It’s that time of year when the berry bushes are producing like crazy. Our little farm has blueberry and blackberry bushes and I think they are the epitome of summery flavor. Because of that, I don’t want to waste a single berry. Over the years, I have developed some tips for freezing berries and making the most of our harvest.
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In the past few years, we lost almost all of our berry bushes due to the nibblers who visit our yard. Deer, bunnies, gophers, and who knows what else.
The addition of deer fencing around our garden has definitely been worth the investment of time and money. We are actually able to eat the food we are growing instead of feeding a bunch of animals at their own all-you-can-eat-buffet.
In addition to the deer fencing, we also covered the bushes with bird netting to keep the birds from eating all of the berries – it’s always something, isn’t it?
We didn’t get a ton of berries this year from our own bushes (they are still alive and finally making a comeback), but our neighbors invited us over to pick from their bushes so we were able to freeze a few quarts to use for this winter. In the past, I just dumped berries into a bag and popped them into the freezer, but I’ve learned one important tip to keep them from clumping together into a giant berry ball in the bag.
Simply place the berries on a rimmed cookie sheet and put them into the freezer. I like stainless steel cookie sheets the best. After an hour, pull them out and put them into freezer bags. Be sure to use freezer bags and not sandwich bags which don’t last very long in the freezer and might burst open.
I use a pancake spatula to scoop the frozen berries up and a bag holder to make it easier to use. This little bag holder has been a real sanity saver for putting up any kind of food that could spill all over your counter. I’m thinking of buying a few more to set up an assembly line.
Don’t forget to label your bag with the contents and the date you froze it. You’ll be able to pour out only the amount you need and reseal the bag for another use later.
