Can You Freeze Raspberries?

Summertime is the best time for enjoying sweet, delicious raspberries. But raspberries tend to go sour really quickly, so what do you do if you can’t eat them all before they go bad? 

Can you freeze raspberries? Yes, you can freeze raspberries. In fact, raspberries can stay fresh in the freezer for up to one year, and there are all kinds of delicious recipes that allow you to use frozen raspberries! 

In this blog post, we’ll show you how to freeze your raspberries and give you some tips on how to use them later. Let’s get started!

How To Freeze Raspberries 

The key to freezing raspberries is making sure that individual raspberries are fresh and dry before freezing them and then freezing each berry separately first to prevent them from sticking to one another in the freezer.

Here’s the best way to freeze fresh raspberries!

1. Investigate The Berries 

The first step is to go through the berries and take a look at each one to get rid of any that have become mushy or discolored.

These are signs that the berries have gone bad, and if you leave them with the other berries, the whole batch may go bad quicker. 

2. Wash & Dry 

Use a colander to rinse the berries a few times using cold water while mixing them gently to remove any dirt on the surface. Then, gently shake the colander to remove the excess water, and leave the berries to dry for about 15 minutes. 

You can also pat the berries with a paper towel to dry them. They will need to be completely dry before you place them in the freezer, or they may suffer from freezer burn.

3. Freeze The Berries Individually 

Line a baking tray with non-stick parchment paper, and spread the berries out on the tray. Make sure that they are not sticking to one another, or they may become permanently stuck together when they are frozen. 

Then, place the entire tray inside your freezer for about 6 hours or overnight. This step will make sure that each raspberry is frozen individually and won’t stick together in a container. 

4. Transfer To A Freezer-Safe Container 

When each berry is completely frozen, you can transfer the entire thing to a freezer-safe container or Ziploc bag to freeze. 

If you have a vacuum seal bag, you can also use it to freeze your raspberries. The vacuum will remove any excess air inside the bag, which will keep the raspberries fresh for longer. 

Make sure to add a label to the container with the use-by date so that you can use them up when they still taste good. You can use it within 12 months. 

How To Freeze Raspberries With Sugar 

Another way to freeze raspberries is to add sugar to the container. The sugar will soak up the sugar from the juice to create a jam-like syrup that will also protect the raspberries from going bad. 

If you don’t love the tartness of raspberries, then freezing them with sugar can be quite delicious as well. The recommended ratio is half a cup of sugar for every pound of raspberries that you have.

Here is the step-by-step guide:

1. Inspect and discard the berries that have gone mushy, and wash and dry the raspberries (similar to above). 
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the raspberries with the sugar and mix well to coat every berry with sugar, but make sure that you don’t crush the berries in the process. The sugar will draw out the moisture in the berries and dissolve in that moisture. 
3. Transfer to an airtight container and label it with the date of freezing or the use-by date.
4. Use within 12 months. 

How To Freeze Raspberries With Syrup 

Another way to add flavor to your raspberries and minimize their tartness is to freeze them in sugar syrup. 

Although this method will add flavors, one disadvantage is that the syrup is a liquid, so it will form blocks of raspberry syrup that you won’t be able to separate. 

That’s why it’s best to freeze the raspberry syrup in single portions that can be easily separated when needed.

If you have an ice cube tray that has a lid, you can also use it to make individual raspberry syrup ice cubes, which are perfect for smoothies and cocktails. 

How Long Do Frozen Raspberries Last?

Frozen raspberries can last for a year inside your freezer. After that, they won’t go bad, but you may find that the taste may be lost or the berries may have acquired a distinct freezer smell that you won’t really enjoy in your food! 

If you are freezing your raspberries in a vacuum seal bag, the berries may stay fresh for longer, around 18 months. The vacuum seal bag will prevent air from getting inside the container, which can prevent freezer burn. 

That’s why it’s important to label your frozen raspberries container so that you don’t forget about them and don’t accidentally consume frozen berries that have gone bad. 

How Long Do Raspberries Last? 

Unfortunately, both fresh and defrosted raspberries go bad really quickly, even when they are stored in the refrigerator. You will need to use them within three days because they will go bad in the fridge when left for too long. 

You can easily tell if the raspberries have gone bad with your senses. The colors will change, the smell will become quite sour, and the berries will become quite mushy.

If you see mold in the container, the berries are definitely not safe to consume anymore. 

How To Use Frozen Raspberries 

You can use frozen raspberries in so many recipes without even thawing them out! You can make raspberry slushies, frozen yogurt, sorbet, smoothies, mousse, and even pudding with frozen raspberries without thawing them.

In fact, these cold desserts will even taste better when you make them with frozen raspberries!

Even in baked goods, you can also use frozen raspberries without defrosting them. Defrosting the berries may make them mushier, which can interfere with the recipe’s dry ingredients versus wet ingredients ratio. 

If you are making muffins and scones, the baking time is long enough that you can safely use frozen raspberries when mixing the recipe without accidentally biting into a cold raspberry in a baked muffin. 

However, if you are making things that have a shorter cooking time, like pancakes and waffles, you will have to thaw out the raspberries first.

The cooking time of pancakes won’t be long enough to thaw the raspberries and cook them at the same time. 

To thaw the raspberries, measure exactly how much you need for the recipe, and transfer the needed amount to the refrigerator for a few hours before cooking. 

You don’t need to thaw out the entire container of frozen raspberries — since the raspberries are not sticking to each other, it is quite convenient to just use what you need. 

If you find that the raspberries are a bit mushy, then the excess moisture in the berries may throw off the dry-to-wet ratio in your recipe.

Add a tablespoon of cornstarch to absorb the excess moisture and maintain the right balance for your recipe. 

Other Ways To Preserve Raspberries 

Before freezers existed, people still found genius ways to preserve fresh berries for longer than a week.

If you don’t want to freeze your raspberries, here are some other ways that you can make them last longer! 

Dehydrate Raspberries 

Dehydrating raspberries is also a great way to preserve the flavors for longer. Dehydrated raspberries can add a delicious flavor to baked goods, and the process of dehydrating raspberries is not much different from freezing them. 

Here’s how to do it:

1. Preheat your oven to 150°F. 
2. Inspect and discard any berries that are mushy or have discolored areas, then wash and dry them to get them ready for dehydration. 
3. Transfer the washed and dried berries to a lined baking sheet. 
4. Bake for 6-8 hours until all of the moisture has evaporated from the berries. You can check the dryness by pressing gently on the berry. 
   • If the berries are still plump, then there is probably still moisture left.
5. Once the berries are dehydrated, let them cool down to room temperature. Then, transfer them to an airtight container. The dry berries will stay fresh for up to a year. 
   • If you see moisture that forms on the container, it means that there is still moisture in your berries. Transfer the berries back to a baking tray and continue baking for a few more hours until they are completely dry. 

Tips For Freezing Raspberries 

If you are freezing your raspberries, make sure to use the following tips for the best results!

1. Make Sure That The Raspberries Are Dry 

Moisture is definitely the enemy of any fresh produce. The moisture can make fresh fruits go bad faster and cause them to lose flavor. 

If you try to freeze berries that are still wet, there’s a higher chance that they will stick together. When you try to defrost them, the berries have a high chance of becoming mushier as well. 

If there is any moisture left on the raspberries, this may cause them to lose a bit of their taste and become much softer after defrosting. Let them air dry on a towel, then shake them up a bit to ensure any upright berries aren’t storing water.

That’s why it’s very important that you dry the berries before freezing them. After washing, it’s best to leave them to air dry in a colander and then pat each one down with a paper towel to get rid of any moisture on the surface. 

2. Use An Airtight Container 

There’s a risk of freezer burn any time you freeze anything in the freezer.

Freezer burn can happen when your food is exposed to too much air. The moisture in the air will form ice crystals on the surface of the food and dry out other parts. 

That’s why it’s important to use an airtight container when you freeze your raspberries. Better yet, you can use a vacuum seal bag to remove any excess air inside the bag before freezing them. 

Using the right container can prevent any moisture from getting inside, which will keep your berries fresh for longer. 

3. Thawed Raspberries Will Become Soft

Unfortunately, even if you follow all of these steps correctly, if you thaw out your raspberries before cooking, you’ll find that the texture is significantly softer than fresh berries. 

This is quite inevitable since the freezing process will change the form of the moisture inside the berries.

When you defrost the berries, the moisture won’t be completely restored to the same as before freezing, so the texture just won’t be the same. 

Fortunately, you can bake with frozen raspberries without thawing them. This is the best way to achieve the best texture when baking and cooking with frozen raspberries, and it’s also much faster as well!

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