I love fresh strawberries, they are in season at the moment and therefore a little bit more affordable here in the UK land of expensive everything. Is it possible to stick fresh strawberries in the freezer? Has anyone done it successfully.

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DANDR

Starting weight: 196 lbs
Current weight: 149 lbs
Goal weight: 130 lbs

Found this on the net:

Freezing: Strawberries freeze well, allowing you to enjoy them practically year round. You can buy prepackaged frozen berries, but these may have had sweetener added, which can double their calorie content. Freezing strawberries yourself is simple. Pick over the berries, then spread them out in a single layer in a jelly-roll pan. Place the unwashed berries in the freezer until they are solidly frozen, and then transfer them to a heavy plastic bag. They'll keep for 10 months to a year

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my blog

Fantastic, as usual you are a source of information Rob! Wanna come be my personal assitant?

What is a jelly-roll pan?

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DANDR

Starting weight: 196 lbs
Current weight: 149 lbs
Goal weight: 130 lbs

This link defines what a jelly roll pan is, complete with a photograph.

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Ozzie's Place

my mil used to freeze strawberries better then anyone I ever knew. Hers had a fresher taste then any frozen ones I've ever tasted. she basically did what Rob said. she froze them whole with the caps on, unwashed. she put them in freezer bags, and double bagged them for extra protection... and they were so close to fresh tasting, it was unbelievable.

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In the cookies of life, we are the chocolate chips.

I buy a flat at a time and slice them into freezer containers, then add a little DaVinci SF strawberry syrup, put on the lid, shake them up to coat them all, and freeze.

I also do them whole, but I do wash them first and cut off the tops, then put them pointy-end up on a rimmed baking sheet and freeze til solid, then bag 'em up.

I've already done 4 flats this year so far (12 baskets to a flat) and DH keeps eating them up! LOL!

Char

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Veni, vidi, velcro. I came, I saw, I stuck around.

Save the Earth - it's the only planet with CHOCOLATE!

A couple of weeks ago Alton Brown on Food Network TV did a show on strawberies. My recollection of the gist of what he said about freezing strawberries was that if you froze strawberries by merely putting them in the freezer, because of the water cells in the berries bursting during the slow freezing process, they would be mushy when thawed, which would be ok if you were just using them in recipes, such as using a blender, where the consistency and shape of the berry did not matter. However, to have nicely shaped beries, he hulled them, put them in the refrigerator to chill them, then took some dry ice, broke the ice into pieces, then put the berries and dry ice together in a bowl to freeze the berries quickly. He claims that this works. I have not tried it and don't anticipate that I will as I do not have a lot of extra freezer space. to

I always just wash them and throw in a container to use in smoothies later. I like the idea of slicing and putting syrup on them.