Raisins are one versatile food item every kitchen should never be without! It can be enjoyed on its own as a low-calorie snack and as an ingredient for your favorite desserts, salads, stews, and frozen treats. As with all dried fruits, you can freeze raisins if the batch is nearing its expiration date. Although dried, raisins can still go bad.
On its own, a box of unopened raisins can keep for 12 months but the quality will diminish over time. And once opened, raisins’ shelf life will be cut to just 6 months.
The lack of moisture makes raisins a great candidate for freezing and once thawed, there’s little to no change in the texture. So if you have room in your freezer, we highly recommend freezing raisins!
How to Freeze Raisins?
The proper way to freeze raisins is to store them in a plastic, freezer-safe container. Ideally, break down the raisins in individual servings so by the time you need a small amount, you can just defrost a serving, not the whole container.
To store the raisins, get a baking sheet and spread the raisins, making sure to break all the large clumps apart as you go. Then, lay the baking sheet flat in the freezer and leave it for an hour or so. You want to make sure the raisins are frozen solid by the time you remove the tray from the freezer.
Once the raisins are frozen, get several re-sealable plastic bags or rigid containers and start packing the frozen raisins in smaller servings. Because they are frozen, the raisins won’t stick together for the final freeze.
After packing the raisins in small servings, stick them all in the freezer and you’re done. When in the deep freeze, raisins will keep for up to 1 and a half years.
How to Defrost Frozen Raisins?
The best way to defrost raisins is to transfer the container from the freezer to the fridge and leaving it to thaw overnight. You can also get a container and leave it to defrost on your countertop at room temperature.
Do note that you don’t have to defrost the raisins if you’re using them for cooking or baking. You can simply chuck the frozen raisins straight to the dish or baked treats and be done with it!
Summary
Because they are a healthy alternative to candies and other sweets, it’s always a good idea to have raisins in stock for later use. Now that you know how to freeze raisins properly, you can store a box or two in the freezer to lengthen their shelf life.