Freezing is a quick and convenient way to preserve fruits and vegetables at home. If done correctly, you can produce frozen fruits and vegetables of high quality and maximum nutritional value.
For best quality, fresh fruits and vegetables should be frozen as soon as possible after harvest at their peak degree of ripeness. Before freezing your produce, ripening and spoilage enzymes need to be deactivated, or fruits and vegetables will continue losing color, nutrients, and flavor, even when frozen
To successfully preserve color, nutrients and flavor when freezing:
Use a pre-freezing treatment, such as blanching vegetables or adding ascorbic acid to fruit.
Freeze produce using the bulk, tray or puree method.
Pay attention to the quantity being packaged to help maintain texture.
Nutrient value of frozen foods
Freezing, when properly done, can preserve more nutrients than other methods of food preservation. To maintain top nutritional quality in frozen fruits and vegetables, it is essential to follow directions for pretreatment of the vegetables, to store the frozen product at zero degrees Fahrenheit, and to use frozen food within the suggested storage times.
Effects of microbes in the freezer
Freezing does not destroy or kill harmful bacteria that may be present on the produce. Bacteria need water and an ideal temperature to survive and grow. Freezing produce temporarily stops bacterial growth. However, once thawed if bacteria are present, they can begin to grow again. Proper thawing and handling methods should be used to minimize this risk.
Pre-freezing vegeteables and fruits
Blanching vegetables
Blanching is the exposure of the vegetables to boiling water or steam for a brief period of time, followed by rapid cooling in ice water to prevent cooking. This process deactivates enzymes and is absolutely essential for producing quality frozen vegetables. It also destroys microorganisms on the surface of vegetables and makes some vegetables, such as broccoli and spinach, more compact.
Step-by-step guide to blanching
Adding ascorbic acid to fruit
Ripening enzymes can cause frozen fresh fruits to brown or change color once thawed. This is due to a change in cell wall structure and a loss of vitamin C. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that in addition to its health benefits, helps to maintain the color of fruits.
To stop the enzymes, you can add ascorbic or citric acid to the fresh fruit before freezing.
Some firm fruits, like apples, can be blanched to stop enzyme activity instead of adding an acid before freezing.
Three methods for freezing produce: Bulk, tray and puree
Freeze produce as quickly as possible to avoid mushy fruits and vegetables. Some home freezer manuals recommend that you set the freezer temperature at the coldest setting several hours before placing foods in the freezer.
Bulk
This is a good option for produce being frozen with a liquid. When frozen, all of the pieces will form a block/freeze together
Tray
This method freezes pieces of produce individually on a tray or in a shallow dish. Once frozen, package into a container. This way, the pieces won't freeze together, and you can portion out the desired quantity.
Puree
Process, blend or mash fresh produce into a smooth consistency. Pour the puree into containers or ice cube trays. Leave enough space for the puree to expand as it freezes. This packing method works well for fruit sauces, such as applesauce, fruit that will be added to smoothies, or in recipes that call for a fruit puree.
Limiting air during freezing
Air exposure can cause frozen products to develop rancid oxidative flavors. Keep frozen food in airtight containers or use wrapping material that does not permit air to pass into the product, and remove as much air as possible from the freezer bag or container to reduce the amount of air in contact with the product.
Packaging frozen produce
Drying occurs on the surface of a frozen product that wasn't wrapped properly. Moisture loss, or ice crystals evaporating from the surface area of a product, produces freezer burn — grainy, brownish spots where the tissues become dry and tough. The food is safe to eat, but the quality is poor. These areas often develop unpleasant flavors.
To prevent freezer burn, remove all air and seal airtight. Packaging designed specifically for freezing foods will also help prevent freezer burn. Good options include:
- Non-permeable plastic bags: These may be described as freezer-safe on the packaging.
- Rigid plastic containers. These should have a tight-fitting lid
- Glass containers. Containers should be tempered and have descriptions like, “Dual-purpose: made for canning and freezing." Glass containers must also have a tight-fitting lid, such as a metal flat and screw band, or a single-piece thread-style lid.
- Vacuum packaging with appropriate bags. To avoid the risks related to vacuum sealed foods follow these safe food handling tips.
How to maintain texture when freezing produce
Fresh fruits and vegetables have a very high water content, which is held within rigid plant cell walls. These walls help give structure and texture to your produce. When you freeze fruits and vegetables, the water expands and ice crystals cause the cell walls to rupture, causing the texture of thawed produce to be much softer than when it was raw.
This is particularly true of food that is usually eaten raw:
When a frozen tomato is thawed, it becomes mushy and watery
Because of this, celery and lettuce are not usually frozen.
These changes are also less noticeable in high starch vegetables, such as peas, corn and lima beans.
Textural changes due to freezing are not as apparent in products that are cooked before eating because cooking also softens cell walls.
Pay attention to quantity
Limit each package to one-half gallon or less in volume. Smaller containers freeze more quickly, minimizing ice crystals, and allow you to thaw smaller amounts, minimizing food waste. When deciding on appropriate container sizes, make sure to leave room for headspace and remember that any liquid in the container may expand during freezing.
Don't overload the freezer
Overloading the freezer with unfrozen products will result in a long, slow freeze and a poor-quality product.
All freezer manuals give guidelines for the maximum number of cubic feet of unfrozen food that can be frozen at one time. This is usually 2 to 3 pounds of vegetables per cubic foot of freezer space per 24 hours.
Check your freezer manual to see if it shows the location of the coldest shelves in the freezer. You should place unfrozen products on these shelves.
Store produce at 0 degrees Fahrenheit or lower
- Storing frozen foods at temperatures higher than zero degrees Fahrenheit can shorten the shelf life of frozen foods.
- Fluctuating temperatures can cause produce to slightly thaw and refreeze, resulting in ice crystals.
- A freezer thermometer can help you determine the actual temperature of your freezer. If your freezer has several temperature settings, such as from one to nine, check the manual to see what settings are recommended for different uses. Don't attempt to save energy in your home by raising the temperature of frozen food storage above zero degrees Fahrenheit.
Does food spoil if it stays frozen longer than the recommended storage time?
No, but for best quality, use frozen fruits and vegetables within 8 to 12 months. This is a quality versus a food safety issue. Recommended storage times ensure maximum quality. Food stored longer will be safe to eat, but you may notice changes in flavor, color and texture.
How to thaw frozen foods safely
Frozen foods must be thawed safely to prevent the growth of microorganisms as the temperature of the food increases. Thawing foods safely limits how much time a food spends in the Temperature Danger Zone (41°F to 135°F). This temperature range is ideal for pathogen growth. For example, some pathogens will double in number every 15 to 20 minutes in this zone. The risk of foodborne illness increases as the number of pathogens grows.
Four methods to safely thaw frozen foods
1. Thaw in the refrigerator
This is the best method to thaw frozen foods because the internal temperature of the food will not increase above 41°F, which is the temperature of the refrigerator.
- Place the frozen food in a container to catch any leaks that may occur as the food thaws.
- Once thawed, cook or use the food within 2 to 3 days.
2. Thaw in cold water
This method is faster than thawing in the refrigerator but should be limited to foods that can be thawed in less than 4 hours.
- Place the frozen food in a leak-proof container or plastic bag to prevent splashes or leaks that can spread pathogens.
- Place the food under cold running water or submerge in cold water. If submerging the food, change the water every 30 minutes to keep the temperature cool.
- Foods thawed in cold water may thaw unevenly. The outside temperature will increase quicker than in the center. The outside temperature may increase to above 41°F, which is why it is important to limit the time needed for thawing.
- Once thawed, cook or use the food immediately to prevent pathogen growth.
3. Thaw in the microwave
This method can be used to thaw foods that will be cooked immediately after microwaving.
- Microwaves can heat food unevenly. Parts of the food may be heated into the Temperature Danger Zone while other parts remain frozen. Pathogens can grow rapidly at this temperature.
- Thoroughly cook foods immediately after thawing to kill pathogens.
4. Thaw as part of the cooking process
Some foods can be cooked directly from frozen without impacting quality.
- As the food thaws, it will pass through the Temperature Danger Zone rapidly as the food cooks.
- Cook foods to their minimum internal temperature to prevent foodborne illness.
When is it safe to refreeze food?
You can safely refreeze certain frozen food that has thawed—raw or cooked, although there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through thawing.
- To safely refreeze, the thawed product must have been kept cold at 40°F or below for no more than 3-4 days. Put the food in the coldest part of the freezer, mark it with the date and use it within 2 to 3 months.
- If food is completely thawed, warmed to room temperature, or left out of the refrigerator for more than 2 hours, throw the food out for safety's sake. These principles apply to meat, poultry, shellfish, some vegetables and cooked foods.
- Do not refreeze ice cream and similar frozen desserts.
Vegetables
Many vegetables are safe to refreeze. However, they lose much of their texture, flavor and appearance even if ice crystals are present in the package. You may want to cook the thawed vegetables and eat them right away, or add to soup or stew and freeze the soup to eat later.
Fruits
Thawed fruit and fruit juice concentrates can be refrozen if they taste and smell good. Since thawed fruits suffer in appearance, flavor and texture from refreezing, you may want to make them into jam instead.
Baked goods
You can safely refreeze breads, cookies and similar bakery items. However, the end product is likely to be a drier, lower-quality product.
Cold food mixtures
Do not refreeze casseroles, pot pies, frozen dinners or pizzas.
Reviewed in 2025