Freezing Apples and Pears

I have been freezing fruits and vegetables all Summer. Freezing or Canning is a great way of preserving foods and having wonderful organic foods without all the additives you have in bought goods. I prefer freezing to canning for a number of reasons. First, it is easier and takes less time than cleaning jars and maintaining the proper lids and canning equipment. Of course, I have all of the necessary equipment to can but presently have my jars stored in an out building. My Mother was a great homemaker and canned much more than I do. My health issues have forced me to find the easy way in doing everything.

Another reason I prefer freezing is foods are not as likely to spoil. In canning bacteria may continue to grow. With freezing the bacteria will not grow until thawed out. The downside of freezing is that foods may not be stored as long as they can if you can. Foods may become icy or freezer burned and start turning colors. While the food may still be safe to eat the taste may be affected. Today, I put up 5 quarts of pears and 5 quarts of apples. It was very simple.

Food Preparation: - Pears and Apples

Many people put their apples and pears up in different ways for different purposes. I do not do this. I like to be able to go to the freezer and take out apples and then turn them into whatever I want to use them for whether it is applesauce, apples for pies or cakes. Also, some people use anti-darkening agents and/or sugar. Again I do not. This is the process I follow.

1. Wash the fruit
2. Peel and core the fruit
3. Wash the fruit again
4. Slice the fruit
5. Blanche the fruit (By putting a small amount of water in a large cooker and cooking until it begins to get soft. You will need to keep an eye on it to keep it from scorching. Keep the fruit turned as needed.)
6. Cool completely
7. Get your containers ready -
I use freezer bags because I can lay the bags flat when they are freezing and can get more food into my freezers. Use thick ones that are made for freezing or double them if you don't have good thick bags. I can also label them with the food item (i.e., pears, apples, etc) and the date so I know when the food was put into the freezer. That way I can use the items that have been in the freezer the longest. I also try to keep the various items together on the same shelf so that it is easy for me to find what I am looking for.
If you do not want to use freezer bags you may use any type of container that you have. Some people even use canning jars but I rarely do this as I am afraid that a jar might break and mess my freezer up. I have never had this happen but I am very cautious using them. My Mom always used plastic freezer containers because they were reusable from year to year. I personally do not like them because I can't see into them. She put labels on them but she had to move things around a lot to find what she was looking for. I like to recycle plastic jars as long as I am not planning on heating them in the microwave. I make my own chicken, beef, and vegetable broth to season foods and they are very handy for that.
So literally, almost any container will do.

8. Fill your container leaving room for the food to expand. WORD OF CAUTION: Do not overfill your container. The food will expand on you and then you will have a busted bag to deal with. I have a special method I use to make this simple. I recycle Ice Cream Containers and put my bag down in it to fill. Any food spillage will go into the container and I have found that my bag stands up better as it helps hold the sides up. .
9. Dry bags and Label with Food item name and the date.
10. Place in freezer so that it will freeze flat then they can be placed on other shelves and will stack neatly.

We have three freezers. We have two upright freezers which is my favorite and one chest type freezer. The chest freezer is difficult because food items will get down in the bottom and never seem to come to the top. This Summer one of our children unplugged the chest type freezer and we had a terrible mess when it was discovered. The good thing is that we cleaned it out completely. I try to keep things organized by putting certain items in there. I may put large turkeys in there. Currently I have my onions that I put up this summer in there. I plan to put my sweet potatoes in there as well. I use one of my uprights for meats and things I want to get into more frequently. So that is the process that I used today.


You may also want to check out my other blog by looking at sharpshooter77.wordpress.com .

Have a great day and Be Blessed.