If You Can Do One Thing Green: Freezing and Conserving Local Produce

When the farmers' markets and your garden are overloaded with ripe fruit, don't let it go to waste. Turn berries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, pears and melons into frozen-fruit purées that can last up to one year in the freezer. Frozen fruit retains more vitamins and phytochemicals than canned fruit, and its freshly picked flavors are perfect for dressing up plain yogurt and making fruit smoothies or quick dessert sauces.

The procedure is simple. Start by placing a cookie sheet in the freezer. Choose only ripe fruit, wash it well and remove any stems, seeds or blemishes. Purée the fruit in a food mill or blender, add a natural sweetener if you like, measure out one cup at a time and fill into freezer bags. Seal the bags and lay them flat on the frozen cookie sheet (this will help the purée freeze quickly and ensures that the packages freeze in flat, easily stackable shapes). Once the bags are frozen, remove the cookie sheet, label the bags with the type of fruit and the date and stack them back in the freezer. Berries easily can be frozen whole as well: Wash them, pat them dry and, if they're firm, like blueberries, freeze in a bag; if they're soft, like blackberries, freeze on a cookie sheet, then transfer.

For more information about freezing your harvest, explore the National Center for Home Food Preservation at www.uga.edu/nchfp. The site is free and offers detailed instructions for freezing just about everything.