Freezing Produce

For those of us who do not live in a climate where fresh fruits and vegetables grow year round, we often pay out the nose for fresh produce. I have found that by freezing produce when it goes on sale, I save on fruits and vegetables and my family can still eat healthy food all year long.

My favorite things to freeze include bell peppers, onions, celery, and fresh fruit.

Tips on freezing. For fresh fruit, I simply wash it and cut it. I think the key is to dry off the fruit to remove as much excess moisture from the washing as possible. Then, I like to put a piece of waxed paper down on a cookie sheet and freeze the pieces of fruit individually. Once the fruit is frozen, I take it off of the cookie sheet and store it in a ziplock bag. This way your fruit isn't one big ball of mush when you want to use it. Pineapple, berries, mangoes, bananas, and grapes freeze well.

I am not as picky about my vegetables, so I don't freeze them individually first. Onions, green peppers, and celery freeze beautifully. I stock up on those when they go on sale, wash them, chop them, and freeze them. Then, when I need a quick meal, I can toss in a few. I suppose carrots, green beans, broccoli and corn would freeze well since those are sold in the frozen vegetable section.


Remember to date and label everything that you freeze. Rotate through the oldest produce first to avoid freezer burn. Let me know what fruits and vegetables you like to freeze.