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The end of June spells strawberry season! So when you have a glut of them, you are going to need to know some ways to preserve strawberries! Jams, syrups, strawberry chips, frozen, there are so many ways to use them, so lets dive right in…
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Strawberries are the taste of summer. For one beautiful month of the year (for most varieties), these succulent red jewels grace our gardens, and it’s a race to collect and enjoy them.
Keeping them fresh can be a challenge. Equally, eating 8lbs of strawberries WHILE they’re fresh is also not a though I relish, so what do we do with them?
Well, quite a lot, actually… here are some of my favourite ways to preserve strawberries this summer.
Ways to Preserve Strawberries – Freeze
One of the easiest and quickest ways to preserve strawberries for a later date is to freeze them. This is a great way to store them for using later, if you’re going to cook them, or use them for smoothies, since they are quite watery when thawed. This means they would not be best for fresh eating this way. (but then fresh strawberries are seasonal, so won’t last long anyway)
I find the best way to prep for freezing is to wash and hull the strawberries into a big glass baking dish. From there you can decide whether to chop them or leave them whole.
Can I Freeze Whole Strawberries?
You absolutely can freeze whole strawberries of any size, you don’t have to cut them up first. I like to freeze the smaller ones whole and chop the larger ones up, but it’s up to you.
To freeze them whole, lay them spread out on a baking tray and flash freeze for a couple of hours before placing into a large bag, so they don’t stick together as they freeze. They will obviously take longer to thaw the larger they are, and it depends how you plan to use them.
After prepping, since I’m not bothered if they stick together, I place them in a zip lock bag/ silicone bag and lay flat in the freezer. Laying them flat means they are easier to break apart since only one or two sides are stuck together, and they thaw more quickly in a single layer.
Ways to Preserve Strawberries – Canning/Preserving
This is probably one of the best ways to preserve a glut of strawberries. It uses a lot in one go, and makes them shelf stable for months.
There are looooots of recipes out there for jams, jellies, compotes, whole strawberries in syrup, so it really depends on your preference.
This year, I made a low sugar strawberry compote, since i’ve been making this from scratch to have with our Sourdough pancakes and our quick sourdough discard waffles. Having it on the shelf means one less step in a morning and I’m all for that!!
I cannot stress enough to think about what your family eats and drinks, because it would be so sad to make something that will not get used. But that is good homestead advice in general! (No more radishes in our garden, even thought they grow amazingly, because only I like them and I don’t like them THAT much!!)
Ways to preserve Strawberries – Dehydrating
Dehydrating strawberries is a great way to preserve them. It not only concentrates the flavour, it means they can be stored in a jar on the shelf for months!
There are a couple of ways of doing this. You can either blend the strawberries and make fruit leather, or slice the strawberries and dehydrate them as slices. Since no matter how hard I try, my children will not eat fruit leather, I decided to slice them.
The beauty of this method is that they can be used in a variety of ways. As a snack they can be an ingredient in homemade granola, on top of homemade yoghurt, or in trail mix. They can even be blended up into fruit powder to add to smoothies, sauces, salad dressings and more..
However, you don’t need to go out and buy a special machine if you are only going to do this once a year. You can do the same thing in your oven, if it goes low enough. You can dehydrate most food at 45-55c/113-135f. Even some air fryers have a dehydrate function on them so there are plenty of options.
Ways to preserve Strawberries – Use the waste!
We don’t like waste here on the homestead. Thankfully, There is a way to use up the scraps and tops of the strawberries to get the maximum out of the harvest.
Strawberry top syrup is a lovely way to take a waste product and stretch it.
Take all of the tops (that have previously been washed) and place in a saucepan with equal parts water and sugar, and bring to a boil. Simmer for around 30 mins until the liquid thickens slightly, and the strawberry parts lose all their colour. Strain into a jar or stopper bottle and keep in the fridge for adding to lemonade, sparkling water, or something a little stronger…
So there you have it, some of our favourite ways to preserve strawberries this year! Of course there are a million ways to use fresh strawberries, like baking up some scones, filling strawberry shortcakes with cream and strawberries, and some good ole fashioned strawberry ice cream, but that’s for another post.
I encourage you to think about how you use strawberries. Do you use sauces? Then make sauces and make them shelf stable. Do you use them in smoothies most? Then freeze them and add a nice ice cream texture to your smoothies! Do you eat them in breakfast cereal? then dehydrate them and add them that way. There’s always a way to preserve the harvest to enjoy long after the fresh strawberries have stopped producing.
What way do you like to preserve your bounty? Let me know in the comments. Sharing is caring, so don’t forget to share this post. Thanks friends x
Other posts you might enjoy:
Strawberry Sourdough Discard Scones
How to Make Pancakes with Sourdough Discard – plus bonus compote recipe
