Whether it’s a bumper crop from the bush in your yard or the yield from a too-good-to-resist sale at the store, finding yourself with a lot of fresh fruit on your hands can feel like a bittersweet blessing. Of course, there are few things better in the world than fruit at its juiciest peak ripeness.

But by the same token, when there’s a lot to eat—more than you can reasonably get through before it starts to fade—there’s the stressful threat of waste. Well, waste not, stress not! Your freezer is the perfect tool for keeping your fruit from going to waste, and we’re sharing the secrets to the best methods for freezing fruit so that you can enjoy it well beyond its usual shelf life.

We’ll walk you through freezing a few different kinds of berries, plus bananas, peaches and melons, but you can use these tips for just about any kind of fruit!

No matter the fruit, no matter the season, these tips will set you on the right path to freezing fruit successfully:

• Always choose fruit at its peak quality—and freeze it when it’s ripe.
• Use high-quality freezer bags that seal tightly. Any amount of fruit can be frozen; just choose an appropriately sized bag for the amount of fruit you’re freezing.
• Remove as much air as possible before placing bags of fruit in the freezer. Air is your fruit’s worst enemy as it can lead to the formation of ice crystals that’ll leave you with subpar thawed fruit.
• Label bags of fruit with the freeze date so you know when you need to use it up. Remember, freezing things doesn’t mean that they’re good indefinitely!

Step 1:

If you bought blueberries in a grocery store, place them in a bowl filled with water. Allow the blueberries to sit in the water for a couple of minutes to remove any debris. 

Step 2:

Remove from bowl and rinse with water. (If you picked blueberries yourself and no chemicals were used, give them a quick rinse before proceeding to the next step.)

Step 3:

Place blueberries on a paper towel-lined, rimmed baking sheet. Allow to air-dry for an hour or so.

Step 4:

Transfer blueberries to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place in freezer for 60 minutes. Remove and transfer to a freezer bag, removing as much air as possible. Label and return to freezer.