favor-“ette”: a fruit tip

This time of year more than ever I find myself with an “eyes-bigger-than-my-stomach” situation when it comes to berries. It’s so hard to resist those beautiful containers and baskets, and yet more often than not I realize I’ve bought much more than I can reasonably use up (I mean, other than making these, these and these).

A while back I shared some “berry hacks” for extending their shelf life, including how to freeze them for longer storage. But I recently came across a tip that solved the one pesky problem I could never solve – freezer burn.

Freezing the berries on a baking sheet prior to placing them in a ziploc bag prevents them from clumping together, but I had never been able to avoid that coating of ice that always formed around the fruit.

Till now, courtesy of (who else?) Martha Stewart.

Here’s what you do: freeze the fruit in a single layer, like always (you’ll want to chop larger fruits, like strawberries and stone fruits, prior to freezing).

Then place the fruit in your ziploc bag – do not seal.

Lower the open bag into a bowl of water, submerging till just below the zipper. Seal the bag and take it out of the bowl. The pressure of the water magically pushes the air out of the bag, creating an airtight seal around the food that helps prevent ice build up.

Does it work? Well I certainly saw the vacuum-effect in action. But the real proof came 2 months later when I pulled the bag out of the freezer.

Here’s that same fruit:

Pristine, perfectly separated berries – without a speck of frost.

This kind of blew me away, and until I learn some kind of restraint at the farmer’s market, I’ll be using this tip on the regular.

Let me know if you try it!

More kitchen tips on Pinterest!

Related posts:

favor-“ette”: a pan tip favor-“ette”: a pot tip favor-“ette”: a little tip