How to Freeze Fruit

Whether you purchased fruit in bulk, had some overly productive fruit trees, or simply bought one too many cartons of those peak-of-summer strawberries, you're going to need to do something with it. Rather than letting the fruit go to waste, you should freeze it and save it for later. Follow these easy steps to learn how to freeze fruit.

EditSteps

Wash your fruit. Use cold water to rinse your fruit of any dirt. Washing the fruit will keep you from consuming any pesticides that may be on the surface of the fruit. Pat your fruit dry with a paper towel.^[1]

Cut up the fruit. It is up to you as to whether or not you want to chop up smaller fruit like strawberries, but it generally recommended that you chop up larger fruit, as it will make it much easier to freeze. Cut your apples into slices, cube your melons, and quarter fruit like apricots.

Place your fruit on a baking sheet or wax paper on a plate. Make sure that your fruit is in one layer without any pieces overlapping. If they overlap while they freeze, your pieces might fuse together. Place the tray in the freezer.^[2]

Transfer the fruit to a container. Once your fruit has frozen completely, you can take it off the baking sheet and move it to a freezer container.
- You can also store frozen fruit in a resealable bag. Better yet, if you have a vacuum sealer, you can also use it to store your fruit. Vacuum sealers remove all air from your storage bag. If frozen food is exposed to the air, the food might develop a strange flavor.