How To Freeze Summer Fruit

When it's the middle of the summer, we're quickly reminded that this time of year is all too fleeting. And while we never like to see the warm weather go, it's even worse to realize that all this great summer produce is soon going to disappear too. We will once again be left with the over-priced, bland options the grocery stores stock up on.

Well, not this year. If you plan ahead, you can keep a little taste of the summer at hand all year round by freezing your in-season fruit. It's easy to do: you just have to wash, dry and sometimes pit and dice the fruit. Lay them flat on a lined cookie sheet and freeze for one to two hours. Once the fruit is frozen, transfer the fruit to plastic bags to store. The fruit will keep for 8 to 12 months this way.

You can use your frozen fruit with many of these pie recipes, they work great in cobblers and are a natural ingredient in smoothies. Click through the slideshow below to see how to specifically prep each fruit, and keep a stock of the summer's best all year round.