Seven years ago we planted 4 raspberry bushes in our backyard and over the years, those bushes have given us a plentiful harvest every year. For us personally, we found that our raspberries grow the best in an area in our backyard that gets partial shade. They’re not planted out in full sun and if you want to keep your bushes healthy, you need to remember to prune them & fertilize them every Fall.
Our raspberries are always ready to harvest between the middle and the end of July. We get a lot of berries off our bushes and I always end up freezing some for later use. Here’s how I do it.
How to Properly Freeze Raspberries
fresh raspberries
colander
water
paper towels
silicone non-stick baking mat
flat baking sheet
glass measuring cup
freezer storage bags or freezer containers
freezer labels
I place all of them into a colander and rinse them under cool tap water for several minutes. I will pick out any debris or damaged berries. Shake off as much water as possible. Use paper towels to blot off as much water & moisture that you can.
Line a baking sheet with a non-stick silicone baking mat (or use waxed paper sheets). Lay berries out onto the sheet in a single layer, leaving 1/2″ to 3/4″ of space between them. Place the baking sheet into the freezer and let the berries freeze until solid. This typically takes 3-5 hours for me.
Remove from freezer. I place my frozen berries into a 2-cup glass measuring cup. Pour 2 cups of frozen berries into your freezer storage bag, purge out the air and seal. I then label my bags.
Notes: The majority of the recipes that I use raspberries in call for 2-cups, hence why I freeze the majority of them in 2-cup portions in pint or quart-sized freezer bags. I will also do up 2-3 packages of berries in a larger 4-cup portion for bigger-sized recipes.
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I try to freeze all the fresh berries that re available in season. It is hard for me to lay them out on a cookie sheet and freeze them because there is not enough room in my freezer. But I will put them in layers on paper towels and then take them out to freeze in freezer bags.
We dont have bushes currently, but this is the same method I use on blackberries and strawberries. It is nice to have a taste of summer anytime you wish! I think storing them in portion sizes is the way to go, you dont need to have a ton out. Another great thing I like to freeze is grapes- I like using them as ‘ice cubes’ and they make the easiest little popsickles you can pop in your mouth!
Freezing any kind of soft fruit in a single layer on a cookie sheet is always a good way to go. I do blueberries that way since they’re my favorite.
I do strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and cherries this way. Sometimes I will syrup pack a few of the containers, depending on how I plan on using them.
I’ve never had raspberry bushes but it sounds like a great investment. The houses I lived at in Colorado had zero shade so not sure I could have, but good tips to remember for next time. I like them natural with no sugar and they really dress up desserts too.
Some people can grow them in full sun. For some reason they didn’t do well in full sun for me. So, our patch is now in a partial shady area…mostly sun with just 2-3 hours of shade per day.I always recommend that people get 2-3 bushes to start. It’s important to prune them once a year and to fertilize them twice a year with a fertilizer made for berry bushes. If birds attack your berries, you can buy a berry bush net that you toss over the bushes and that will keep the birds & other animals from devouring your berries.
We also have several raspberry Bushes in our yard. I would love to freeze them also. Ours seem to get eaten up by bugs so I have to keep an eye on them. Then thanks to your Post I will be able to Freeze them. My Hubby loves Raspberries.
We love them too! I also make up a few syrup-packed packages of frozen raspberries too.
My raspberry bushes produce 2x a summer – once in early July for a small crop and then again in mid to late August. Always get a ton at that time and I freeze them in a very similar way to yours and then use them all winter long. I do the same for blackberries which grow wild and abundantly.