Tip #12 - DIY Frozen Berries

My Dad and I went to the supermarket yesterday, and joy of joys, there was a sale on blackberries! Four tubs for $5. Clearly, they were trying to get rid of their stock before they all went furry.

So we bought four. And took them home. And then I spent the whole night thinking what the heck we're going to do with four tubs of blackberries which are about to go furry in a house which doesn't have any baking ingredients (because the obvious answer would be blackberry apple pie or crisp, but my Dad doesn't have flour... don't ask).

So I thought I'd try freezing them.

Anyone who has tried freezing fruit before knows that throwing them into a tupperware container or a freezer bag as-is turns the berries into a giant messy mess which is essentially inedible. My awesome Menonite cookbook, however, suggested freezing them on a baking tray, not touching, before tipping them into a container. And... it works! Three of the four tubs successfully frozen and no mushy berries.

The best part is, you can now stock up on fruit (or vegetables) which are at the end of their life-cycle and being sold cheaply, and preserve them for a significantly longer period of time, AND save the premium that store-bought frozen berries and vegetables have on them. Win-win!

Tutorial: DIY Frozen Berries

1 - Arrange your berries neatly on a baking tray. My Dad doesn't have a baking tray, so I used some oven bakeware.

2 - Put into freezer for about an hour until hard (the time will depend on the type of fruit). This can be tested by throwing at people's heads, but it's inadvisable.

3 - When hard, pour into a freezer bag or tupperware and put back into freezer until ready to eat!

This can also be used to freeze par-boiled vegetables, but I haven't tried it yet, though it's on my to-do list.