Apricots are a delicious and nutritious fruit that can be frozen for later use. Knowing how to freeze apricots or how to thaw them is an important skill for any home cook. When you freeze apricots, the texture of the fruit changes slightly. These frozen fruits will have a smoothie-like consistency which is perfect for blending into sauces, jams or purees!

How do you freeze apricots?

Wash the apricots

For an easy way to prepare your apricots for the freezer, first wash them under cold running water.

Taking care of this simple step will help ensure that you are properly preserving any natural sugars in these sweet fruits and preventing bacteria growth on their surfaces.

Cut them in half and remove the pits

If you’re freezing apricots, make sure to cut them in half and removing the pits before popping them into the freezer.

Place the apricots on a baking sheet

After cutting them in half, place the apricots on a baking sheet with parchment paper or tin foil cut side up. This will make sure they don’t stick to each other!

This is one of those tricks that could save your day and make life easier when you need it later on.

Put them in the freezer

After you put your half cut apricots on a baking sheet, it’s time to place them in the freezer for about an hour before they are frozen solid.

Place into airtight bags or containers

When the apricots are almost frozen Place them into an airtight bags or containers to store in your freezer. This will help safe space in your freezer and prevents freezer-burn.

How long do frozen apricots last?

Frozen apricots last to 12 months in your freezer. Helpfully, that’s plenty of time for you to enjoy them without worrying about wasting any!

Using your frozen apricots for later

Frozen apricots work perfect as an ingredient in your favorite jams and sauces especially if you’re looking for something on the sweeter side but there is just 1 important thing to remember:

when freezing fruit, it’s usually about 20% more water introduced into their cells than what was originally found inside them!

There are 2 things that you could do with this information. You could add a bit more sugar or let your jam or sauce cook longer until it reaches desired consistency.

Can you freeze apricots with skins or without skin?

Both! You can freeze apricots with skin on or off, but it’s best to peel them before freezing.

How do you skin your apricots effectively?

You know the saying “the devil is in the details”? Well, that goes for cooking too.

1. Why use all of your strength to peel fruit when you can just dip it into boiling water? There are many fruits and vegetables with skins (like tomatoes) which work well this way! Just carve a cross on their bottoms and give them 20-45 seconds in boiling water.
2. Use a slotted spoon to remove from boiling water, and place in cold ice water for several minutes.
3. Here’s where the carved cross comes into play. Start peeling the apricots one side and work your way around the fruit until it’s skinless!
4. The skins on the apricots are sure to peel off easier now! 

Kitchen tools you’ll need

• Basics Silicone, Non-Stick, Food Safe Baking Mat
• Baking Sheet & Rack Set (3 Sheets & 3 Racks)
• Upright Freezer 6.5 cu ft

Thawing frozen apricots or any fruit

Thawing in the Fridge 

Defrosting apricots (or any fruit for that matter) in the fridge is fairly easy, but it’s only a good idea if you’re able to spare some time.

follow these easy steps below:

1. Take the frozen fruit from the freezer. If the fruit already is in a plastic container leave it. If not, transfer it to a bowl.
2. If using a bowl. Covering the bowl with food wrap will ensure that it is protected and looks nice.
3. Leave the fruit thaw for a minimum of 5 hours. but we recommend at least 10 hours.

Thawing frozen fruit under Cold Water

The quickest way to thaw frozen fruit is this simple trick!

Out of all the methods for how to quickly thaw some of your favorite juicy fruits, there’s one that can save you time and eliminate soggy apricots.

1. Assuming you’re hungry for a fruit salad, measure how many fruits need to be defrosted and put them in the bowl.
2. Put your frozen fruit into a plastic sealed bag.
3. Place the plastic sealed bag into a bowl and fill it with water. Keep the water running.
4. Wait a few minutes until the fruit is defrosted, take the plastic bag out of the water.

Thawing fruit in the Microwave

Some people microwave fruits to defrost them. Microwaving is fast and easy, but keep in mind that the fruit may become slightly mushy after microwaving it.

If this doesn’t bother you, then follow these simple steps!

1. Fill a microwave-safe bowl with the desired amount of frozen fruit.
2. Defrost for 20seconds and check your fruit. 
3. For the best results, you may have to defrost your fruit for up to 2 minutes. But don’t forget to check your fruit every 20-30 seconds.

Remember you keep all the juices when you’re defrosting fruit by using a bowl. If you don’t need them, strain your fruit with some small sieve before using the fruit!