Freezing Blueberries – What Effect Does Rinsing Have on Nutrient Composition?

Lay them out on a paper towel overnight so that the skins dry completely. This gives the benefit of keeping the frozen blueberries from sticking together without needing lots of freezer space to do a quick freeze individually on a sheet pan. Then bag in a freezer bag and freeze.

Note that whenever you freeze fruit, the liquid will burst the cell walls as it thaws, causing the resulting berry to be mushier. In my experience, frozen blueberries aren't good for eating alone. To bake with blueberries, thaw them by placing them in a mesh sieve or collander and running water over them until the water is clear off the bottom (no pigmentation from the skins, which may color your baked goods) and the berries are thawed. Dry the skins before using in baking.

Using these techniques I have not once had any of the 30 pounds of blueberries I froze this summer burst in the freezer and have successfully made many blueberry baked goods from the results.

When I was a kid, we picked tons of blueberries. We had a frame made out of 1" x 4" boards, 2'+ wide and about 4' to 5' long. At the far end, the frame was angled towards the middle (narrow side) with a space for the berries to drop into a bucket placed below (maybe 4" to 6"). On the bottom of the frame we had metal window screen stapled down (no cloth screen back then, not sure if cloth would work). Place a bucket at the one end (narrow tapered end), dump berries at the opposite end, raise the frame on the far end (away from the bucket) enough so that when you gently shake the frame, the berries start rolling towards the bucket. The screen will help hold the smaller leaves in place. Some you will have to raise the frame higher for, some you will have to remove leaves directly attached to the berries. Once the berries are in the bucket, dump the leaves left on the screen and start with the next batch. Always worked well and was very fast. Best with fresh picked berries, unwashed.