Pears are a fantastic fruit. They are super easy to freeze, especially if you’re planning on using the fruit as part of a smoothie in the near future.
The entire freezer preparation process takes around 10 minutes for a full bag of pears – slightly longer if you’ve got more.
Simply wash and peel the pear. Cut the pear into slices. Then add the slices into a freezer-safe bag or container with a dash of lemon juice to prevent browning. Remove the air from the bag and then write the item and date frozen on the bag before moving to the freezer.
Removing any excess air and using a freezer-safe container or freezer-safe bag will ensure a quality freeze and minimise any freezer burn.
Meanwhile, writing on the bag will ensure that you remember what the item is – I can’t tell you how many times I’ve forgotten what an item is a couple of weeks or months down the line.
Tools & Equipment For Freezing Food
These are my tried and tested tools and equipment for freezing food.
Whether it’s fresh fruits or completely prepared meals these tools will make the process easier, and the food last longer and taste better!
Containers – We opt for glass containers as they are better for the environment, much higher quality and don’t stain like plastic, however they are an investment.
So if you’re short on money buy high-quality plastic containers in the meantime.
Just be sure that you buy your containers in a range of sizes as you’ll be using them to freeze and store a range of different foods.
Ziplock Bags – Invest in quality freezer bags and they’ll help keep out air, prevent frost and keep your food fresh for longer.
The majority of the high-quality ziplock bags come with a small area for you to write information about the food (i.e. what it is, when it was frozen and defrosting instructions) on the bag.
Ice Cube Trays – Ice cube trays can help you freeze more than just water. Instead, we use them for freezing small portions of food such as egg whites, tomato sauce, pesto etc.
Simply add the food to the tray, freeze and once frozen pop the food out and into a ziplock bag, then you can simply take one or two portions of food out and defrost as needed.
Foil Baking Containers – We use foil baking containers when we’re batch cooking frozen meals.
They are affordable, durable and come in a variety of sizes allowing you to portion out or put everything in one large container to be cooked at a later date.
If all that wasn’t enough, the majority of meals are safe to be cooked in the oven with the foil container. This reduces the amount of hassle, time and washing up you’ll have to do – winner!
How To Freeze Pears For Smoothies
The entire freezer preparation process for pears takes around 10 minutes for up to one bag of pears – it’ll be slightly longer for more pears.
Begin the freezing process by taking your pear and ensuring it’s ripe.
If your pear is already showing signs of damage through dark spots or consistency is squishy then it’s likely not got many good remaining cells left and is therefore not likely to freezer very well.
Once you’ve checked your pears quality run the fruit under the tap to remove any excess dirt.
Then peel the skin from the pear. A simple Y peeler will do the job (I use this one). Alternatively, a fancy electric peeler is a great option (I recommend this one).
Once the pear has been peeled you’ll want to cut the pear in half using a sharp knife and remove the seeded core in the centre.
You can remove the seeded core using either a teaspoon or a melon baller if you have one (I recommend this one).
Once the core has been removed you’ll also want to remove the stem from the top of the pear before slicing the fruit into manageable chunks.
Personally, I opt to cut the pears into chunks of around 1 inch in size. However, you’ll want to consider the size of your blender and blender blade when deciding on what works best for you.
After all, when moving the pear slices from the freezer to the blender it’s unlikely you’ll be defrosting them, therefore they need to be in a size in which the blender can still comfortably blend.
To prevent the pear slices from browning during the freezing process I recommend applying a mixture of lemon juice and water over the surface of the fruit.
Once this is done simply move the sliced of pear into a freezer-safe container. This can either be freezer-safe boxes or bags.
When closing the container you’ll want to aim to remove as much excess air as possible. The more air left in the bag or container the quicker the cells of the fruit will die during the freezing process.
Before moving your container or bag over into the freezer be sure to make a note saying what’s inside and when it was frozen.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to freeze something assuming I’ll remember what it is only to forget just a few weeks later.
How To Defrost Pears For Smoothies
Frozen pears can keep in the freezer for up to twelve months.
You don’t have to defrost the pear pieces prior to using them in a smoothie provided that your smoothie maker can handle the denser structure of the frozen fruit.
That said if you want to defrost your pears prior to making your smoothie either of these two process work well;
Move the container or freezer-safe bag of pear pieces out from the freezer and into the fridge.
You’ll want to wait for around 12 hours or overnight for the pear peices to they’ll warm up from the freezer to a temperature of the fridge which should then be soft enough for them to be used in a smoothie.
Be sure to leave the bag of pears on a plate to avoid any water from the bag leaking out over your fridge.
Alternatively, for a slightly shorter defrosting time, you can leave the bag out on the counter at room temperature.
Again, I’d suggest leaving a towel or a plate under the bag to catch any leaking water.
Defrosting the pears using this method should take between 2 to 4 hours depending on the temperature of your home.
If you’re looking to defrost your pears for smoothies quickly then you can grab a large bowl and fill it with water.
Then submerge the bag under the water and leave for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes remove the bag and check on the pears.
If they haven’t defrosted simply refill the bowl again and repeat the process until they have. The exact time is going to depend on the number of pears you’re defrosting, the freezer temperature and the bowl of water temperature.
Hi all! I’m Cora Benson, and I’ve been blogging about food, recipes and things that happen in my kitchen since 2019.