What Are Strawberries, sweetened, frozen and How Can I Use Them?
Strawberries, sweetened, frozen rewards a little know-how: how to choose them, cook them, store them, and substitute in a pinch. Browse 7 recipes to cook with them.
Key Points
- Berries packed in sugar or light syrup; they thaw soft in a pool of red juice.
- Use the thawed syrup, do not pour it off; it carries most of the flavor.
- Cut sugar elsewhere in the recipe so the dish does not turn cloying.
- To substitute, thaw unsweetened frozen berries and stir in sugar to make syrup.
What is strawberries, sweetened, frozen?
Sweetened frozen strawberries are whole or sliced berries packed in sugar or a light sugar syrup and frozen. The sugar protects the fruit during freezing, so the berries thaw soft and sit in a pool of bright red, ready to use syrup.
This is the classic supermarket tub, sold sliced in syrup or whole in dry sugar, and it has been a freezer staple for generations of cooks.
How to Use Them
Thaw the tub in the fridge and use the juice, do not pour it off.
That sweet syrup is half the point. It makes a quick sauce for pancakes and ice cream, and it carries the strawberry flavor through whatever you fold it into.
They are built for blender drinks. A frozen strawberry daiquiri and a Chocoberry Splash both lean on the berries for flavor and chill at once.
The sugar also makes them a shortcut in baking and desserts. Amazing Strawberry Cupcakes and a layered Punch Bowl Cake both use the sweetened berries and their juice as a built in filling and soak.
For a no cook dessert, spoon the thawed berries and syrup over plain cake or yogurt and let it soak in.
A Note on Sweetness
Because these are already sweetened, cut back the sugar elsewhere in a recipe, or they will turn cloying. Recipes that call specifically for sweetened frozen strawberries already account for the extra sugar, so follow them as written.
If a recipe calls for the syrup to thicken, a teaspoon of cornstarch slurry sets it into a glossy sauce in a minute or two.
Substitutes
The simplest swap is unsweetened frozen strawberries plus sugar. Thaw them, then stir in two to three tablespoons of sugar per cup of berries and let it sit until a syrup forms.
Fresh strawberries work too, sliced and macerated with sugar to draw out their own juice. Other frozen red berries, sweetened the same way, also stand in for sauces and drinks.
Buying and Storing
Look for tubs or bags that are solidly frozen with no large ice block, which is a sign they thawed and refroze. Whole berries in syrup hold their shape best for desserts, while sliced ones break down faster into sauce.
Kept frozen at a steady temperature, they last about ten to twelve months before the color and flavor start to fade. Once thawed, keep them in the fridge and use within a few days, since the soft fruit does not refreeze well.
Quick facts
- In Chinese
- 草莓，甜，冻结
- British (UK) term
- Strawberries, sweetened, frozen
- en français
- fraises, sucré, congelés
- en español
- fresas, endulzado, congelados
Recipes using strawberries, sweetened, frozen
There are 7 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Chocoberry Splash
A fizzy chocolate strawberry milkshake float made with milk, chocolate syrup, frozen strawberries, vanilla ice cream, and club soda. Ready in 10 minutes with fun fruit swap variations.
Tutti-Frutti Punch
Blended strawberry punch with pineapple, apple, and orange juice topped with bubbly seltzer. A low-calorie, no-alcohol party punch that's fruity, fizzy, and refreshing for any gathering.
Punch Bowl Cake
Layered punch bowl cake with white cake, vanilla pudding, bananas, crushed pineapple, strawberries, and whipped topping. A no-fuss Southern potluck dessert.
Trimmed Down Chocoberry Cheesecake
A lighter chocolate strawberry cheesecake made with nonfat cottage cheese, neufchatel, and cocoa on a graham cracker crust. All the creamy richness with a fraction of the guilt.
Frozen Fruit Compote
Triple berry compote made from frozen strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries with a thickened fruit juice glaze and fresh orange sections. A year-round dessert.
Amazing Strawberry Cupcakes
Strawberry cupcakes blend frozen sweetened strawberries straight into oil-based batter with chopped walnuts and almond extract. Pink-flecked, tender muffin-style cakes.
Fast Strawberry Frozen Yogurt
This is a very healthy recipe, low fat, low calories, and very tasty too.
