Frozen Garlic Sprout

1.  Rinse and dry the blackberries as usual.

Add sugar to the blackberries before freezing, as this helps preserve their natural color and texture integrity during the freezing process. It also allows the blackberries to be stored frozen for a longer period. The washing process for frozen sweet blackberries is the same as that for unsweetened frozen blackberries: rinse them gently, drain well, then air-dry naturally or pat them gently with a soft towel to remove excess moisture.

At this step, you also need to sort out unripe or overripe berries, as well as leaves and other debris.

2.  Add sugar.

Next, place the blackberries in a large mixing bowl and add approximately 1/4 cup of sugar for every 4 cups of berries. Mix the berries and sugar thoroughly, but be sure to do it very gently—your goal is to coat the blackberries with sugar, not to crush them into jam or puree. The sugar should mix with the blackberries’ natural moisture (and the juice from any crushed blackberries) to form a syrupy mixture that coats the blackberries.

3.  Place the blackberries in bags or airtight containers.

Next, pour the berries into sealed, airtight plastic containers. Fill the containers as close to the top as possible, leaving less than 1.2 centimeters of space at the very top. The less air left in the container, the better, but do not force too many berries into the container, otherwise the berries will be crushed. You can also use the plastic freezer bags mentioned earlier, but storing sweet berries this way may get a bit messy. There is no need to freeze the sweet blackberries one by one, as the sugar will help protect their appearance and texture from the effects of freezing. However, if you specifically want to freeze each berry separately, you can still use the parchment paper method described earlier to avoid damaging the berries.

4.  Freeze for up to nine months.

Sweet blackberries can be stored frozen for at least nine months, though some sources suggest they can last up to one year. Sweet blackberries can be used in a wide variety of baking recipes, just like unsweetened frozen blackberries, or eaten directly. However, if using them in baking recipes, never forget that the blackberries already contain sugar—you need to adjust the recipe accordingly. Therefore, it is recommended that in addition to marking the freezing date on the freezer container, you also label the quantity of blackberries and the amount of sugar added.