Can You Freeze Cherries?: If you would like to enjoy the glorious taste of fresh cherries all year long. Then look into this article as we are going to discuss freezing cherries. Here you can learn the easiest way and best way to freeze cherries.
Also, you can use frozen cherries beautifully like fresh ones. Even this technique can be used to preserve them when you have a lot of cherries in your garden, this will help you to avoid food wastage.
Read on to learn more about cherries like how can you freeze cherries, what the process needs to do before freezing, how to defrost frozen cherries, and many more are discussed here. Check out the article to know more!!
- Can You Freeze Cherries? How Long You Can Freeze Cherries?
- How To Freeze Cherries?
- Selection & Prepping Cherries For Freezing
- Freezing Cherries Using Baking Sheet Method
- Freezing Cherries Using Syrup Packed Method
- Tips For Freezing Cherries
- Some Containers To Freeze Cherries
- How To Defrost Frozen Cherries?
- Can You Refreeze Frozen Cherries?
- How To Use Frozen Cherries?
- Are frozen cherries good for health?
- Can I freeze cherries with pits?
- Do cherries freeze well?
Can You Freeze Cherries? How Long You Can Freeze Cherries?
Yes, you can freeze cherries well in the freezer. And also freezing these cherries is also very easy. It is always best to consume frozen cherries within 6 months to taste like fresh cherries. But if the cherries are frozen with sugar syrup you can use them for upto 1 year. If you store more than this time period you may see that they will lose some shape and taste. But still, you can use them for jams, smoothies, and sauce.
One more thing is if you vacuum seal your cherries to freeze they will last upto 2-3 years in the freezer.
How To Freeze Cherries?
When you freeze cherries, you may think of using different methods. But below we have discussed the right techniques to freeze step by step to freeze them perfectly to use without going bad.
Selection & Prepping Cherries For Freezing
When you think of freezing cherries you need to look into some things that we have provided below. Then only freezing helps you to use cherries even after a long time of freezing.
- Always choose the cherries to freeze which are ripe, dark-colored, bigger, and unbruised.
- And always freeze the cherries immediately, when they are harvested or bought from the store.
- And you need to remove the cherries which are bruised as they will become mushy after thawing.
- Just rinse all the cherries you like to freeze. And pat them to dry.
- Pit the cherries using a pitter, lobster picker, knife, unbent paper clip anything that you have, use it.
Freezing Cherries Using Baking Sheet Method
We will look into the step-by-step guide to freeze the cherries using the baking sheet method.
- Select and prep the cherries as mentioned above.
- Then, take a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper, wax paper, or foil.
- Now, place all the pit-free cherries on a baking sheet with a single layer.
- Place these sheets of pitted cherries into the freezer and pre-freeze them for 1-2 hours.
- Now after completion of flash freezing remove the sheets from the freezer.
- Transfer those frozen cherries into a resealable freezer or air-tight containers.
- If you are using bags, squeeze the air out and seal them tightly. If you are using containers shake them gently to settle and pack them easier.
- Then keep the bags or containers in the freezer.
Freezing Cherries Using Syrup Packed Method
Normally, this method is used with sweet cherries to help retain the taste. Look into the process of how to freeze cherries using the syrup packing method.
- Firstly we will prepare the sugar syrup.
- We are taking measurements, for 4 cups of cherries. Take an equal amount of water as the cup of cherries you have taken and add 1 cup of sugar to them.
- Now mix the water and sugar and keep it on the stove. You need to bring them to a rolling boil.
- You need to add cherries to the syrup at this time, again wait until you get a rolling boil, and then keep it aside and cool it down.
- After you get the syrup to room temperature, transfer it to the freezer bags or containers.
- Always leave a 1/2-inch gap on the top for smaller containers, and a 1-inch gap for larger containers to prevent the lid from popping off.
- Make sure that the cherries are completely covered with the syrup.
- Finally, place the bags or containers in the freezer.
Note: If you are a diabetic patient, you can use a sweetener instead of sugar as a sweetener is too sweet than sugar use only 1/2 cup.
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Tips For Freezing Cherries
As we need to freeze cherries without going bad, we will just look into the tips to freeze cherries, easily.
- Always use the cherries as a whole, to prevent the loss of juice.
- Dont forget to squeeze out the air from the bags, the less air you have in the bag, the less your cherries will dry out.
- Wash the cherries when you are ready to eat them or freeze them.
- To keep cherries fresh, after you bought them from the store immediately, store them in the refrigerator by placing them in a bag without washing them.
Some Containers To Freeze Cherries
Based on the space in the freezer we decide to use bags or containers to freeze any type of fruit, but most of them do not which are the best freezer-safe containers. Here we are going to tell you about it below. So that you can check the containers you use are freezer safe or not.
Glass Food Storage Containers
This type of container is the best air-tight container and is able to stack nicely in the freezer. But it occupies more space.
Zip Top Freezer Bags
These bags are good to use, affordable and space-saving. But you can only use them for a single time.
Glass canning Jars
These are perfect to freeze cherries or any fruit, But you need to choose straight jars to freeze them in freezer. If the jars are curved they are not much useful to freeze. But these occupy more space.
Vacuum Sealing Bags
These are ultimate to freeze cherries or any fruits. But initially, you need to invest some money to buy a vacuum sealer. But it is the biggest space saver.
How To Defrost Frozen Cherries?
Defrosting frozen cherries is very easy and simple. And this defrosting is based on the method of freezing that you use. If you are defrosting cherries by baking sheet method, you can just transfer those cherries into the refrigerator and defrost them overnight and use them in the morning. If you are planning to use frozen cherries for smoothies, jams, or sauce, you can use frozen cherries directly without defrosting them.
And you can also eat them directly, they will be good to eat, and they will be like natural ice lollies.
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Can You Refreeze Frozen Cherries?
No, it is always recommended avoiding to refreeze cherries. As cherries will draw a lot of moisture after defrosting. Along with that loss of moisture, you will also lose its flavor. Instead of refreezing them, you can freeze them in portions as you use them. So that there will be no chance of refreezing, and they will be good.
How To Use Frozen Cherries?
Now you have frozen cherries in your freezer and you can use them to prepare many dishes, you can prepare cherry smoothies, or you can add cherries along with other fruits for your smoothie. And you can also prepare baked goods, jams, sauces, overnight oats, and juices. You can also simply take out the frozen cherry and eat them directly. They will taste fantastic.
FAQs on Can You Freeze Cherries
1. Are frozen cherries good for health?
Yes, freezing is one of the best ways to preserve cherries, with all the nutrients, and antioxidants. They will be good until you use them.
2. Can I freeze cherries with pits?
Yes, of course, you can freeze them. But pitting cherries before freezing is always recommended because once they go into the freezer we will forget how we prepared them over time. So for the safe side and convenience, it is always better to freeze by removing the pits.
Yes, cherries freeze well and it is very difficult to differentiate between fresh and frozen cherries. But if you freeze them for a long time, you may see a change in texture.
Key Outcomes
As cherries are a delicious and versatile fruit, everyone like to eat them. So for that purpose, we have provided you about freezing like how can you freeze cherries, how to defrost, how to use cherries, and many more. By freezing you can enjoy as you enjoy the fresh cherry fruits. Hope this article helped you a lot. For any suggestions and doubts, you can comment to us in the comment section below.
If you like to know about other fruits like whether can you freeze pineapples or not, can you freeze strawberries, many more are provided at the canyoupreserve.com website. Follow our website for more updates.