Q&A for How to Freeze Strawberries

No, strawberries are fine frozen as they are.

Yes. They are great as a topping for ice cream or for adding to smoothies.

They will be great for making jam. Add some sugar and ascorbic acid to them prior to freezing.

Put the berries on a tray or in a bowl and freeze them before vacuum-sealing to prevent them being squashed. This simple procedure can be done when vacuum-sealing just about anything, from fruits and vegetables to meat.

A few hours to overnight, depending on your freezer.

I do this all the time with various fruits and yogurt, to use for smoothies. You always want to use your freshly-frozen fruits as soon as you are able to in order to get the best flavor and color. It also depends upon the type of freezer you have. Frost-free freezers tend to pull fluid from frozen ingredients, which definitely affects their flavors. You can check with the company that made your freezer for specifics on that. You may have to do some experimenting with your freezer in regard to the length of time frozen fruit tastes best. I would eat them within a couple of months.

You cannot keep the strawberries for years. The longest the strawberries can go is 6 months.

Remove the stems, halve or slice them if you like, then freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet until solid. Store in an airtight container or ziptop freezer bag. You could also bring fresh strawberries on a plane as long as your flight isn't international.

Yes, you can. Letting them cool on the counter for an hour or so and then cooling further in the refrigerator is definitely better than putting hot food in the freezer.

If you grow the strawberries yourself, or they are from a local grower who does not spray his berries or have large amounts of dust and dirt in the air, it is not necessary to wash the berries. They retain their flavor better. I have been doing this for years with good results.

Yes, you can.

Theoretically you could do that, but bear in mind when frozen strawberries are thawed they will be much softer than fresh, sometimes even mushy. They will be much easier to hull (take the stems off) and slice before freezing.

You can certainly cook, cool and freeze strawberries and use them in smoothies, but I think you'll find that just the freezing and thawing process will soften the berries more than enough for your blender to make smoothies. I think you'll find they taste fresher, too.

The FDA recommends setting your freezer at 0 degrees Fahrenheit, which is -18 degrees Celsius.

Yes, however you will not get the juice from the strawberries as you would get with sugar.