Fresh Berries All Year Long

Fresh Berries All Year Long

There is nothing like the taste of fresh, locally grown berries – red, blue or black – to make you reminisce about lazy summer days.  Trouble is, berry season is way too short. You can easily extend the season by using that technological wonder, the freezer.  Here are three easy ways to keep summer going all year:

Freezer Bag Berries:
Using serving size zip-lock bags, fill bags with fruit, zip up, lay flat on a cookie sheet or baking dish and freeze.  Take out the sheet/dish and store frozen bags in freezer.  Use in meals, smoothies or over ice cream!

Quick Syrup Berries:
Slice and then smash berries. Add ½ cup of sugar to each quart of berries.  Stir until sugar dissolves.  Spoon into zip-lock bags and freeze flat OR into freezer containers and then freeze. Yummy on pancakes, ice cream, yogurt or spoonfuls out of the container.

Sugar-ry Berries:
Pour the berries into a freezable container. Toss on ½ cup of sugar and mix.  Freeze.  These whole berries are great for making a summer pie in the middle of a snowstorm – lets you smile while ignoring the snow shovel!