A Quick And Easy Way to Preserve Strawberries That You’ll Love
Looking for a quick, easy and pretty much no fail way to preserve strawberries? This simple method is straightforward and easily customizable for the amount of strawberries you have on hand.
If you’re like me, you love the idea of preserving whole foods for use in recipes. A huge benefit of this is you get to control the ingredients! In the past, I bought a bulk quantity of strawberries in season to preserve. While I still like to do this occasionally, I don’t always have the time or energy to pull it off using traditional methods like canning. That’s where this quick and easy method comes in to save the day.
Strawberries are finicky in that they need to be dealt with in some way pretty much immediately. They simply will not last for more than a couple days before they begin to show signs of rotting. ( Although I do recommend storing them in the fridge for slightly longer shelf life).
For instances when I don’t have the time to pull off a big batch of strawberry jam, I like to use this quick and easy strawberry preservation method.
How to Preserve Strawberries
- Begin by gathering all the strawberries to prep for freezing. From there, be sure to wash them well ( I like to use Thieves Fruit & Veggie Soak, found here). Once strawberries are dry, continue prepping by hulling and slicing to your preferred size. I usually quarter mine.
- To hull each strawberry, pull back the leaves so you can see the stem. Using a small, sharp knife ( a paring knife works best if you have it), insert at a slight angle as close to the stem as you can. Cut a circle around the stem and boom! Done. Pull out the top of the strawberry and discard.
- Once all the strawberries are hulled and sliced, grab a container of your choice (I use plastic quart size bags for convenience and ease of use). Then add your strawberries, being careful to not overpack each bag.
- Add 1 tbsp of sugar to each bag, although you could absolutely omit the sugar (or add more if you prefer!)
- Next, simply label each bag and pop into the freezer for later use in recipes.
Ideas & Additional Tips
- If you are choosing to store your strawberries in larger bags (i.e. gallon size) I would add in up to an additional 1/4 cup of sugar per bag.
- Preventing overstuffing of the bags allows them to lay flat in the freezer, therefore saving precious freezer space and allowing them to thaw much faster.
- These strawberries can be used to add into smoothies or pies, pureed to make jam, syrups to drizzle over ice cream or cakes, and more!
Recipe Ideas Using Strawberries
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Easy Strawberry Preservation
This is a very quick and fool proof way to preserve strawberries. It is easily customizable to any amount of strawberries you have on hand.
Ingredients
- Strawberries, hulled and cut into quarters
- 1 tbsp sugar
Instructions
- Prepare strawberries by washing and drying. Once dry, hull and quarter strawberries.
- How to Hull Strawberries: Pull back the leaves of each strawberry so you can see the stem. Insert a small knife (paring knife works best if you have it) at a slight angle as close to the stem as you can. Cut a circle around the stem. Remove the hull and discard.
- After strawberries are all hulled and sliced, begin adding them to quart size freezer bags, being mindful not to overfill each bag.
- Add 1 tbsp sugar to each bag. If you prefer strawberries to be sweeter, you can add an additional 2-3 tbsp.
- Seal bag, label, and store!
Notes
Store each bag laying flat in your freezer. This will not only save space, but cut down on the time it takes to thaw each bag.
Properly sealed and stored strawberries should last in the freezer for up to 6 months.
If using larger bags (e.g. gallon size) increase the amount of sugar to up to 1/4 cup per bag. This is customizable depending on how sweet you prefer your strawberries to be.
Use your preserved strawberries in smoothies, pies, cakes, jams, syrups, and more!
If you found this easy strawberry preservation method helpful, be sure to come back and leave me a comment! I would love to know how it worked for you.
What’s your favorite way to use strawberries?
