Can You Freeze Gooseberries? Method for Freezing
Gooseberry is a citrus fruit and is widely used for its beneficial and healing properties. Gooseberries have an extremely low-fat content and are a great energy source. They provide all the ample nutrients necessary for the vital functioning of the body. Here’s how you can freeze gooseberries properly.
Gooseberries are recently shown to have an anticancer effect on the human body. This discovery holds great potential as it may further increase the importance of this fruit. So, if you have an idea of a recipe that you wish to try with gooseberries, learn these steps on freezing them at home.
You can use both frozen and fresh gooseberries in most recipes. It is the only fruit that won’t show a drastic change in its texture and flavor on freezing. What makes these berries an ideal fruit is that you can store them for a long time.
How to Freeze Gooseberries Effectively?
While freezing gooseberries, they are frozen on a tray first and then transferred to a more permanent storage option like a bag or container. One must always use fully ripe berries because they are not undergoing any further enzymatic process. Thus, they freeze well and for a long time.
Are you wondering how to freeze gooseberries without blanching them first in the process? Well, you can certainly do that! Follow these steps in the same fashion to get the best results on freezing.
1. Wash the gooseberries thoroughly and then dry them using a kitchen towel. You can use cold water for this process and a colander as well. Put the colander in a bowl containing cold water and dip the gooseberries in it. Let them stay put for a while then remove them and gently press them with kitchen towels.
2. Line the berries on a baking tray and freeze them for 3 hours. After the time has elapsed, remove the gooseberries from the freezer. Shift the gooseberries to freezer bags or other containers suitable for the freezer environment. Give them a brisk shake so that they don’t stick to each other.
3. Add labels to these bags and drop them in the freezer. That marks the end of the steps to freeze gooseberries easily.
How to Freeze Gooseberries with Sugar?
If you have a specific amount of berries in your kitchen and wish to freeze them by coating them in sugar, you can do that! Some recipes like gooseberry jam demand sugar-coated berries, you can use this method for such times.
First, crush your gooseberries and roll them in sugar nicely. Then, fill this mixture in ice cube trays and freeze the ice cubes. Remove the ice cubes once they solidify and shift them to airtight bags for further freeze.
What are some easy gooseberry recipes to try at home?
Frozen gooseberries can be used in multiple recipes. Always choose fully ripe berries if freezing for pie because they will give you the sweetest flavors. Pies are always best when they are sweet. Other recipes that you can give a try are- gooseberry jams, smoothies, crumbles, tarts, fools, sauces, and curries.
Do Gooseberries Freeze Properly in the Freezer?
Gooseberries freeze remarkably in the freezer. Unlike other fruits, gooseberries can stay in the freezer for as long as two years. Therefore, do not waste any extra portion of them and freeze them properly.
If you leave them in the form of ice cubes they can stay fresh for one year. But, if you freeze them whole they can stay fresh for entire two years! Thus, it is a crazy hack to save your berries for more than a year.
How to Thaw Frozen Gooseberries?
Thawing frozen gooseberries are so easy that it doesn’t even need much time. For some recipes, mostly desserts like smoothies and jams, you can use frozen gooseberries directly. But, if you want to use them in other recipes then you can follow these steps.
Firstly, you can thaw the required number of berries overnight in the fridge. By morning, they will regain their original texture and taste. However, in moments of emergency, you can take a bowl of cold water and drop frozen gooseberries into it. Let them thaw for some hours and you will be good to go.
Do not pop your frozen gooseberries into an oven or hot water, because you will get an exploded version of them!
Tips for Freezing and Information on Gooseberries
You can freeze gooseberry in a variety of ways and here are some tips that will help you in the process.
1. Flash-freezing gooseberries is the best way to prevent them from adhering to each other.
2. When freezing gooseberries, do not forget to squeeze out excess air from the bag. Also, add labels to the bag or container.
3. Gooseberries belong to the category of fruits that do withstand cold temperatures for high time. Thus, freeze them in separate portion-sized bags, so that you can thaw the exact amount that you would need.
4. Unlike other fruits, gooseberries can be refrozen. Thus, if you accidentally thaw extra of them then you can place them in a separate bag and freeze them again. But, the texture will be damaged permanently.
5. After you thaw gooseberries, you should cook them in your recipe within a gap of two days only. Do not use them after that or else they will spoil your recipe.
6. Besides freezing raw gooseberries, you can also freeze the cooked ones! Cool your recipe entirely, then bag it up in different bags and freeze it for a year.
Now you have answers on how to freeze gooseberries appropriately in the kitchen, right? Just remember that this magical berry is rich in several nutrients and freezes extremely well in the freezer. Thus, you can either store them for next season or relish them across the year. Or, you can prepare recipes as per your liking. Happy Gooseberries to Everyone!