[ansley]

Can I cut fruit up and freeze it to put in the dc's lunch? Anything special I need to know? Will it thaw too fast or slow if I just put frozen chunks in their lunch? When I freeze, how do I keep the chunks from sticking together? I have a large watermelon ice cube in my freezer right now. I will probably make snow cones out of that but I can't send it to school with them. Any other ideas? TIA

 

[frugalfranny]

Depends on what you are freezing for the outcome. Always freeze things separated on a cookie sheet/ or flat surface.......then bag. Keeps them from becoming your ice cube chunk.

Years ago I 'melon balled' a bunch of watermelon and cantaloupe thinking I was 'beating the system' and would be eating it in December. YUK.......it tasted horrible......was mushy....won't do that again.

So IMO, some fruit freezes much better than others. Berries are great.

 

[monkeywrangler71]

Most fruit gets mushy when you freeze it, some is still good for cooking though. Berries are still good, my kids eat them still frozen, they are a bit mushier than fresh when thawed but still good. I've frozen pineapple chinks and it seems okay, but I just cook with it anyway.

Check the frozen food section at the grocery store and see what they sell for frozen fruit. That's usually a good indication of what's possible.

Just spread the chunks of berries on a cookie sheet and freeze until they are hard, then dump into a freezer bag. That will keep them from sticking together.

 

[monkeywrangler71]

That should say 'chunks or berries' not 'chunks of berries'

 

[vlmurray]

Sliced frozen bananas make a good snack but you have to eat them out of the freezer or else it'll be mush!

 

[ansley]

Well, I ate chunks of the frozen watermelon instead of ice cream when I wanted a cold treat. I thought it did great.

DD wants me to experiment with putting it in a smoothie. The only thing is I don't have a blender and have never made smoothies. I do have a hand blender. Maybe I'll try that.

 

[nuisance26]

~I'm eating previously frozen pie apples right now. I read about it somewhere here on FV last year when I was able to get apples really cheap. Basically you peel and slice your apples, coat them with your sugar, cinnamon and flour mixture and cook them on the stovetop for about 5 minutes. Cool and freeze. The ones I'm eating have been in the freezer over 6 months and in the fridge two days. They're not mush but I used firm apples to start with. Tastes just like the inside of a pie!
ETA: I've also made fruit salsa from frozen ingredients. Chop your strawberries into small pieces while still partially frozen, add a chopped fresh apple and some lemon juice, stir in some frozen whole berries and a few TB's of your favorite jam. Mine doesn't get mushy because it's used within 8 hours.
I also always make my cranberry relish from frozen cranberries and that keeps in the fridge for 3-4 days after being made. ~