Tuesday Tips-Ways to make life easier. Today’s tip is to freeze in-season produce.
It’s March and time for strawberries. You should start seeing the prices on strawberries (and other produce soon!) start to come down. In my area right now, I am able to get a pint of fresh strawberries for $1.29 as opposed to $3.59 during the winter.
Once the strawberries hit their lowest price of the season ($.99 a pint in my area), I buy extra and freeze them to use later in the year.
To freeze the berries, I wash them, remove the leaves and stems, and pat them dry with a towel. I then place them on a cookie sheet with a little space in between and freeze them for 4 to 6 hours. This method will also work for blueberries.
Once they’re frozen, I pop them into a plastic zipper bag. Later in the year when strawberries are more expensive, I have fruit for smoothies and other recipes ready to use.
Click here to see How to Freeze Blueberries.
How do you save money on produce? Leave a comment. 🙂
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So glad I found you Kimberlee! So many wonderful tips! I prefer to freeze as opposed to can because of the simplicity of it, but things I’ve been reading lately have brought up the point many times…that is, if there is some sort of a power-out in your area because of storms or whatever reason, the food will spoil if it’s for a few hours or days. Thus, they said canning really is the safest bet.
Thanks Becky–I may bring myself to actually do it one day. I think I have a mental block! 🙂
Do you have some type of deep freezer? I barely have enough room in my freezer and we don’t usually buy in bulk/freeze for later…
Laci, in the past we have had a deep freezer. Right now I only have the freezer in my refrigerator, but I try to freeze everything as flat as possible and use organizers. You can watch this video to see a little bit about how I use my freezer.
I do the same thing. I much prefer freezing to canning, so I include peaches, berries, etc., and try to buy as many as I can afford at the “best price.”
We have a garden so I can & freeze alot of different veggies in the summer. We also have access to several orchards so can peaches & other fruits. I usually can or freeze these items green beans, corn, peaches, pears, applesauce, blueberries, tomato sauce, pickles(different varities) , peppers, strawberries, just to name some items. Some items is just cheaper to buy in the grocery like peas & limas & other veggies.