Field to Frozen: It Wouldn't Be Summer Without Strawberries!

It is officially the first week of summer and strawberries are in their peak growing season. There are so many different things you can make with strawberries... desserts galore, jams, smoothies, sangria! In fact, we just made Food Network's strawberry shortcake recipe for Father's Day and it was a huge hit! But, we all know that fresh strawberries can be short lived because they are one of the fruits to spoil the quickest. They can start to grow mold and go bad in as little as 1-2 days or, when stored properly in the refrigerator, will only stay good for a week or so at best. 

Vacuum sealing then freezing your strawberries is a great alternative to store them for use at a later date. This method will preserve your strawberries for well over a year without ice crystals forming and freezer burn setting in. 

So, if you are looking for a way to keep your strawberries from going bad, follow these simple steps for garden fresh strawberries any time of year!

• Wash and gently dry your strawberries. Make sure they are completely dry to prevent ice crystals forming after vacuum sealing.
• Next, hull (cut off the green stem) all of the strawberries and toss out any spoiled ones. 

• Once you are finished hulling them, you'll want to put them in a freezer safe bowl or lay them out on a cookie sheet (like we did with the other berries here) to flash freeze them for a couple of hours. They will most likely be firm enough after about 3 hours, but you can leave them in the freezer for up to 24 hours without freezer burn setting in.

Flash freezing your strawberries will harden them just enough so they won't compress and 'juice' during the vacuum sealing process. If this happens, the juice will get sucked up into your vacuum sealer and will prevent you from getting a good seal on your bag. 

• Once your strawberries have been frozen, you can fill your vacuum bags, proportioning them out however you prefer. We were able to fit about 1-2 pounds of strawberries into an 8 inch x 12 inch quart size vacuum bag. Just make sure you leave enough space in the bag to allow for sealing.

• Next, pull out your vacuum sealer and vacuum seal your bag(s).

How delicious do those look? 

• Toss them in the coldest part of your freezer and they will stay fresh for up to 2 years. 
• When you are ready to use them, pull them out and put in the refrigerator for about a day to thaw, if necessary.

If you need a little inspiration... check out these amazing strawberry recipes from Food Network. Salads and desserts to margaritas and everything in between!!

Next up in our Field to Frozen series: Kale, one of the greatest superfoods!