How to freeze fruit

HOW TO FREEZE GOOSEBERRIES

Gooseberries are one of the easiest fruits to freeze. The established view is that they should be frozen on a tray first and then transferred to more permanent containers for freezing long term. I can only assume that this advice has come from Mrs Beeton's Cookbook and then propagated around various websites from then on!

Freezing gooseberries on trays first is time-consuming and unnecessary. And this advice comes from someone experienced in freezing gooseberries for many years. Step by step instructions which work and save time are listed below.

1. Wash your freshly picked gooseberries to remove any leaves and debris.
    
2. Top and tail your gooseberries to remove the stalk and tail. If you try and do this after de-frosting frozen gooseberries the job will be ten times worse because the individual gooseberries are then very soft.
    
3. Pat the gooseberries with a tea towel or kitchen paper to remove most of the water on the surface.
    
4. Place your gooseberries into a freezer bag. Tie the bag removing as much "air" as possible. Label with contents and date of freezing.
    
5. Place the packed gooseberries in the lowest part of your freezer to ensure they freeze as quick as possible. In truth, nothing more need be done. The berries are so large that they easily separate into manageable portions when taken from the freezer. But the next step will ensure they remain even more able to be separated into portions.
    
6. Set your kitchen timer for 90 minutes. When it sounds the alarm, briefly take your part frozen gooseberries from the freezer and jiggle them about a bit to separate them. Place them back in the freezer.