When I pick berries from our strawberry patch, or I buy them fresh at the market, I usually use them right away. But this summer was different. Very little canning took place with my kitchen in the garage!
In the process we did some swapping for a new (to us) fridge, giving our old in exchange for a stand-up freezer that I've wanted for a long time.
I'm grateful for our $50 chest freezer that we had for years, but it finally gave up the ghost before moving to this house. But what I learned was I wasn't wise in how I used it. I over-bought food and it would get shoved to the bottom and left there for - well, who knows how long?
For 4 years I've been without a large freezer, so when this new opportunity came along, I was so excited!
I always told myself I'd never get a chest freezer again, that I'd be more organized with a stand-up one, arranging and using my food more wisely.
In the meantime, I bought fresh raspberries from a farm up in Portland a couple of weekends ago, and using my friend Pam's tip on freezing berries (she swears that this method makes more flavorful jam!), I followed these directions.
1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper.
2. Lay washed berries out evenly and place in the freezer.
3. After 24 hours, when completely frozen, place into Ziploc bags.
In a few months, in the dead of winter, I'll be using these bags to make fresh jam!
What's your method of freezing berries?
And do you prefer a chest or stand-up freezer?
