Latham Red Raspberries
August is the start or our rainy season and the return of a wet and cool weather pattern. It is also berry season when most domestic garden berries are ripe and ready for harvest.
Pixwell Gooseberries
Black Currants
I grow Latham red Raspberries, Pixwell Gooseberries, Black Currents, Strawberries, and Haskap or Honeyberries. They usually ripen in August and harvest can last until freeze-up in late September. Along with giant Alaska Rhubarb that I preserve for jams, deserts, and to give as gifts to family and friends.
Raspberry Cobler
I usually freeze my berries to use for making cobblers and jams while I am inside during our Alaska winters.
I have two 20 ft. Raspberry beds that are loaded, every August, with more ripe red berries than I can pick. My small chest freezer is overflowing now. Not only am I am busy harvesting berries, I am also canning jams to store in my pantry and free up some freezer space. Frozen berries keep very well sealed in vacuum bags. I am using my older berries first and freezing the new crops for later. I really could use a bigger freezer!
Soft berries are very delicate and difficult to vacuum seal in bags so I wash and freeze them first.
After removing any stems and washing berries I will gently spin-dry using my salad spinner…
Frozen berries are much easier to weigh out and seal into vacuum bags.
…after draining - the berries are spread on sheet pans to freeze overnight.
Frozen berries filling up my small chest deep freezer.
A FoodSaver brand vacuum sealer is an essential kitchen appliance here in Alaska. Not only for freezing berries, but most Alaskans use one for vacuum sealing and freezing our fresh Alaska Salmon and Halibut filets too!