Here in northern Utah we’re lucky to get large yields of cherries in late June & early July! While there’s no end to what you can do with fresh cherries – cobbler being my favorite! – freezing cherries is a wonderful use for these short-seasoned juicy treats!
Freezing cherries will let you taste that sweetness even in January. Plus, you can use these for your shakes & smoothies.
Vickie, our Housewares manager, and Jean from Pettingill’s Fruit Farm, got together to show me how to freeze my own cherries. Take a look!
You’ll need:
- Cherry pitter
- Long cookie sheet with sides or jelly roll pan, that fits in your freezer
- Short plastic drink cups or tupperware
- Large, flat spatula
- Ziploc® freezer bags
Directions: How to Freeze Cherries
- Wash the cherries and remove their stems. Tip: use a colander!
- Pit the cherries. Jean & Vickie like using a handheld cherry pitter and collecting the pits in an extra jar or measuring cup.
- Place the pitted cherries on the cookie sheet.
- Secret Tip: Double decker your cherries! Place short drink cups or tupperware on the cookie sheet and place it in the freezer. Then, fill another cookie sheet with cherries and place it on top of the cups to freeze twice as many cherries!
- Let the cherries freeze overnight.
A chest freezer is GREAT for freezing cherries…
- The next day, take a spatula and release the bottoms of the cherries from the cookie sheet.
- Gather the cherries and place them in freezer Ziploc bags. Quart, gallon – your choice!
Questions we get asked about Freezing Cherries
Q: Is it messy?
YES! Wear surgical gloves so it doesn’t stain your hands, and wear a work shirt.
Pitting cherries is messy business! Wear gloves.
Q: Why not freeze them in bags from the get-go?
By freezing them individually first, they don’t get stuck to each other. Then after you put them in the bag, they break apart easily.
Q: What can you do with frozen cherries?
Vickie LOVES to make smoothies with frozen cherries. YUM!
Eat these fresh-picked as a treat when the snow’s flying in January, just like you were eating it fresh in July!!
Do you have more questions for us? Leave a comment & let us know!
If you liked this, you will LOVE our other frozen food storage tips! Make sure you check out How to Freeze Beets and How to Freeze Corn.
Looking for more food preserving, dehydrating, or canning supplies? Shop our canning supplies on the online store!
