How long is frozen fruit good for?

[mwulf67]

Specifically, I have just discovered a stash of frozen blackberries from our old house buried in our chest freezer …they are at least 2 ,if not 3, seasons old…are they still worth messing with?

 

[mikewatkins727]

Please define 'stash': pint, quart, pound? You would need 3 lbs/gallon of wine. Otherwise, about a pound for making a qt of liqeour. I think berries are Ok.

 

[mwulf67]

Please define 'stash': pint, quart, pound? You would need 3 lbs/gallon of wine. Otherwise, about a pound for making a qt of liqeour. I think berries are Ok.

Easily enough for a couple gallon batches…I am very new to winemaking; I haven’t even finished my first kit yet…I was literally looking for something dinner last night and came across them buried at the bottom of our chest freeze…I totally forgot we picked them before we moved out of the old house…like I say, a good 2 to 3 years ago… just curious if a) they were still good and b)if good, long much longer they might last? I definitely have an interest in doing country fruit wine at down the road, but if the clock is ticking on these blackberry, I might drive down that road sooner than later…

 

[sour_grapes]

I believe (but not sure) that most chest freezers are not frost-free. This would be a good thing. Frost-free freezers periodically raise the temperature to encourage sublimation of any accumulated frost. This has the unfortunate side effect of causing freezer burn and dehydration of your food (depending on how it was packed). So if your chest freezer is not frost-free, your berries are probably okay.

 

[Arne]

Just found some strawberries from 2010. They are fermenting now, have not tasted them yet, but they smell great. Will let everybody know when it gets to tasting time. Arne.