Hello I am Kathy Savoie, Extension Educator with the University of
Maine Cooperative Extension.
Freezing fruit is a great way to take advantage of produce when in
season and abundant so that you can use it throughout the year right
from your own freezer.
Freezing is a simple and easy food preservation method. When freezing
foods remember to choose packaging designed specifically for freezer
storage. Those include plastic heavyweight freezer bags, rigid freezer
cartons, freezer jars, heavy-duty freezer foil, freezer paper, plastic
freezer wrap or vacuum-sealed pouches. The no list of items not to use
for freezing foods include, plastic bread wrappers, cottage cheese or
yogurt containers, regular weight foil, plastic bags or plastic wraps
that do not indicate they are freezer grade.
So, whether you get your rhubarb from local farmers market, farm
stand, your backyard garden or even your neighbors back yard follow
this simple 3 step process to getting rhubarb in your freezer to use
year round in your favorite rhubarb recipes.
Once harvested, you are ready to get started with your rhubarb, with a
clean work surface, clean hands that are washed often, and clean
produce you will be in the freezer in a snap.
The first step is to remove the leaves from the rhubarb plant since
they are poisonous, and also trim the ends and then wash your produce.
With your clean produce you simply need to cut the rhubarb into the
sizes that you will be using in your rhubarb recipes later on, so plan
ahead and think about if you are doing pies quick breads, muffins or
sauces. A quarter inch to a half-inch is the usual size for rhubarb to
be sliced into for freezing.
Step 3 in freezing the rhubarb involves packing your prepared rhubarb
into a freezer grade container. You can either pack the sliced rhubarb
as is into a freezer grade container or if you want to get off as much
water as possible you can use a salad spinner to spin that rhubarb and
make it really dry which will allow it to be individually frozen.
Another method to individually freeze rhubarb is to use the tray
method where you put your sliced rhubarb on a cookie sheet and put it
in the freezer that way you have individual pieces of rhubarb to use
later on.
Label and date your freezer grade bag so that you can remember to use
it within one year, which is the recommended amount of time for
freezer storage of rhubarb.
Packing your freezer grade bag with rhubarb is as simple as putting
the rhubarb in that freezer grad container and filling it to
two-thirds full and then remembering to press out as much air as
possible to create a high quality frozen product, getting a nice tight
seal on that and itâ€™s ready to head into the freezer. Remember to have
your freezer set at zero degrees farenheight for optimum freezeing
quality.
Now that youâ€™ve got your rhubarb in the freezer it is ready to use
year round in some of your favorite recipes. Including pies, muffins,
and quick breads.
To use frozen rhubarb in your recipes, simply use the frozen amount in
the same amount that it calls for in your recipe. There is no need to
defrost the rhubarb ahead of time.
And for more information on food preservation remember that the
University of Maine Cooperative Extension is your go to place for all
sorts of food preservation resources including publications from our
Letâ€™s Preserve series, books including the new USDA complete guide to
home canning as well as online resources to find a hands on food
preservation workshop near you. Get connected.