plastic, pre-prepared container;
  • prepare sugar syrup from boiled water and sand (4 to 1);
  • pour the syrup into the container with the berries.

Recipe 5: berries on ice

How to freeze strawberries in the refrigerator for cosmetic purposes or for making drinks? The simplest advice is ice with berries. To do this, you will need to purchase ordinary containers for freezing water, in each of which, in addition to boiled liquid, you will need to put one clean and appetizing strawberry. The containers are then placed in the freezer and used over the next few months. They can be added to alcoholic cocktails, juices, and lemonades. In addition, these ice cubes are very useful for refreshing your facial skin on a hot day.

Now you know how to properly freeze strawberries. By strictly following all the rules and recommendations specified in a specific recipe, you can count on excellent results, preserving the taste and aroma of these wonderful gifts of summer.

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