For the most part, you can freeze your fruit raw or cooked, depending on your intended use. You’ll never preserve the texture of fresh, but they will be good for smoothies, bakes and cakes.

Bananas

Peel and slice them before laying them on a lined baking tray. Freeze before bagging or boxing. Perfect for throwing straight into a smoothie or blending into a vegan ice cream substitute. Defrost to add to banana bread.

Berries, stone fruits, apples, pears, pineapples, grapes, melon, kiwis

Peel, trim, destone and slice or dice anything that needs prepping first. Lay on a tray and freeze first before boxing or bagging. You can make them into sorbets or smoothies by blitzing straight from the freezer. Or, they can all be cooked down into a simple compote before freezing if you prefer, maybe with a little sugar to sweeten and a pinch of appropriate spice. Cool completely before freezing.

Rhubarb and gooseberries 

These are best cooked before freezing as they are too sharp to use in their raw form. Stew them down with some sugar until softened and to your liking. Don’t sweeten them too much as the sharpness is part of their charm.

Citrus

It is infinitely useful to have a squeeze of citrus to hand to lift a dish or for an emergency G&T. You can cut lemons, lime and oranges into wedges and freeze them. Remove them an hour before you need them. Alternatively, you can zest and juice them and freeze the two separately.

Read Bob's tips for how to freeze veg.