How to Freeze Berries Without Plastic

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It’s BERRY SEASON! Whether you have blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, tayberries, mulberries, gooseberries, or any other berries – it’s a great time of the year! Plus, with all the berries out there it’s nearly impossible to eat them all and I love having blueberries for smoothies or pancakes in the dead of winter.

Taking advantage of berries being in season is important in reducing our food miles and eating locally – plus they are at their freshest and tastiest this way! Unfortunately, a surplus of berries can easily get out of hand and turn into food waste.

I think we’ve all been in that situation where we get a whole flat of raspberries or come home with 5 gallons of blueberries from a u-pick spot with grand plans for snacking and recipes. Only to have half of the berries grow moldy on our counter because we don’t get to them in time. Trust me, it’s heartbreaking.

Processing and preserving food is instrumental in reducing food waste. And food waste can actually have a huge environmental impact!

I love canning and drying food but the easiest way to preserve berries is to freeze them.

While it is really easy to freeze berries in plastic bags, each of those bags creates waste that will outlive us all. Plus, it’s always a good idea to store food away from plastic.

Berries are a very tender and fragile crop so they are nearly impossible to find berries in a typical supermarket without plastic. Even at some farmers markets, berries are packaged in plastic for ease and protection from damage. It’s super hard to get away from the plastic!

Buying Berries Without Plastic

1. Buy a cardboard flat from the farmers market. You only end up with recyclable or compostable cardboard and some vendors even take back the boxes.
2. Pick it yourself. Just 45 minutes outside the city I have found a ton of u-pick places. Plan to be there for several hours to make the trip worth it. You typically pick the berries into a bucket and pay by weight and then you can transfer them to your own containers (or bring a bucket yourself).
3. Grow it yourself! I couldn’t possibly grow enough strawberries to have enough to do this but we do get a fair amount of raspberries and blueberries out of just a few square feet of space. Blueberries are amazing to grow because they are long lasting perennial shrubs that produce very well and have beautiful foliage in autumn. Just know that you may have some competition with birds who love your blueberries just as much as you!

The key to processing berries successfully is to not wait – at all! Don’t let the flat of strawberries go moldy on your counter. Plan to fit in a couple hours of processing on the day that you get your berries. Bonus: you can stuff yourself with berries while doing it!

Freezing Without Plastic

Step 1. Wash and prepare: Wash all berries in cool water and place in a strainer or lightly dry with a kitchen towel. Its best to wash under running water but in order to not waste so much water, I like to set up a little grey water system by placing a bowl in the sink to catch the water and then take it outside and empty it on the plants.

Step 2. Cut: Remove strawberry tops with a knife and cut off and compost any damaged spots. Slice large strawberries and leave blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and other small berries whole.

Step 3. Freeze flat: Arrange the berries on a baking sheet in a single layer and put in the freezer. You can also lay them on a sheet of parchment paper or a silicone mat to keep them from sticking to the baking sheet.

Step 4: Store: Once berries are completely frozen, store them in airtight containers. I love using wide mouth mason jars for their versatility and stackability. If you want something that is not breakable, try storing frozen berries in large stainless steel containers. I have a great one that can hold over a gallon of berries and it’s really convenient if you want to reduce the number of jars you have. You can just pop it open and scoop berries from it super easily.

You will undoubtedly love all the hard work you did when you are craving blueberry muffins in the middle of winter. There is something that is so energizing about preserving a ton of food during the super productive summer months and then relaxing and enjoying the fruits of your labor in the winter.

My favorite way to use up fresh berries during the season is to make pound cake and whipped cream and then pile mountains of berries on top. What’s your favorite berry recipe?