Berries can be used frozen in cooking only in some cases — for example, when you cook compote, kissel or porridge from them. For smoothies and shakes, partly thawed ones will do. But if you are about to start baking or making desserts, then the snowy beauties absolutely must be brought back to life. How do you do it right?
Frozen berries are most often found in recipes with these five products:
First. As they thaw, berries release a lot of liquid and juice. For dishes that keep strict proportions of dry and wet ingredients, anything extra is a disaster (not literally, of course)). So the berries should not only be brought to room temperature but also have the excess moisture drained off afterward. You do not have to pour it down the sink — you can use it to cook compote.
Second. There is a good chance that the drained berry juice is exactly what your pie is missing. That is, along with the extra liquid we remove the juiciness. How can you avoid this? Take a risk, namely: roll the frozen berries in starch and add them to the filling that way. The starch will absorb everything extra, and the pie will not run. The downside: it adds calories to the dish.
Any frozen food is better thawed gradually. That way less liquid is released and more vitamins are preserved. For berries you can use:
- a stream of cold tap water (the berries must be in a plastic bag at the same time)
- paper towels and room temperature
- the lowest shelf of the refrigerator (it is better to put them there in advance, for example overnight, to cook the next day)
- the microwave (be ready for a lot of juice to be released)