2023-05-14 19:06:12
So when people ask me how to store fresh fruit, it speaks to me! I did this all my childhood. We’re not going to complain, but following a while, eating cherries all summer is enough. Ah, grandma’s famous glass jars… Let’s discover all the tips and tricks for better preservation of fruits and vegetables.
How to prolong the sweet flavors of summer all year round? Don’t have that annoying habit of throwing even a small rotten plum into your fruit basket. Food waste is so present in our homes. Remember to constantly check the expiry dates of your food to adopt the right actions at the right time.
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Especially if you are lucky enough to have a vegetable garden and grow your own fruits and vegetables, what a shame to put the result of your hard work in the trash.
Cherries in jars – Source: spm
Several tips exist, it’s up to you to choose according to your tastes and especially the fruits you have at home.
All means of preservation have the same objective: to prevent the development of bacteria.
The freezer
According to British designer gardener Mark Lane, freezing is the easiest way to preserve your fruit and vegetables. It’s also a great way to enjoy ripe fruit all year round.
From berries to legumes, in small pieces or wholemost can be frozen except root crops such as potatoes or sweet potatoes.
The only drawback, for certain fruits such as raspberries for example, defrosting them will make them soft, but suddenly this process remains ideal for making fruit juices or smoothies. You can keep your fruits in the freezer for 10 to 12 months.
Storage in boxes or glass jars
Storing fruits in glass jars is also a trick to keep them longer.
Steps to follow :
- Above all, you must select fresh, seasonal and mature fruit.
Example: 1 jar of cherries, 1 jar of plums and 1 jar of nectarine.
- Hygiene is very important in this trick so that bacteria do not grow in the glass boxes.
- Choose 3 airtight glass jars, sterilized beforehand (a very important step).
- Boil enough water to fill them.
- During this time, remove the stems from the cherries and wash the fruits several times without having to dry them.
- Place the fruit in the jars until they are completely filled.
- Pour the boiling water to the brim and put the lid without screwing it on to let stand for 10 minutes.
- Once the time has elapsed, empty the water from each jar without the fruit coming out.
- Boil water once more and meanwhile pour 2 tablespoons of sugar into each jar.
- This time, help yourself with a ladle to refill the jars with boiling water.
- Replace the lids, closing them well this time so as not to let the air in
- Put the jars to be sterilized in a pot (the sterilization time depends on the type of fruit)
- Let cool at room temperature for 24 hours away from light and place in a dry place.
And now, it’s ready ! You can keep your fruit for a few months, if you follow the sterilization method for the jars.
Preparation of candied fruit
In sticks or slices, here is one of the alternatives for preserving fruit. Make candied fruit.
Orange, lemon, pineapple, cherry, grapefruit, melon, ginger and even cherry tomatoes, a real treat ! To decorate cakes or even add a nice flavor to a savory dish, candied fruits are exquisite.
A few tips above all to make the recipe a success
- Blanch up to 7 times for grapefruit, for example, to eliminate their bitterness.
For fruits such as lemon or orange, do this 3 or 4 times.
- Start bleaching with cold water, not already hot water.
Two types of storage are possible:
- In syrup, in its cooking juice. This will further tenderize the fruit which will be more tender and soft.
- Dry. Dry the fruit on a wire rack to allow the syrup to drain, then sprinkle with sugar.
Finally, for better conservation, put them in a box in the fridge.
Preparation of seasonal fruit jam
Fruit, sugar and acid are the perfect balance to obtain the best jam. But the challenge is to achieve the true proportions.
Here is the recipe to follow:
Material :
- A copper pot or a heavy steel or cast iron saucepan.
- A wooden spoon, ideal for stirring jam during cooking.
- A small colander
- A glass jar with a resealable lid fitted with a rubber seal
Ingredients :
- 2 kilos of the fruit of your choice, cleaned, without skin or stone, cut into pieces.
- 2 tea cups of granulated sugar.
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Our method of preparation
- We mix the fruits and the sugar to let them rest for regarding 20 minutes before proceeding to the next step. Add the lemon halfway through cooking.
- Put everything to cook in the pot over high heat to let the water evaporate.
- Once boiling, prepare to let your jam cook for at least 40 to 50 minutes.
- Stir constantly once it has thickened.
- Using your strainer, remove the whitish foam, made up of impurities
Once the texture thickens, your jam is ready! Add this little extra to give even more flavor to the recipe.
Example, for a strawberry jam, here are those little magic ingredients to mix with fruits and sugar to bring even more flavors:
- 1 teaspoon orange blossom water
- a few grated pieces of vanilla pod
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 whole sprigs of lemon verbena
Cherries in a jar – Source: spm
The refrigerator makes it possible to increase the shelf life of a fresh food but which must however be consumed in the days which follow.
Use the crisper drawers for this and test this trick to completely remove the humidity.
You can also put your vegetables or fruits in beeswax food wraps for more freshness, such as leafy vegetables such as salad. This food packaging is the ecological alternative to freshness film.
Which fruits should not be put in the fridge?
Bananas that ripen faster and turn black easily.
Which fruits keep best?
Apples without hesitation! This fruit can stay fresh for up to 4 weeks in a cool, dry place of course.
Did you know ? Apples and bananas accelerate the ripening of other fruits thanks to the gas they give off.
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So if you find that your kiwis are too hard, put them next to apples or bananas.
Fruit basket – Source: spm
All of this made your mouth water, didn’t it? I’m going to tell you a secret, preserves in jars I know but the preparation of a jam, I’ve never tried. Tomorrow I’ll start !
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