Last week, Penelope and I visited a local farm that grows all organic berries. Oh my.
In about 2 1/2 hours, I was able to pick 13.5 lbs of strawberries. How does one accomplish this with a toddler? (Many moms have asked me!). Well, I started out wearing her on my back in the Ergo. She wasn't happy about this, but tolerated this for about half an hour. It was pretty tiresome to bend over or kneel while wearing her on my back, and I knew she wasn't too comfortable either.
Once she started squirming in true discomfort, I let her out and run. She's pretty good about sticking close while she figures out the situation when we're in new environments, so she ran around within 5 feet of me for another 15 minutes. She also took advantage of foraging berries from my basket or off the bush - which I was sure to let the proprietress know about! As it goes with toddlers, her courage grew quickly and pretty soon she was off running in different rows or checking out the tractors close by. Sometimes she'd sneak up behind me and I'd find her in my strawberries...When we got home, we prepared the strawberries for freezing. I like to use frozen strawberries in our smoothies instead of ice, so I froze almost all of it!
This is how I prepare berries for freezing (this is perfect for organically grown, though I would probably take greater care in cleaning them if they aren't organic).
You will need:
A big bowl of water
Distilled white vinegar
Berries of choice
Cookie Sheets
Cleared out space in your freezer
Freezer Bags
You will do:
1. Fill a bowl with a mixture of 2/3 cold water to 1/3 white vinegar.
2. Place berries into the bowl, allowing them to soak for about 5 minutes. Agitate with your fingers and rub off any dirt.
3. Place on a cookie sheet. I prefer mine not to touch each other, though if you don't care it doesn't make a difference.
4. Freeze for several hours. I just left mine overnight.
5. Once frozen solid, transfer into freezer bags.
I did reserve some for delicious strawberry shortcakes.. Which I made 2 nights in a row ;)
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ReplyDeleteThis is how I also freeze blueberries for smoothies and pancakes. Even frozen blueberries that were frozen in-season are better than the sour little blueberries you find in the supermarket during the winter.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info, we always go berry picking in season but I've never tried to freeze them.
ReplyDeleteThis is great information! Thanks - every year I think about going to a "you-pick" blueberry or strawberry farm, but haven't researched how to store them past eating them fresh. This is perfect, and I can't wait for summer!
ReplyDeleteI would really like to take my children strawberry picking sometime, so this is great to know!
ReplyDeleteWe love picking and haven't since we moved to Kansas sadly.
ReplyDeleteBut, after our move this month we will be doing lots.
And honestly.. I never froze before. If not for this, I would have just tossed them in a bag and tossed in freezer :o
Good to know! We have strawberries in our yard and have wanted to save some (although we usually eat them quickly)
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