The best ways to freeze raspberries for the winter correctly

In winter, there is an acute shortage of fresh seasonal fruits, especially berries. Fragrant raspberries are the most popular in our latitudes. According to the botanical description, this is a fruit consisting of many drupes on a white stalk - a composite drupe. But we used to call it a berry.

The benefits of the product are undeniable, it contains 27.8% of the daily value of vitamin C. Raspberry tea, for example, is great for warming and helping the body to cope with colds. The article will tell you how to freeze raspberries for the winter while maintaining their vitamin and mineral composition.

Freeze for winter

Can raspberries be frozen? Our answer is definitely yes. This is one of the best ways to preserve the vitamins and minerals in the composition. In winter, such a blank will be a real salvation.

Aromatic fruits are added to yogurt, cottage cheese, milkshakes, porridge, compote, jelly, fruit drink, smoothies, decorate cakes, jellies, mousses, crème brlée, cakes, open pies. The sauce is poured over cheese cakes, pancakes, pancakes.

The berries are frozen whole, with or without granulated sugar, and in the form of puree. Each of these methods is good, it is important to properly prepare the product.

Preparation rules:

1. Freshly harvested fruits of a dense structure are best suited for freezing the whole - they do not lose their shape after defrosting, do not crumple during transportation.
2. It is not recommended to wash raspberries - after contact with water, they let out juice. However, this rule applies to product harvested from your own garden, away from the road.
3. The berries are sorted out, rotten and damaged are thrown away.
4. It is advisable to rinse raspberries bought on the market under low pressure of water or fill with salted water for 15 minutes. If the berries contain worms and beetles, they will float to the surface.
5. The washed fruits are gently laid out on a cotton cloth or paper towel to dry.

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How to freeze correctly

The process of freezing raspberries has its own tricks:

1. It is best to freeze fresh berries, since some of the vitamins are destroyed during storage.
2. To prevent the berries from souring and freezing faster, the temperature in the freezer should be at least - 18 ° C.
3. When preparing raspberry puree, it is better to use a wooden spatula or pusher. When using metal objects, useful properties are lost.
4. It is recommended to freeze raspberries in portioned trays, so that you can use the preparation immediately. When they come into contact with heat, they thaw, and when they freeze again, frost and ice crystals form on them.
5. To save space in the freezer, bags with prepared raspberries are placed in containers, frozen, then the bags are taken out and placed in the freezer.
6. To preserve the structure, the product is frozen in shallow trays with lids or put in special bags in one layer. This will keep the raspberries out of juice.
7. If the lid is leaking, each container is wrapped in plastic wrap to prevent air ingress and frost formation.

The ways

There are several methods for freezing delicate raspberries:

1. To preserve nutrients, the product is frozen whole.
2. For lovers of sweets, the method of freezing whole raspberries with sugar is suitable. So you can prepare overripe specimens.
3. The soft berries are mashed. Sugar is used at will.
4. Packages or containers are used as containers.

In packages

For freezing in bags, take selected fruits without rot and damage. Place a flat dish, tray or cutting board in a thick plastic bag with the edges down.

Prepared berries are laid out at a distance of 1-2 cm from each other with "caps" up and placed in the freezer for 3-4 hours until completely frozen. The bottom of the bag is wrapped in raspberries and removed from the tray. The bag is tied tightly, letting out the air, and placed in the freezer. You can distribute the berries in one layer, gently tuck the edge of the bag and fix it with tape.

In containers

The technology for freezing raspberries in trays or containers is no different from the method intended for bags. The only difference lies in the preservation of the structure of the berries and saving space. In such a container, raspberries do not wrinkle. Containers without sealed lids are wrapped in dense cling film and stacked on top of each other in the freezer.

Frozen whole with sugar

For freezing with granulated sugar, overripe and softened, without signs of rot, or slightly unripe raspberries are suitable.

The fruits are placed in layers in containers intended for freezing, sprinkled with granulated sugar. Sugar is also poured onto the bottom with a layer of 1 cm so that it absorbs the juice that stands out. The container is closed with airtight lids or wrapped in foil.

Council. Follow the rule of portion freezing in order to use the workpiece immediately.

Mashed raspberries with sugar

The washed fruits are placed in a deep food-grade plastic or enamel bowl and rubbed with a wooden crush. Add granulated sugar to the puree and mix. The standard raspberry to sugar ratio is 1: 1, but the amount can be adjusted to your liking.

The mass is poured into 200 ml plastic cups, ice cube trays, silicone muffin molds, plastic cut-top bottles or trays. The puree, frozen in ice or candy trays, is removed and folded into tight ziplock bags.

Freezing raspberry puree

Raspberry puree is frozen according to the same principle as ground with sugar. The product does not lose its taste, aroma and useful properties. After defrosting, you will receive fresh puréed raspberries. The mass is poured into any container.

Council. Punch through the frozen puree with a blender, add a little honey and lemon juice, and you have a delicious sorbet.

Storage periods

The shelf life of frozen raspberries depends on the temperature in the freezer:

• at -18 ... -23 ° C berries do not lose freshness for 8-12 months;
• at -15 ° С - 6 months;
• at 0… -8 ° С berries are stored for 3 months.

How to defrost properly

Defrosting rules:

1. Fruits intended for cooking compote or fruit drink do not need to be thawed. They are immediately sent to boiling water.
2. Whole berries for decorating the cake, toppings of open pies are thawed gradually - they are taken out of the freezer and put in the refrigerator overnight.
3. The puree is thawed at room temperature or placed in cold water.
4. To quickly defrost whole berries, a sealed container is placed in cold water for 15 minutes.
5. If time is running out, and raspberries are needed to prepare the filling for closed pies and dumplings, the berry is placed in a glass bowl or placed in the microwave, choosing the defrosting mode. The time depends on the power of the microwave. The readiness of the product is checked every minute.

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How to properly freeze carrots for the winter in the freezer.

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How to keep leeks for the winter: drying, freezing and the best recipes for harvesting.

How to defrost raspberries to keep them out of juice

The workpiece is taken out of a container or bag, laid out on a tray or large cutting board and placed on the lower shelf of the refrigerator for 1-1.5 hours. The slower the food defrosts, the better. When defrosting quickly, the fruits will be soaked from frost. Then the raspberries are taken out and left at room temperature until completely thawed.

Council. Sprinkle cornstarch or potato starch over the raspberries to keep them out of juice when baking pies. For 200 g, 2 tsp is enough.

Conclusion

Freezing raspberries is a simple matter, but it takes time to prepare the berries. To preserve the structure, it is advisable not to wash the product. However, this rule applies only to homemade berries from your own garden. It is better to soak raspberries from a market or store in salted water and then dry.

Frozen fruits retain their taste, aroma and beneficial properties. Whole raspberries are put in tight bags, containers. Puree is stored in plastic cups or bottles, poured into molds for ice, candy or muffins. Slow defrosting in the refrigerator will keep the texture, while the microwave and cold water will speed up the process.