tips on freezing food?

[Gobias]

Hi all,

I usually partake in a co-op every week and this week they are having 25 lbs of peaches and 15 lbs of plums. Since I am the only one who will be eating the produce, does anyone know if peaches and plums can be cut up with their skins on and frozen without liquid?

I know they can be preserved into fruit cocktail, jams, etc. but I am hoping to freeze them for smoothies and keep the skins but not use a sugar water liquid. I usually freeze mangoes, berries, pineapples, bananas every week without liquids and it works great in my smoothies or even yogurt.

peaches and plums seem more delicate so I am wondering. all of the research I have done says to put the peaches in sugar water but am not sure 'why'. and i'm not finding much on unpeeled plums.

any ideas would be helpful.

 

[Jodi LOM]

Flash freeze?

I would slice/dice and then "flash freeze" them.

After slicing/dicing, spread a single layer on a cookie sheet and put it into the freezer for 15-20 minutes. At that point, they should be frozen enough that you can then toss them into a freezer bag or whatever other type of storage you are using. (The flash freezing part makes it so they don't freeze to one another & stick together in one big mass.) When you want to use them, simply grab as much or little as you want.

I have NOT tried this with peaches & plums, but I have purchased frozen peaches to use in smoothies. No water, no juice.

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out!

Jodi

 

[elsie3]

I would slice/dice and then "flash freeze" them.

After slicing/dicing, spread a single layer on a cookie sheet and put it into the freezer for 15-20 minutes. At that point, they should be frozen enough that you can then toss them into a freezer bag or whatever other type of storage you are using. (The flash freezing part makes it so they don't freeze to one another & stick together in one big mass.) When you want to use them, simply grab as much or little as you want.

I have NOT tried this with peaches & plums, but I have purchased frozen peaches to use in smoothies. No water, no juice.

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out!

Jodi

It works very well--I never add sugar when I freeze fruit. Flash freezing would be the best solution if you don't want them to stick together. Depending on how juicy the fruit is, however, you could just freeze the sliced fruit in small freezer bags. I haven't done plums, but I do peaches every summer. When I do this, I add a little lemon juice to prevent browning and fill sandwich or quart size bags. I've never seen sandwich-size freezer bags, but you could put smaller bags into a larger freezer bag once they're frozen. If you don't over-fill the bags, and freeze them flat, it's really easy to break off a chunk for a smoothie or whatever.

 

[bonjonbart]

I found this on discusscooking.com
"A great, easy way to freeze peaches, apricots and plums. Simply pop whole, unwashed (skins on)fruit into a freezer on a tray. No need to add ascorbic acid. Once frozen, store in freezer bags or sealed containers. When you're ready to use them, defrost slightly and peel."

 

[tralaiven]

I really would love to do this....I really want to get a freezer in my garage so I can freeze more healthy stuff and have it available when I am on the prowl for food!

 

[Gobias]

Thank you all. I am just going to slice and freeze. No liquid. Now I will have to make room to fit a cookie sheet inside. My freezer is jam packed!

tralaiven - I need an extra freezer also but just don't have the room. I can't put one in the garage because I live in the very hot desert and the thing would run 24/7.

 

[benjamindean]

Thanks for all of these. My girlfriend also wants to do this on some of her fruits. Well, I guess we have to do this at home!

 

[Gobias]

Benjamindean - just so you know, freezing fruit is great because then when you make smoothies since the fruit is frozen it makes the smoothie thick and slushie-like. That way I don't need to add ice cubes (also, my vitamix tends to warm the food up as it is blending, so the frozen fruit takes care of that problem). I also thaw the fruit just a tiny bit and then put it in yogurt as a snack or make homemade sorbet or popcicles.

I freeze bananas that are very ripe in their peel. Then when I go to use them I easily slice the peel off with a knife. Berries I just wash and freeze. Pineapple and mango I peel then freeze. I tried apples and pears but it just didn't turn out well - any ideas from others?

Also, I freeze all of my vegetable scraps. I keep a large bin in my freezer and when it gets full I make my own homemade vegetable stock. In fact, I will be making a batch this weekend to make room for the peaches I need to freeze. And when I say "all of my scraps", I mean all of them. The end of the carrot, the core of the onion, the leaves of the celery, the PEEL of the garlic and onion, the stem of a pepper, the hard stalk of asparagus, the stems of any and all herbs, the peel of potatoes, etc. Virtually nothing goes to waste and every batch of stock is different due to what my scraps consist of.

Good luck and I would like to hear any other freezing tips from others.

 

[mimij62]

All great ideas. My mom has been freezing fresh fruit for years, just like the flash freezing techniques methods. The only extra I can suggest is to forgo the freezer bags and use plastic containers if possible. They are less permeable to air and freezer burn. They do require more room tho. She uses extra cottage cheese, sour cream containers, etc. She's 80 and still goes to fitness classes and eats healthy.

 

[complik8td]

Benjamindean - just so you know, freezing fruit is great because then when you make smoothies since the fruit is frozen it makes the smoothie thick and slushie-like. That way I don't need to add ice cubes (also, my vitamix tends to warm the food up as it is blending, so the frozen fruit takes care of that problem). I also thaw the fruit just a tiny bit and then put it in yogurt as a snack or make homemade sorbet or popcicles.

I freeze bananas that are very ripe in their peel. Then when I go to use them I easily slice the peel off with a knife. Berries I just wash and freeze. Pineapple and mango I peel then freeze. I tried apples and pears but it just didn't turn out well - any ideas from others?

Also, I freeze all of my vegetable scraps. I keep a large bin in my freezer and when it gets full I make my own homemade vegetable stock. In fact, I will be making a batch this weekend to make room for the peaches I need to freeze. And when I say "all of my scraps", I mean all of them. The end of the carrot, the core of the onion, the leaves of the celery, the PEEL of the garlic and onion, the stem of a pepper, the hard stalk of asparagus, the stems of any and all herbs, the peel of potatoes, etc. Virtually nothing goes to waste and every batch of stock is different due to what my scraps consist of.

Good luck and I would like to hear any other freezing tips from others.

Ditto on your first paragraph. Frozen fruit makes smoothies taste SO much better!

I also use the flash-freeze method, but I do remove the peels from the bananas first before freezing. I suppose either way works well.

LOVE your idea of freezing all your veggie scraps for homemade stock!! How resourceful! Thanks for the tip!

I froze a lot of peaches last year, but I felt that the frozen peaches were just not as flavorful as the fresh, unfortunately.

Have fun with your box of yummy goodies!!