Essential Foods You Should Always Have in the Freezer

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Fruit

Frozen fruit is one of the best foods you can have in your freezer and that includes the store-bought kind! Often frozen at peak ripeness, they retain most of their nutrients and can be used in a multitude of recipes or served on their own. They can be thrown into smoothies (frozen is preferable to fresh for this purpose anyway) or cocktails from frozen. You can also thaw and use them in desserts, fruit salads or served on their own with some yogurt and honey.

Another benefit of frozen fruit is that they thaw relatively quickly so there is no need to plan ahead, making them one of the more readily usable frozen foods on this list. If you decide to freeze fresh fruit you've grown yourself, avoid the ones with a high-water content like melon, which may become overly soggy when thawed. Generally speaking, frozen fruits can last between eight to 12 months (citrus fruits should be consumed after three).

Here's how to pick the ripest fruit.