How to Freeze Strawberries

Video transcription

Hi, my name's Michael Foreman. I'm the head chef at Around the Table in Camas, Washington. I'm going to teach you how to freeze strawberries today. One of the things you need to start doing is cut off the tops. Just makes things a little bit nicer for later. One of the reasons you want to freeze a strawberry, is, obviously, for preserving them, because in Washington, especially, these wonderful strawberries we get don't last but a couple of weeks. So, I mean, some of the ideas you can use them with is, you know, for jams. I mean, for ice creams. The one thing you gotta realize is when you are thawing them, that because they've been frozen, they're not going to have the same structure, and they're going to kind of be watery and kind of broken down already. So it's going to be perfect for making jams and such. And with all produce and things like that, it's very good to wash them just in case. And it's very important, also, that you get 'em as dry as you possibly can, so just get some paper towels. Just kind of toss 'em around, pat 'em dry, because it'll form ice crystals on the outside. It'll shred it even more and get, kind of break down. The other important thing is circulation, so you want a good amount. I'm not doing too many, so, that's why I'm spacing them so much, but a good inch apart. Put 'em on some kind of a parchment paper or waxed paper or film, just so they don't stick, and also it's a metallic surface most of the time. And just, you know, just for sanitation, also. And at this point, really all you gotta do is just throw them in the freezer. And it usually takes twenty four hours. That's the best. And what they'll do is they'll turn out like this, and it's called, like, individually quick frozen if you actually get a chance to freeze them in a nice blast freezer or something like that. But, they don't stick together and they're nice and loose, so you can just pull 'em out as you need 'em and you don't have to crack 'em with a knife or anything like that if you present 'em like this as they go into the freezer. Some of the things I like to do, like I said, I mean, they're...it's great for ice cream because when you do freeze 'em, it does concentrate the sugars a little bit, so it does make it better for jams, and like, it helps pectin in like, apples and stuff, react better and like, gel easier. You know, like I said, it brings out the sugar so it also....great for ice cream. It breaks down and shreds, so you get a nice, even coat inside the ice cream itself. Or you can make desert sauces out of them, strain 'em out. That's also another idea.