Do you need to know how to freeze fruit? Freezing is a great way to preserve fruit to use all year long. Read on to learn how to freeze fruit in a way that preserves its freshness.

Fruit can be frozen in a number of different ways. It can be packed with sugar or without. Fruit can be dry packed, or packed in syrup. Some fruit requires special treatment to prevent darkening, which although it doesn't affect the fruit's taste, does affect its appearance.

• Dry Pack Without Sugar: Wash the fruit, dry it, pack in containers and freeze.
• Dry Pack With Sugar: Wash the fruit, dry it, sprinkle with 1/2-3/4 cup of sugar per quart, pack it in containers, and freeze.
• Syrup Pack: Add 1/2-3/4 cup of syrup per pint of fruit.
• Wet Pack: Crush or puree fruit and pack with or without sugar.

Sugar syrup is made by boiling sugar in water until it dissolves.

• Light Syrup: 4 cups of water with 2 cups of sugar
• Medium Syrup: 4 cups of water with 3 cups of sugar
• Heavy Syrup: 4 cups of water with 4 3/4 cups of sugar

Fruit can be prevented from discoloring by adding ascorbic acid to fruit before freezing. You'll want to follow the instructions on the package of ascorbic acid you're using. Some is sprinkled on dry, and some is mixed with water before adding to the fruit.

This table shows which freezing methods are appropriate for each fruit, how much sugar should be used per dry pack quart, and what type of syrup should be used for syrup packing.