Freezing Guide - How to Freeze Fruit

Kinds of preparations

• There are several ways to store fruits; dry or in syrup, sugar, or other preparations. 
• Fruits packed in syrup are mostly used for non-cooked desserts. 
• Fruits packed in sugar or unsweetened are mostly used for cooking since they have less liquid. 
• Small fruits such as berries are generally packed fresh, without any preparation. 

TIP: Since small berries are very delicate fruits, manipulate them carefully in order to prevent them from losing their shape before they are frozen. 

Dry preparation

• Small fruits are generally good quality without the need of additional preparation. 
• After washing and completely draining, place them directly in the adequate FreezerKeeper™. Then place them in the freezer. 
• For loose frozen fruits, portion them.
• Perfect for all kinds of berries; blackberries, cranberries, raspberries, and other fruits such as figs, bananas, mango cubes or sliced, etc. 

Syrup Preparation

• This kind of preparation is perfect for fruits with high water concentration. 
• The syrup consists of water and sugar. The proportion is generally 40% sugar, 60% water. To prepare your syrup simply place the water and the sugar in a casserole and bring it to boil. Let it cool down. 
• Simply place the fruits in the FreezerKeepers™ then pour the cooled syrup over until the fruit is completely covered.  
• This is ideal when freezing melons, watermelons, peaches, nectarines, grapes, pears, plums.

Sugar preparations

• Sprinkle sugar over the fruits and mix until the fruits’ juice is drawn out and the sugar melts. 
• Let the fruit stand for 15 minutes, place them in a FreezerKeeper, seal and store in the freezer. 
• When freezing fruit for jam, add lemon juice (50ml for each 100gr of sugar). We recommend you use organic crystal sugar, not gelling sugar. 
• It’s the perfect preparation for fruits that will be cooked afterwards like strawberries, sour cherries, peaches and apricots.

Other preparations

In puree

When fruits are very ripe and irregular such as strawberries, raspberries, plums, peeled peaches, apricots: mix the fruits with sugar (100g/kg) and lemon (1 lemon juice/kg), make a puree, then pour into the FreezerKeepers. These are perfect to use for ice creams, mousse, “bavarois” and coulis.

Poached

For fruits intended to be used for compote/jam. Simply peel, cut and cook them for a few minutes in a pot/casserole with sugar. They will poach in the syrup and reduce in volume.. Once they have cooled, pour them into the FreezerKeepers, seal them and store in the freezer. This recipe also works for pre-cooking fruits for jam.

How to thaw fruit

Thawing in the refrigerator

• When defrosting in the fridge, make sure the temperature is between 0-4°C. Leave the frozen fruits in the fridge for a couple of hours, but never more than 24h.
• For better results place the frozen fruits in a colander in a bowl; so that they don't soak.

Thawing in the microwave

• Frozen fruits can be placed in a MicroCook Pitcher and thawed in the microwave using the defrost function.

No thawing

• Frozen fruits such as mangos, bananas, or berries can be served directly as desserts. This way, the texture will not become mushy.
• Fruits can be placed frozen on the bottom of a raw cake before baking.
• For cooked/baked desserts: place frozen fruits directly in your preparations.
• For compote or jam: immediately pour the fruits into a casserole; defrosting and cooking will happen simultaneously.
• For milkshakes, ice cream and smoothies: place your fruit in your preparation as if it were fresh.
• Simply take them out of the freezer 10 minutes before serving so they can slightly soften.  

"A very healthy way to make desserts for your kids at home!"