I love to freeze fruit during the best part of it’s season. This helps it last a few more months. We use frozen fruit for all kinds of things, freezer jam, smoothies, or fruit pies. And with my Mom’s giant raspberry patch, here’s how I make those red jewels last as long as I can!

1. First, wash and DRY your fruit. You need to make sure it’s patted as dry as possible with paper towels or even left out for a while to dry. If you wash and immediately freeze your fruit, it can harden together, leaving them stuck together in a juice, unable to separate after. It’s best to have your fruit frozen individually and as fresh as possible. Once you add water to it, it can change the flavor.

2. Place your dry fruit onto a plastic or tinfoil lined tray. I’ve frozen it on a jelly roll pan for larger freezers. Or if you’re freezer isn’t as wide, you can place it in a 9×13 baking pan. Try your best to place the fruit apart from each other.

3. Place your tray of fruit in the freezer, with plastic wrap covering it, helping to avoid freezer burn. Let it freeze solid, leaving it over night for best results.

4. Once your fruit is frozen, strawberries below, place them in a plastic freezer bag or container. Now it’s ready for adding to smoothies if frozen, or pies and jams when thawed out.

What are you freezing these days?