Recently, a fellow vendor at farmers market gave me a tip for freezing berries that will change my life.  She told me that if you pre-freeze them on a cookie sheet, they freeze as whole berries and do not get smashed together in the bag or container.  I do not know how I had never heard this before!  I headed home after market excited to try this new trick with my excess of freshly picked berries.  After doing a little research and picking up a few other tips, I went for it and am very pleased with the results.

Here is the process:

First, aquire beautiful berries.  This go-around was raspberries for me.  I recommend checking out your local farmers market!

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Next, wash the berries.  It works great to place the berries in a strainer or colander of some sort.  Then, submerge that into a bowl of water and gently swirl the berries around.

* Using the colander/strainer helps to both keep the berries from getting blasted with water and allows dirt, etc. to drain into the bowl below.

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Let the berries drain and dry for a little while either in the colander/strainer or by laying them out on some paper towel.

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Now arrange the berries onto a baking sheet and stick it in your freezer.  I left mine in overnight and it seemed about right.

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When you take the berries out of the freezer, they will be individually frozen and easy to transfer to a bag or container.

*If you are using a bag, use a freezer bag.  I have tried get away with using the non-freezer type.  Not the same.

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Place the berries into a bag or container and seal well, being sure to force as much air out as possible.

*If you are using bags and are not lucky enough to have a vacuum sealing system (or are gifted with my inability to properly close bags), try placing a straw at one end of the sealing strip.  Squeeze as much air out as you can and then suck the rest out before you close the end of the sealing strip. 

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Don’t forget to mark your bag or container with the contents and date!  (easier to do this before you put the berries in a bag)

Place back in freezer to keep and enjoy later!