Strawberry Parfait #SundaySupper #FLStrawberry

Florida Strawberry season may be shorter than we would all like but there’s great news….you can preserve these gorgeous berries to enjoy all year round. Think about it, what could be better than diving into a Strawberry Parfait during the summer months with fresh Florida strawberries?

I was super excited when Sunday Supper Movement teamed up with Florida Strawberry Growers Association to educate all of us on how we can preserve Florida strawberries because it never dawned on me that this was a possibility.

Yes, I knew that frozen strawberries and frozen strawberries in juice are in the freezer section but I never gave it a thought as to how the companies did it or from where the strawberries originated.

I will now! Florida strawberry season runs November – April. There are some strawberry farms that allow U-pick during this time but most wait until the end of April. Follow this link to learn more about how best to pick your own Florida strawberries and where you can do this.

First thing to do when freezing strawberries is select firm, fully ripe, red berries, preferably on the tart side. For 1 pint of frozen berries, you will need 2/3 quart fresh strawberries.

So now that we all have our fresh Florida strawberries, let’s get busy preserving their freshness so we can enjoy a Strawberry Parfait in the off-season.

Ice cream parfaits remind me of summer days spent at my grandparents’ house so I chose to preserve my strawberries for this purpose. First thing I did was dissolve 4 cups of sugar into 4 cups of lukewarm water and let it cool.

After I washed, dried and sliced my Florida strawberries, I placed them in a freezer safe container and poured the simple syrup (sugar/water) over the berries, making sure that the liquid completely covered the berries. Placing a large piece of parchment paper on top of the berries and pushing it down insures that the berries freeze in the syrup.

Then it’s just a matter of heading back to the freezer once our temperatures rise to 90+ degrees to enjoy a Strawberry Parfait.

Oh, who am I kidding? I’ll happily enjoy one no matter what temperature we are experiencing!

Freezing is not the only option for preserving fresh Florida strawberries. They can also be canned for jam, pickled to enjoy strawberries in a jar or dried. I froze mine sliced in simple syrup but they may be frozen whole or sliced without the simple syrup, too.

Be sure to follow Florida Strawberry on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest as well as Strawberry Sue on YouTube and Twitter so you can stay up-to-date on everything happening in their very sweet world.

Strawberry Parfait #SundaySupper #FLStrawberry

Recipe Type: Dessert

Cuisine: Fruit

Author: Betsy Cohen

Prep time: 15 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: varies

You will need about ⅔ quart of fresh strawberries to prepare a pint of frozen berries. Rigid plastic containers and glass freezing and canning jars make good freezer containers as do flexible plastic freezer bags. Be sure to date your container.

Ingredients

4 cups water
4 cups sugar
Florida strawberries (1 - 3 quarts)
ice cream

Instructions

Place the water and sugar into a medium saucepan. Stir over low heat until the sugar melts. Cool completely and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Wash and thoroughly dry the strawberries. Remove the stems and slice the berries.
Place the berries into a freezer safe container. Cover the berries completely with the simple syrup, leaving a 1" space between the top of the syrup and the top of the container.
Place a piece of parchment paper over the berries and gently press down so all of the berries are under the surface.
Cover completely and freeze.

This post is sponsored by Florida Strawberry Growers Association in conjunction with a social media campaign through Sunday Supper LLC. All opinions are my own.

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