I miss charlie. He told me to freeze fresh fruit from our local area and now I don't have a clue

M

marilynfl

Moderator
how to use it.

This past summer I froze a bunch of amazing peach slices, fresh raspberries that I picked myself (a first ever), blackberries and apples. Great and my freezer is feeling very abundant, but my question is: how do I use them? I've never had this problem before because I never had a source for good local fruit to freeze (I don't count oranges).

Do I thaw them first? Try to bake a pie with them frozen? Help me out here folks. I'd like to try a little dessert like they serve at Tupelo Honey: pie in a 4 ounce canning jar. Small amount of crumb crust, hot pie filling, crumble and ice cream topping.

 
REC: Frozen Peach Cake (and more) recipes

I was just searching "frozen peaches as an ingredient"! We also have amazing whole peaches in the freezer.

Looking at these 2 not-T&T cake recipes.
Just pulled this recipe off a blog I was paging through, because of the frozen peaches. I need peach jello.
https://thefoodcharlatan.com/peach-cake-with-brown-sugar-frosting-recipe/
F&W's Grace Parisi's Peach Streusel Cake
https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/peach-streusel-cake

And these 2 not-T&T frozen peach bundt cakes:
https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/peach-pound-cake/
https://www.aspicyperspective.com/peach-cake/

Also great reviews for Allrecipes cobbler
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/223256/kelleys-peach-cobbler/
This looks good from Nutmeg Nanny:
https://www.nutmegnanny.com/frozen-peach-cobbler/
Genius cobbler
https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/peach-cobbler-with-frozen-peaches-375167

Am planning to make peach frozen yogurt granola pops, too.

Dh has been eating the frozen Michigan blueberries right from the freezer. It could be that once I pull out the first frozen peach, we will decide not to cook them.

Have our Cuisinart freezer bowl out in the garage. It's certainly cold enough here to put up a batch of lemon curd frozen yogurt smileys/wink.gif Colleen

 
I was raised in northern Indiana so we always had access to the BEST fruit from Michigan orchards &

Michigan berry patches. (We always drove into Michigan to pick ourselves.) Mother froze it all and made plenty of pies in the off-seasons. Here is an excellent peach pie that is definitely Tried and True. In my notes you can read the timing to thaw 2 pounds of peeled peaches for this pie. We would only thaw fruit until it could be broken apart into smaller sized chunks so that the sugar and other flavorings could be mixed in. Now if you flash freeze fruit so you have individual frozen slices and NOT one big clump, you do not have to thaw frozen fruit at all when making pies.

This is a delicious peach pie! I made a total of 20 of these pies in 1.5 days last year to serve to a crowd of 240 people. It took 5 gallons of vanilla ice cream for the a la mode part. And it took me 3 days to recover from my 1-1/2-day baking marathon. lol. (And yes, I own 20 deep-dish pie pans/plates--a few had Christmas motifs on them!)

GOLDEN PEACH PIE RECIPE from Taste of Home. (Picture and recipe are at the Taste Of Home URL below.)

Pastry for double-crust pie (9 inches) (I made and rolled pastry for a double-crust 9-inch DEEP-DISH pie.)

5 cups sliced peeled fresh peaches (5 medium peaches or so)---I used 1-1/2 quarts of sliced peaches for each pie which weighed in at about 2 pounds of peeled, sliced & pitted fresh peaches.

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest (I used 3/4 tsp.)

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch (instead of cornstarch I used 2 Tablespoons of minute tapioca which I ground to a fine powder before measuring.)

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter (I used 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter.)

Whole milk or half-and-half

Directions
1) Line a 9-in. pie plate (deep-dish pie plate per wigs) with bottom pastry; trim, leaving a 1-in. overhang around edge. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine the peaches, lemon juice, orange peel and extract. Combine the sugar, cornstarch (tapioca in my case), nutmeg and salt. Add to peach mixture; toss gently to coat. (Note from wigs: let filling sit long enough so that the tapioca is well moistened.) Pour into crust; dot with butter.

2) Roll out remaining pastry to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; cut into strips of various widths. Arrange over filling in a lattice pattern. Trim and seal strips to bottom pastry; fold overhang over. Lightly press or flute edge. Brush with milk. Cover the edges loosely with foil.
(I rolled out the remaining pastry a little bigger than the top of the pie and made decorative marks in this top pastry. I brushed the bottom pie edge with cold water, and then placed the top crust over the filling. Trimmed, sealed and fluted edges and made a couple slashes in the top crust. Then I brushed the pastry with milk or half-and-half before baking)

3) Bake at 400° for 40 minutes. Remove foil; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly.
(With freshly peeled peaches, I bake the pie at 400 degrees F. for 15 to 20 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 45 minutes to an hour or until my pie is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.)

Cool on a wire rack. Store in the refrigerator. (I never store fruit pies in the refrigerator. wigs)
Yield: 8 servings. (I cut each pie into 12 slices and served each portion with a scoop of vanilla ice cream which was sprinkled with some toasted sliced almonds and a mint leaf.)

NOTE: I peeled, pitted, sliced, sprinkled with Fruit Fresh, measured, bagged, weighed and froze about 60 pounds of peaches a few months before I made all my pies. It takes about 1-1/2 to 2 hours for a 2-pound bag of sliced peaches to thaw enough to break apart with a spoon so I could mix with the other filling ingredients. I then baked at 400 degrees for 20 minutes and reduced the oven temp to 350 degrees to finish baking for an additional 60 to 70 minutes. Needed a bit longer baking time since I was starting out with slightly frozen peaches when the pies went into the oven.

Link: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/golden-peach-pie

https://finerkitchens.com/swap/forum/index.php?action=display&forumid=1&msgid=261911

 
CI's Best Blueberry Pie with Foolproof Pie Dough as posted by deb-in-MI

REC: CI's BEST BLUEBERRY PIE WITH FOOLPROOF PIE DOUGH which was originally posted by deb-in-MI

To Marilyn: Frozen blueberries do not need to be thawed to make a pie UNLESS they are all in one big frozen chunk. In that case you just need to keep using a serving spoon or something to break them apart so the sugar and flavorings can be mixed in. Mother would never wait until any frozen fruit was completely thawed before she put her pies together and into the oven.

The following notes from Wigs: This pie was superb! It was in my July/August 2008 annual Cook's Illustrated volume, but I never got around to trying it until I saw deb's posting.

My guests were amazed that the crust had vodka in it which made it especially flaky and tender.

I only needed to use half the amounts of vodka & ice water listed when making my pie dough. I found this crust easy to roll between 2 sheets of waxed paper, but a bit tricky to move to my pie plate because it was so fragile so I left my rolled-out dough in between the 2 pieces of waxed paper and slid everything onto a big cookie sheet with no sides which I then popped into the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes and that did the trick and made both top & bottom crusts lots easier to transfer.

I used about 8 cups of frozen blueberries (put up last summer) so I increased the sugar to 1-1/4 cups and added 2 Tablespoons of ground instant tapioca. All other amounts of filling ingredients remained the same. I used a deep-dish 9-inch pie plate.

I did not use the egg wash, but brushed a thin coating of whole milk (or can use half and half or whipping cream) onto my top crust. I did have to cover the edges of the pie crust with foil during my final 50 to 60 minutes of baking at 350 degrees.

Cook's Illustrated Blueberry Pie
7/2008

This recipe was developed using fresh blueberries, but un-thawed frozen blueberries (our favorite brands are Wyman�s and Cascadian Farm) will work as well. In step 4, cook half the frozen berries over medium-high heat, without mashing, until reduced to 1 1/4 cups, 12 to 15 minutes. Grind the tapioca to a powder in a spice grinder or mini food processor. If using pearl tapioca, reduce the amount to 5 teaspoons. Vodka is essential to the texture of the crust and imparts no flavor; do not substitute.

Makes one 9-inch pie

Foolproof Pie Dough

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces), plus more for work surface
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup vegetable shortening , cold, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup vodka , cold (see note)
1/4 cup cold water
Blueberry Filling

6 cups fresh blueberries (about 30 ounces) (see note)
1 Granny Smith apple , peeled and grated on large holes of box grater
2 teaspoons grated zest and 2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon
3/4 cup sugar (5 1/4 ounces)
2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca, ground (see note)
Pinch table salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 1/4-inch pieces


1 large egg , lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water


1. For The Pie Dough: Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about two 1-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds; dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour. Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.

2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into 2 even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

3. Remove 1 disk of dough from refrigerator and roll out on generously floured (up to 1/4 cup) work surface to 12-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll into pie plate, leaving at least 1-inch overhang on each side. Working around circumference, ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into plate bottom with other hand. Leave dough that overhangs plate in place; refrigerate while preparing filling until dough is firm, about 30 minutes.

4. For The Filling: Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place rimmed baking sheet on oven rack, and heat oven to 400 degrees. Place 3 cups berries in medium saucepan and set over medium heat. Using potato masher, mash berries several times to release juices. Continue to cook, stirring frequently and mashing occasionally, until about half of berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 8 minutes. Let cool slightly.

5. Place grated apple in clean kitchen towel and wring dry. Transfer apple to large bowl. Add cooked berries, remaining 3 cups uncooked berries, lemon zest, juice, sugar, tapioca, and salt; toss to combine. Transfer mixture to dough-lined pie plate and scatter butter pieces over filling.

6. Roll out second disk of dough on generously floured (up to 1/4 cup) work surface to 11-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Using 1 1/4-inch round biscuit cutter, cut round from center of dough. Cut another 6 rounds from dough, 1 1/2 inches from edge of center hole and equally spaced around center hole. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll over pie, leaving at least 1/2-inch overhang on each side.

7. Using kitchen shears, trim bottom layer of overhanging dough, leaving 1/2-inch overhang. Fold dough under itself so that edge of fold is flush with outer rim of pie plate. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with tines of fork to seal. Brush top and edges of pie with egg mixture. If dough is very soft, chill in freezer for 10 minutes.

8. Place pie on heated baking sheet and bake 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake until juices bubble and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes longer. Transfer pie to wire rack; cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. Cut into wedges and serve.

 
Peach Blueberry Pie in the Best Pie Crust

Foolproof Pie Dough (Cook’s Illustrated, Nov. 2007)

For one 9 inch Double Crust Pie

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. table salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
12 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup vodka, cold
1/4 cup cold water

Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.
Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

Peach Blueberry Pie (adapted from Cooks Illustrated Peach Pie, July 1995)

Makes 1 9-inch pie

5 cups peaches (about 2 1/2 lbs), peeled, pitted, and sliced*
1 cup blueberries*
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. table salt
3 Tbsp. quick-cooking tapioca
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Toss fruit with sugars, lemon juice, spices and tapioca; let stand for 15 minutes.
Roll out one dough ball on lightly floured surface into 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Transfer and fit dough into 9-inch Pyrex pie pan, leaving dough that overhangs the lip in place. Turn fruit mixture, including juices, into pie shell. Scatter butter pieces over fruit. Refrigerate until ready to top with remaining dough.
Roll remaining dough ball on lightly floured surface into 10-inch circle. Lay over fruit. Trim top and bottom dough edges to 1/2-inch beyond pan lip. Tuck this rim of dough underneath itself so that folded edge is flush with pan lip. Flute dough in your own fashion, or press with fork tines to seal. Cut four slits at right angles on dough top to allow steam to escape. If pie dough is very soft, place in freezer for 10 minutes before baking.
Place pie on baking sheet; bake until top crust is golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake until juices bubble and crust is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes longer.
Transfer pie to wire rack; let cool to almost room temperature so juices have time to thicken, at least 2 hours.

*You can used frozen, sliced peaches. Do not thaw before using. Same thing goes for blueberries.

http://blog.divaentertains.com/2010/07/peach-blueberry-pie-in-the-best-pie-crust/

 
I should have mentioned the Peach Blueberry Pie REC above was originally posted by deb-in-MI , too!

 
I miss him too! Rec; The Real Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins making again in the am!

I went to visit a friend in Oregon to watch the full solar eclipse. (Amazing) While there we went blueberry picking. Can I just say their blueberries are not like anything I can get in California? I didn’t even like blueberries till I tasted these. I brought back a huge stash Which I hoard in my freezer. About the only thing I will make with them is this recipe, because it’s just that good. I’ve made these multiple times for special occasions and everyone has swooned over them. The twins next door begged me the other night to make more, so am planning to make/bring them next door in the morning.

The Real Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins Recipe
Yield 10 muffins

Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter, softened
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
2 whole fortified eggs such as Eggland’s Best
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2½ cups frozen blueberries, thawed
1 cup white pastry flour
1 cup bread flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ cup whole milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar, for tops

Steps

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F with rack in the center of the oven.

Spray the inside of a 12 cup muffin tin with pan spray (You will only be using 10 of the 12). Then, using vegetable shortening, liberally grease the top of the pan. Place muffin papers into the sprayed holes. Set the pan aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and shortening for one minute with the paddle attachment.

Add sugar and beat on medium for about one minute.
With the machine on medium, add one egg at a time and blend to mix. Scrape sides then beat on medium for two and a half minutes. This is important to whip air into the batter.

Add vanilla and beat for a few more seconds to combine.
Remove ½ cup of blueberries to a small bowl and mash with a fork or a potato masher. Set aside.

See how much liquid the blueberries gave up. I determined that it was a bit too much and pulled ¼ cup of liquid out which I did not use in the muffins. I did leave some juice in with the blueberries however, maybe about ¼ to 1/3 cup.

Take two tablespoons of either flour type and sprinkle over the whole blueberries and toss to coat.

Mix both flours, salt and baking powder in a small bowl. Just stir a few times to mix.

Start adding the flour mixture and the milk a little at a time with the mixer running. Once they are both in, do not mix further. You want to just get them incorporated without over mixing. Otherwise the muffins will be tough.

Remove the mixing bowl to your counter and fold in the mashed blueberries. Then fold in the whole berries with the juice.

The traditional Jordan Marsh blueberry had a purple/blue tint from the berry juice.

Using an ice-cream scoop, divide the mixture between ten cups of the prepared 12 cup muffin tin. The batter will be piled high above the rim.

Sprinkle the final granulated sugar over the tops of each muffin (total 2 tablespoons) and immediately place in the oven.

Bake for five minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F and bake for 20 more minutes. (If your oven has a hot spot, rotate pan halfway through. Do not over bake. They will be soft but 25 minutes is plenty of time and they will bake a little further outside of the oven.)

Remove to a rack to cool.

Once cool, gently pry the muffins out by making sure the overhang did not stick to the pan top.

https://www.afamilyfeast.com/real-jordan-marsh-blueberry-muffins-recipe/

 
I had no idea you'd ever lived in the Midwest! It's been a struggle to find decent fresh fruit in

southern Indiana as well as good Polish sausage. My brother just shipped us 5 pounds of Polish sausage on dry ice. (Craig still lives in South Bend, IN, so has ready access to real Polish butcher shops. My DH is 100% Polish; I kept my birth surname of Wiggins. Ergo, the nickname Wigs I've had ever since high school.)

For Christmas my niece sent us a box of wonderfully ripe pears--Sarah lives in Crown Point, IN.

Our food ties to Michiana (the southern Michigan & northern Indiana area) are still quite high despite living in southern Indiana ever since 1976! lol.

 
You are quite welcome. I use the 2 pie recipes U posted a LOT during peak blueberry & peach seasons.

 
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