How to Freeze Grapes

ByRebecca Livermore Updated on

I recently got a good deal on grapes, so stocked up on them. But grapes go bad really fast, so I decided to freeze some. In this blog post, I go into how to freeze grapes.

My Preferred Method of Freezing Fruit

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I generally love to flash freeze fruit before putting it into freezer bags. Flash freezing makes it so that the fruit doesn’t end up clumped together in the freezer bag. With flash freezing, it’s easy to take out individual pieces of fruit.

Flash freezing is easy. However, it’s an extra step compared to just dumping fruit, such as grapes into a freezer bag and putting it in the freezer. That’s why I was intrigued when I read in the book, Freeze Fresh (Amazon) that there is no need to flash freeze grapes.

Since I have such good results with flash freezing, I didn’t want to take a chance of ruining my grapes. So, I decided to experiment, by flash freezing some, but not all of the grapes. I chose not to flash freeze the other part of the grapes so I could compare the two options.

How to Freeze Grapes

Now let’s get into the process of freezing grapes. Even if you don’t plan to flash freeze your grapes, the first steps for both methods are the same.

Remove the Stems and Wash

It's important to wash grapes thoroughly before freezing them.

You’ll start off by removing the stems and washing the grapes. I personally really like using this colander tht fits over the sink (Amazon) to wash all of my produce. I love it because since it sits above the sink, I never end up with my fruit or vegetables sitting in a pool of water.

After rinsing off the grapes, I let them sit in the colander for a few minutes so most of the water drips off.

Pat Dry the Grapes

The next step is to pat dry the grapes. You can use a paper towel, but I’ve found that flour sack towels (Amazon) work best. They do a better job of absorbing the water.

I start off by placing the washed grapes on the flour sack towel and then pat them dry with the towel.

Close up of grapes that have been washed on a flour sack towel.
You can see the water glistening on the grapes. Even though I let the washed grapes sit in the colander for a few minutes, and then put them on the flour sack towel, they were still wet. This is why the next step is important!
I find that patting the grapes dry with a flour sack towel instead of paper towels does a much better job of getting all the moisture off the grapes.

Regardless of whether or not you’re going to flash freeze your grapes, removing the water from them will prevent ice crystals from forming on your grapes. While this step is important for both methods of freezing grapes, it’s even more important if you’re just going to put your grapes into a freezer bag without first flash freezing them. Moisture on the grapes will cause them to stick together, so be sure not to skip this step!

Now let’s get into the two different methods.

Flash Freezing Grapes

Once you’ve stemmed your grapes, washed them, and patted them dry, it’s time to flash freeze them. Thankfully, the process is super easy.

I start off by lining a rimmed baking sheet with wax paper.

I then put the grapes in a single layer on the baking sheet, and pop them into the freezer. Note that when flash freezing, you don’t put anything on top of the grapes.

Wait until they are frozen solid. They will feel hard to the touch.

Remove them from the baking sheet and put them into a freezer bag. Squeeze the air out of the bag before putting them back into the freezer.

Freezing Grapes without Flash Freezing

Grapes ready to go into the freezer. There are two rimmed baking sheets with grapes in a single layer, and a gallon size Ziploc bag filled with grapes.
Two trays of grapes ready to go into the freezer, and a zippered bag that has grapes that I’m not going to flash freeze. I’m putting both of them into the freezer at the same time.

If you prefer not to flash freeze the grapes, after removing the stems, washing them, and patting them dry, simply put them into a freezer bag.

Squeeze as much air out of the bag as possible before placing the bag into the freezer.

Best Way to Freeze Grapes

Now that I’ve frozen grapes both ways, I want to share the results, and the method I plan to use in the future.

How Long it Takes to Freeze Grapes

grapes that have been flash frozen, sitting on a baking sheet.
Flash frozen grapes. This was immediately after I took the grapes out of the freezer.

I froze the grapes in the evening, and so they didn’t have enough time to freeze all the way before I went to bed.

When I checked them 12 hours later, the grapes I flash froze were hard as a rock. They rolled around on the baking sheet like marbles.

I removed the frozen grapes from the baking sheet and put them into a freezer bag, and popped them into the freezer.

The Grapes I Didn’t Flash Freezer Weren’t Frozen

Even after 12 hours, the grapes that I put in the zippered bag that I didn’t flash freezer were still not frozen all the way through. While they were partially frozen, they were still somewhat soft to the touch. This wasn’t overly surprising, considering that there was a high volume of grapes, and they were not in a single layer.

Note that I didn’t check the grapes in the middle of the bag, but since the outer layer wasn’t yet completely frozen, it’s safe to say the ones in the middle were definitely not frozen.

Quality of the Frozen Grapes

This is the bag of grapes that I put into the freezer without first flash freezing. Even though I prepared them the exact same way as the grapes I flash froze, you can see there are some ice crystals in the bag.

Now let’s compare the quality of the two different methods of freezing grapes.

Both methods of freezing grapes worked fine. In both cases, the grapes didn’t freeze together in the zippered bag. However, I noticed that there were some ice crystals in the bag of grapes there I didn’t flash freeze.

So while it may work to just wash and dry the grapes and put them into a zippered bag, I think the extra step of flash freezing is worth it.

The Most Time Consuming Part of Freezing Grapes

When it comes to freezing grapes, the most time-consuming part is removing the grapes from the stems, washing them, and patting the grapes dry. You have to take these steps regardless of which method you use.

While there is an extra step with flash freezing, it doesn’t take a whole lot of time to lay them out on the tray and stick the tray into the freezer.

Benefits of Skipping the Flash Freezing


The only real benefit of putting the grapes directly into the zippered bag instead of flash freezing them is that you can put a lot more grapes into the bag than you can fit on the baking sheet.

Obviously, eventually, you end up with the same amount of grapes in a freezer bag whether you flash freeze them first or not. But with flash freezing, it can be a longer process to get all of your grapes frozen, especially if you have a lot of grapes to freeze.

Because of that, if you are short on time and need to get the grapes in the freezer sooner rather than later, it’s okay not to flash freeze the grapes.

Disadvantages of Flash Freezing Grapes

Another issue is that since I don’t have a dedicated space in my freezer to put a tray, it’s like playing a game of Tetris to get the baking sheet into the freezer without everything tumbling out of the freezer. This could be a case of me needing to organize my freezer better, but it’s a real problem for me.

It can also be difficult for other people in my family to get things out of the freezer without everything falling out.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that both methods of freezing grapes work. However, since it’s not much more effort to flash freeze the grapes, and since I like the end result a bit better, that’s what I plan to do from here on out.

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Rebecca Livermore is the creator of Stocking My Pantry, an author, and YouTuber. From her small home, she shares her journey mastering indoor gardening, small batch canning, and dehydrating in limited space. She believes everyone can be a prepper, regardless of their living situation. Join her as she turns "if only" into "I can", increasing food security and self-reliance without stress.