Watermelon is a great fruit to freeze, and it has a variety of dishes you may create when you’re ready to eat it. Watermelon may be frozen in two ways: whole or pureed. Because you’ll be discarding the rind, both take very little fridge room.

Can You Freeze Watermelon?

Watermelon does freeze well. You may freeze it in bits or as a puree and you don’t have to spend hours preparing it.

It is important to examine what you want to do with your watermelon before deciding whether to freeze it. If you want to use watermelon in smoothies or other dishes that require mixing, it is usually preferable to freeze it.

However, eating partly frozen watermelon is a healthful treat that invites summer into your house at any time of year.

How to Freeze Watermelon

Freezing watermelon is a very simple procedure, but there are certain measures you should take to prevent a freezer catastrophe. With this simple step-by-step procedure, we’ve got your back.

Step 1: Remove Waste:

Putting a full watermelon in the freezer, skin and all, is not a good idea when you want to utilize the fruit. So, while you’re at it, cut around the skin and remove the watermelons seeds. Those seeds get very hard in the freezer, making it difficult to remove them after thawing your watermelon.

Step 2: Chop the Watermelon:

You may be as creative or as simple as you like here, but we recommend using a watermelon scooper to chop up your watermelon. Remember that frozen watermelon loses its firmness when thawed. So don’t bother about chopping the watermelon into bite-sized pieces.

Step 3: Perform a Flash Freeze:

Watermelon has a lot of water, therefore flash freezing the slices is essential if you only intend on utilizing a little amount at a time. If you are going to use all of your watermelon at once and do not intend to consume the chunks whole, you may skip to the next part.

Lay your watermelon slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to flash freeze. Spread the pieces out such that no two of them touch. After that, set the tray in the freezer for at least fifteen minutes. When the pieces start to freeze, remove them and go to step four.

Step 4: Pack into Freezer Bags:

Place your watermelon chunks in freezer bags and push out as much air as possible. You may even put a straw in the bag and attempt to suck some air out. That said, vacuum sealers are ideal for freezing watermelon if you happen to have one.

The removal of air from your watermelon is critical because it prevents freezer burn from forming. Your watermelon will already be less texturized than when you placed it in, and freezer burn will exacerbate the condition by drying out the fruit.

Step 5: Label the Bags:

Finally, mark the freezer bags with the date you placed the watermelon in the freezer. That way, you can keep track of how long they’ve been in there and use them up before they degrade into something less appealing.

Alternative Option: Freezing Pureed Watermelon

Because you may not want to eat frozen watermelon straight from the freezer, you may also freeze the puree.

Watermelon loses part of its sweetness in the freezer, thus pureeing it instead of freezing it whole has a benefit. As a result, you may add some sugar to the mix to make it taste as good as it did when you picked it from your garden.

Watermelon puree does not need any additions (unless you prefer to add some sugar). After that, pour the purée from your blender into ice cube trays. Freeze the puree in the tray.

Then, take the cubes and put them in a freezer bag, taking care to keep the bag as airtight as possible.

How Long Does Watermelon Last in the Freezer?

In the freezer, your watermelon should survive around eight months. You may keep it in the freezer beyond this date, but the flavor and texture will likely degrade significantly more than normal.

When you are ready to use your watermelon, it is not the sort of frozen item that should be placed in the refrigerator to thaw. Instead, if you want to try eating the watermelon directly, let it thaw little on your counter but not too much. The texture of frozen watermelon will deteriorate as it thaws.

Alternatively, you may use frozen watermelon in particular recipes, which we will discuss momentarily.

How to Tell if Frozen Watermelon is Bad:

When studying how to freeze watermelon, it’s also crucial to understand how to tell whether your frozen watermelon is rotten. Some indications that you should discard your frozen watermelon include:

• A slimy texture
• An off-color (often a brownish pink)
• Rotting smell

The Food and Drug Administration advises keeping your freezer at 0°F or colder. Bacteria begin to flourish at temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Fahrenheit. As a result, if the power goes out or your freezer malfunctions, watch out for your watermelon.These are the most typical reasons why watermelon spoils in the freezer.

Watermelon preservation only goes so far if you don’t freeze the freshest watermelons you have access to, no matter how meticulous you are about following the freezing techniques we discussed here.

When choosing watermelons for freezing, the rind should sound hollow when tapped. It should have a beautiful pink and juicy core as well. Needless to say, if you have a lousy taste watermelon, you can expect it to be just as awful, if not worse, when it comes out of the freezer.

Frozen Watermelon Recipe Ideas

As you may have guessed, the best method to utilize frozen watermelon is usually always to incorporate it into a dish.

Watermelon sorbet is a delicious way to bring summer into your house any time of year. All you need to do is combine frozen watermelon with sugar, lemon juice, and optional mint leaves in a food processor.

Frozen watermelon may also be used in smoothies, mojitos, and lemonade. Purchase some popsicle molds and make nutritious watermelon popsicles for your children.

Finally, utilizing watermelon cubes to keep beverages cool on a hot summer day will wow your visitors. They look great in lemonade glasses.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you still have concerns about freezing watermelon? To assist, we’ve compiled answers to the most frequently asked questions.