Freezing Pie Filling

[BarbaraS]

Hey All,

Since blueberry season is coming up soon, I was wondering if I could make my blueberry pie filling and freeze it for a couple months. Has anyone tried this?

Here's my recipe:

Wisconsin Double-Good Blueberry Pie

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Ingredients:
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water
2 pints blueberries divided in half
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter

Method for Blueberry Pie:
Bake pie crust at 450 degrees until lightly browned, approximately 12 to 15 minutes; cool.

In a saucepan, combine sugar, corn starch and salt; add 1/4 cup water and 1 pint blueberries. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thick and glossy. Remove from heat and add lemon juice and butter; stir. Cool. When cool, stir in the other pint of blueberries; pour into the pie shell and chill.

Since I use a deep dish pie plate, I use 6 pints of blueberries and 4 TBS of cornstarch did the trick. And 2-3 TBS of butter.

I would really like to make this for my nephew's BD in August, but blueberries are really expensive and hard to find then.

Thanks,

Barbara

[cjs]

I always have blueberries in the freezer. Or do you have to have them as a filling - ready to go?

[BarbaraS]

Jean,

I was thinking about prepping the filling and freezing it. How do you store your berries in the freezer?

Barbara

[Gourmet_Mom]

We just dump them in a bag and freeze. The kids always preferred eating them that way.

[cjs]

What Daphne said. Works great.

[BarbaraS]

Well that would work out! Do you wash them first and let them dry or just freeze, thaw, then wash?

Barbara

[luvnit]

I would wash them first. They could get a bit mushy if you wash them afterward.

I am freezing rhubarb today for later use

[cjs]

Yes. I just scatter them on a sheet pan after rinsing off and freeze.

[iBcookin]

I assume they are clean and just lay them on a sheet pan, freeze them and then bag them in gallon ziplocks after they have frozen. It seems that any of the small stems that may have come with the blueberry (you know, when the picker gets a little lazier) fall to the bottom of the pan when the berries freeze.

But I have never found a good recipe that produces the thickening like you get in a canned blueberry pie filling - I don't want it too thick or too thin.

Would love to try Barbara's and I have gallons of berries in the freezer!