We recently picked up a large bag of "dark sweet cherries" and wanted to put them up for future use.
The bag said it was 2 1/2 pounds, I measured them out and it was 8 cups exactly. I froze them so they'd be solid and hard and then I divided them in half and put 4 cups each in two bags...
...and sealed them up.
Because they were frozen solid first, they vacuumed nicely. I love the feeling of the bag when all the air is out, something satisfying about that, ha. I labeled them and popped them in the freezer.
Our plan at the farm is to have a large separate freezer from the one in the kitchen with the fridge and I told 2nd Man, I'll be dangerous with a vacuum sealer and a big empty freezer, ha. But we do enjoying cooking "out of our freezer", it is nice to have stuff available.
You will love having a separate freezer to fill with all sorts of delicious things. __anne in the kitchen
ReplyDeleteGood idea! You now have the main ingredient for two great future dishes.
ReplyDeleteCooking out of the freezer or from the home-canned goods pantry makes a meal come together quickly. And you don't have to go to the store as often.
It's wonderful to have a freezer to fill! From what I understand, vacuum sealing the bags helps protect them from freezer burn, which is a huge plus.
ReplyDeleteAfter sealing them up; you now have what looks like 'cherry bubble wrap' :)
ReplyDeleteVacuum sealing is soooo much fun. I don't know what I would do without mine.
I see a couple of wonderful desserts come later in the Fall / Winter.
Enjoy your day and have a wonderful upcoming weekend.
(I'm sure enjoying these cooler temperatures here along with rain showers every now and then.
Wait till you invest in either a dehydrator or a freeze dryer. Then you’ll be dangerous. lol
ReplyDeleteBe careful choosing the freezer if it's to be in your of the barns or sheds ... ours doesn't like to cool at all in the cold (4' last winter), though it is not a "garage ready" one, the dealer said it would be fine... but that was in Arizona where winter is not as cold as here in Washington state ... However we have a 2nd freezer, Beco brand I think, from Turkey that handles cold winter temps and hot summer temps and keeps it rightt on the dot of 0 degrees... so make sure you can exchange if needed... one of the benefits of buying from local small businesses.
ReplyDeleteGet an upright freezer--they don't need to be defrosted!
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