a filled container to settle the contents. Pour the syrup over the fruit, completely covering it. If the fruit is well packed in a container, ½ cup of syrup will be enough for a pint container and 1 cup will top off a quart container. Cover with waxed paper to compact the contents and seal with the lid. Cover and refrigerate leftover syrup for up to a month.
Honey Pack—Straight honey improves the flavor, texture and color of your fruit. As the fruit freezes, its juices mix with the honey to create syrup, and the fruit absorbs the syrup and stays firm. Honey packs work best with fruits that are naturally juicy, like peaches. Cut the fruit into slices, place in a bowl and gently mix with the honey until the juices are drawn out. Then pack for freezing.
Sugar Pack—Sprinkle sugar over the fruit and mix gently until the juice is drawn out and the sugar has dissolved. Soft sliced fruits such as peaches, strawberries, figs, seeded grapes, plums, and cherries will yield sufficient syrup for covering if the fruit is layered with sugar and allowed to stand for 15 minutes. Some small whole fruits may be coated with sugar and frozen.
Dry Pack—Small whole fruits, such as berries, freeze well without sugar.
Tray Pack—This is an alternative that can make the fruit easier to remove from the container. Simply spread a single layer of prepared fruit on a shallow tray and freeze. Once frozen, promptly package it in a freezer container or freezer bag, seal, and return it to the freezer. The pieces should remain loose, so they can be poured from the container and the package resealed.
Other Unsweetened Packs—Fruit can also be packaged in water or apple juice, but the fruits freeze harder and take longer to thaw, and quality can suffer. However, some fruits such as raspberries, blueberries, steamed apple, gooseberries, currants, cranberries, rhubarb, and figs maintain integrity without sugar.
Preventing Discoloration
Some fruits—such as peaches, apples, pears, and apricots—will darken quickly when exposed to air and during freezing. They may also lose flavor when thawed. To prevent this, you can dip the fruit in acidulated water—that is, water to which some sort of acid has been added. Try ascorbic acid (vitamin C), available at most drug or grocery stores, by adding 3 grams (six 500 mg vitamin C tablets) per gallon of water. Lemon juice is handy and also works well. Mix ¼ cup lemon juice into 1 gallon of water. For either solution, soak fruit for two minutes, and then proceed to freeze as desired. If you are using a dry pack, let the fruit dry a bit before freezing.
A Guide to Preparing Fruit for Freezing
APPLES Wash, core and peel. Cut in halves, quarters or slices. Acidulate. Use a dry pack, sugar pack, honey pack, or honey syrup.
APRICOTS Freeze them whole, halved or quartered, and with or without pits. (The pit adds flavor.) To freeze whole without the skin, dip in boiling water for 15 to 20 seconds; then plunge into ice water. The skin should slide off easily. Acidulate. Use a honey pack.
AVOCADOS Best frozen as a purée; peel, remove the pit, and mash the pulp with 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Use a dry pack.
BANANAS AND PLAN-TAINS Freeze bananas that have turned brown and use them for baking. Freeze in the skin or peeled. Use a dry pack.
BERRIES Wash in cold water and lift out of the washing water. Remove any that are wrinkled, damaged, or discolored. Use a tray pack and then transfer to a container. Or freeze in a honey pack, honey syrup, sugar pack, or unsweetened pack.
CHERRIES Wash in cold water. Remove any that are wrinkled, damaged, or discolored. Pit them. Use a tray pack and transfer to freezer bags.
CITRUS FRUITS Peel and remove as much membrane and white pith surrounding the sections as possible. Use a dry pack, placing a double layer of waxed paper between layers for easy removal. Or use a honey pack, honey syrup, or sugar pack.
COCONUT Pierce with an ice pick to drain out the liquid; reserve it. Then use a hammer and tap all around the middle until it splits. Cut out meat and shred it or cut it into large pieces. Pack in its own liquid.
FIGS Wash and remove the stems. If the skin is thin, peel it off; otherwise leave it on. Keep whole or cut in half and scoop out the seeds. Use honey pack, honey syrup, sugar pack, or un-sweetened pack. If puréeing the figs, use honey syrup.
GRAPES Wash in cold water and remove the stems. Remove any that are wrinkled, damaged, or discolored. Use a tray pack and transfer to a freezer container.
KIWI Peel and cut into slices. Use a honey pack or sugar pack.
MANGOES Wash in cold water, peel and cut out the pit. Cut in ¼-inch (6 mm) slices. Acidulate. Use a honey pack, honey syrup, or sugar pack.
MELONS These will freeze well, except for watermelon. Peel and remove seeds and cut into slices, cubes, or balls. Use a tray pack, honey pack, honey syrup, or sugar pack.
NECTARINES Wash in cold water and peel. Halve the fruit and remove the pits. Acidulate and drain. Use a honey pack, honey syrup, or sugar pack.
PEARS These don’t freeze well. If you do freeze, wash, core, peel, and halve first. Acidulate and drain. Use a honey pack, honey syrup, or sugar pack.
PINEAPPLE Peel and cut into any shape you desire. Pack in its own juice in a freezer container.
PLUMS AND PRUNES These do not freeze well; however, if you do freeze them, wash in cold water and remove the pits. Leave whole or cut up. Use a dry pack, honey pack or sugar pack.
RHUBARB Prepare stalks that are red and crisp. Remove the leaves and cut off woody ends. Cut into ½ to 1-inch (2.5 to 5-cm) chunks. Use a tray pack, and transfer to freezer bags.
STRAWBERRIES Wash in cold water and remove the hulls. Remove any that are wrinkled, damaged, or discolored and let the berries dry. Cut into any size or keep whole. Use a tray pack and transfer to freezer bags.
Freezing Vegetables
Freeze vegetables that are at their peak of flavor and texture. Wash your vegetables thoroughly in cold water. Sort by size for blanching and packing.
Blanching—You must parboil most vegetables prior to freezing. Blanching neutralizes spoiling enzymes, softens, sanitizes, brightens, and retains vitamins. Timing varies with the vegetable and its size. Refer to the chart to the right for blanching times.
Water Blanching—Boiling water removes bacteria, yeast, mold, and chemical residues. Use a blancher with basket and cover, or fit a wire basket into a large kettle with a lid. Use a gallon of water per pound of prepared vegetables. Put the vegetables in a blanching basket and lower into vigorously boiling water. Cover and keep the heat high for the duration of blanching time. Start timing once the water returns to a boil.
Steam Blanching—Use for broccoli, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and summer and winter squash. Use a steamer pot with a tight lid and a basket that holds the food at least three inches above the bottom of the kettle. Pour an inch or two of water in the kettle and bring to a boil. Put the vegetables into the steamer basket in a single layer so that the heat permeates quickly. Cover the pot and keep the heat high. Start timing as soon as the lid is on.
Cooking and Baking—Some vegetables, like beets, need to be cooked before freezing. Others, like spaghetti squash (and puréed pumpkin), must be baked.
The Ice-Water Plunge—Vegetables must be cooled quickly to stop the cooking process. Prepare
