If you’re not stocking up on inexpensive labels for freezer containers and then freezing fruit, you’re wasting a wonderful opportunity to enjoy sunshine in physical form well into the off season. Nothing beats the tangy sweetness of a clementine or orange slice in December, perfectly preserved at its peak of freshness, or a crisp apple in a savory apple pie on a cold day. And let’s not even get into enjoying the custardy goodness of a cherimoya, easily the tastiest and most addictive of fruits, at any time of the year.
All it takes is the fruit, some freezer-safe containers, bags, or wrap, and some good write on freezer labels to mark what you’ve frozen and when.
One good thing about living in the modern age is that we can usually find fruit and vegetables in our grocery stores whatever the time of year. Hothouse operations and importation from foreign countries makes it easy to find peaches in January and cherimoyas in the spring. But let’s face it: the prices are outrageous, the carbon footprint to get them to you is large, and who knows if the quality and growing standards in South America are up to par with our country’s? So even if you don’t grow your own fruits, you can stock up, buying some freezer food labels for identification purposes, then freezing your fruit when it’s at its freshest and least expensive. Sure, you can always make jams or jellies, but processing them for freezing is a lot quicker and easier, and freezer labels are cheaper than jars and lids!
We recommend chopping, dicing, or slicing larger fruits, while leaving smaller ones, like grapes or berries, intact. Clean them thoroughly and pat dry. Place the individual pieces or small fruits on cookie sheets and freeze them that way. Later, you can put them in plastic bags or containers while they’re still frozen solid. This keeps the pieces from freezing together and helps them retain their freshness longer.
As long as you freeze them quickly, frozen fruits are as nutrient-rich as any you’ve kept in a fruit bowl or left in the refrigerator. Most fruits, including stone fruits, apples, pears, and the like, can be safely frozen for 12 months, which is easy enough to note on your freezer bag stickers. Citrus fruit—oranges, blood oranges, kumquats, tangerines, grapefruit, and their relatives—last for three months frozen. So be sure you buy freezer labels from us to label your packages, and always date them; otherwise, your frozen fruits may languish longer than they should and may not be as yummy as they might have been when you finally pull them out to eat.
Freezer labels to the rescue once again!
