How to Freeze Strawberries in Syrup UK

There are many ways to freeze strawberries — as whole fruits, chopped up pieces, in sugar, in syrup, as juice, as a puree, and more. Today, I’m going to talk you through how to freeze strawberries in syrup — step-by-step. 

I’m throwing a few really clever tips and hacks in, too! 

Let’s get to it. 

How to Freeze Strawberries in Syrup

There are a few steps to freezing strawberries, no matter how you choose to do it. Syrup-freezing strawberries are no exception. 

You will need to start by making the syrup, and you will also need to allow that syrup time to cool down. You can do each stage in sections, doing other things in between, of course; but it’s not a quick process. You can’t have it over and done with in just a few minutes. 

You’ll want this article for that: How to Freeze Strawberries.

Freezing Strawberries in Syrup: Step-By-Step Guide

You will want to start by making sure you have all the things you’ll need to successfully freeze your strawberries in syrup. 

Here are a few things you are likely to need: 

• Strawberries (obviously!)
• Caster sugar
• Water
• Measuring jug/cups
• Saucepan
• Wooden spoon
• Heat (stove)
• Rigid, airtight container(s) with lid
• Pen/labels
• Parchment paper/freezer bag/wax paper 

Image by inmafe3 from Pixabay

Step One: Create the Syrup

You will want to create a ‘simple syrup’, which is a syrup made out of two simple ingredients: sugar and water. 

You will need to ensure that you’re creating enough syrup to cover all of your fresh, juicy strawberries.

BerryWorld has this recommendation: 

“For every 250g strawberries that you are freezing, put 150g caster sugar and 50ml water in a saucepan.”

BerryWorld

With the water and caster sugar in a saucepan, you will need to bring the mixture to a boil, stirring as you go. 

Let the mixture simmer, continually stirring, until all of the sugar has dissolved and the liquid has turned from cloudy to clear. 

Step Two: Cooling the Syrup

You will need to give your syrup enough time to cool down before you do anything with it. Otherwise, the strawberries will start cooking when you pour the hot mixture over them, and you probably don’t want that. 

Once the sugar has completely dissolved and the simple has turned clear, take it away from the heat and let it sit. It will need to cool down to room temperature first. 

Step Three: Wash the Strawberries

While you’re waiting for your syrup to cool down, you can prepare the strawberries.

Start by washing the fruits, but be gentle with them. They only need a quick rinse; not a thorough scrub. You can put the berries in a colander or sieve and then run them under cold water. 

Photo by Kelly | Pexels

Once they’re washed, let them drain in the sieve or colander for a moment. Ideally, you will want to let as much of the water run off as possible. 

Any water that is eft on the strawberries when it is time to put them into the container for freezing, should be patted dry with kitchen towel or paper towel.

Again: be sure to be gentle! 

Step Four: Cut the Strawberries

Although you can freeze strawberries whole, it is perhaps better to cut them up before adding them to the containers and then pouring the simple syrup on top. They will freeze quicker and better, in pieces. 

You should remove the greenery from your strawberries, a process known as hulling. 

Photo by Los Muertos Crew | Pexels

Once hulled, cut the strawberries into halves, or slices, or diced pieces, or whatever works for you. You will need to take into consideration what you plan to do with the strawberries frozen in syrup when it’s time to take them out of the freezer. 

This is something I talk about more in: Can You Freeze Strawberries?

Step Five: Get Your Freezer-Safe Containers Ready

Make sure your rigid, airtight containers are clean, dry, and ready to be used. 

Crumbs, moisture and other things can affect the seal on airtight containers, so make sure they have been wiped clean and then dried properly. 

Place your strawberries into the containers, filling them up but still leaving a bit of space at the top. 

When things are frozen, they expand. If you do not leave enough space, commonly referred to in the cooking world as headspace, your container can break, split or shatter. If this happens, anything inside it will likely get freezer burn, and then it will be ruined. 

Step Six: Add Your Chilled Syrup

With the strawberries in the container, with a little headspace at the top, you can then pour in your simple syrup, which should be cooled to room temperature at this point. 

Step Seven: Add the Lid (And the Date!)

It is vital that you write the date of freezing on the container(s) before you add them to the freezer. Otherwise, how will you know when they are no longer safe to be eaten? 

Even food that has been stored in a preservative (such as sugar) or stored at cold temperatures (such as the freezer) turns bad eventually. 

All fresh produce has a maximum life span before quality starts to decrease, regardless of how it is stored or preserved. 

Step Eight: Freezer Time

For best results, it is not recommended to stack different containers of strawberries in syrup on top of each other. If you have the space for it, allow the containers to sit flat, next to each other, without stacking them. 

Once they are fully frozen, you can rearrange them and stack them — but for the freezing process, it’s best to have them one container deep. 

How Long Will Strawberries in Syrup Last in the Freezer?

American experts recommend freezing strawberries in syrup for no longer than 8 to 12 months. 

Some foodies and freezer-food experts recommend storing frozen strawberries in syrup in the freezer for no longer than 6 months, however. 

Photo by Mikhail Nilov | Pexels

How Can I Stop the Strawberries Floating to the Top of the Syrup?

With the headspace at the top of your container, there is a chance that your strawberries will float before you’ve even managed to get them into the freezer. In order to counteract this, you can add something to hold them down. 

Experts at freezing strawberries in syrup suggest crumpling up pieces of parchment paper or wax paper and placing them on the top. 

You can also fill a ziplock or freezer bag with a little water, tying a knot in the top, and then use this to weigh the strawberries down. Once everything is fully frozen inside the syrup, you can remove the bag-of-ice weight, if it is easy enough for you to do so. 

Experts recommend not using crumpled-up aluminium foil to hold down the strawberries in syrup when you freeze them. This is because the acid in the strawberries can react with the aluminium in the foil, causing it to completely fall apart over time. 

Really Useful Resources: 

• Strawberry Plants | strawberryplants.org
• BerryWorld | berryworld.com