“Winter will pick up everything,” say experienced housewives. Indeed, in the cold season, when the fruits on store shelves resemble beautiful dummies rather than aromatic and healthy products, it is so nice to serve your own preparations on the table. Compotes and jams are made from fruits; they are good in the form of dried fruits, but one of the simple ways to preserve maximum vitamins and taste in them is to freeze them. This preparation can then be used for making drinks, filling for baked goods, and simply eaten fresh in winter. There are several ways to freeze plums in the freezer for the winter.
Selection and preparation of plums
To make the preparation tasty in the winter, you need to carefully select the raw materials. The plum should be ripe, but not overripe, so the fruit slices will retain their correct shape and, after freezing, will not turn into an unappetizing mess. Unripe plums are not suitable for winter storage; they will not give the desired taste and aroma. Even greenish fruits cooked with sugar have a specific sour, astringent taste. The best varieties are considered to be those that have dense pulp, without excess wateriness and hard fibers:
- Zarechnaya early;
- July;
- Souvenir of the East;
- Empress;
- Urogrka;
- Giant.
You can freeze plums of any color and ripening period (early, late) for the winter, the main thing is that their structure meets the requirements. Large fruits are separated from the stone, and small ones are frozen in their original form. Before starting the preparation process, the plums are placed in a basin or bucket and filled with cold water. Leave for 5-10 minutes in water, and then carefully wash under running water. Some varieties have a characteristic waxy coating; you don’t need to try to get rid of it at all costs; just wash off the dust from the fruit, remove the stems, and then dry the plums well, scattering them on a clean litter in a draft or blotting them with a towel.
Attention! It is also important to sort through the plums stored for the winter and remove crushed, damaged or moldy fruits.
Why is it good to eat plums in winter?
Plum contains malic and citric acids, proteins, and various dietary fibers. The fruits also contain minerals (potassium, copper, iodine, manganese), vitamins A, B, C, E. Due to the anthocyanins contained in the skin, this fruit neutralizes free radicals, and quercecin is responsible for removing cholesterol from the human body. By the way, plum pit has found wide application in the preparation of cosmetics and medicines.
We recommend reading: How to Store Opened Coconut Milk?
Other beneficial properties of plum include:
- Regular consumption of fruits helps strengthen the walls of blood vessels.
- In older people, plums normalize blood pressure, reducing the risk of heart disease.
- Plum is also beneficial for young children - puree from this fruit normalizes intestinal motility, removing toxins.
- Fruits are also beneficial for pregnant women, as they improve digestion.
True, you should always remember that excessive consumption of even the healthiest foods can lead to disastrous consequences. So, contraindications include:
- They should not be consumed by those who suffer from diabetes due to the high glucose content in the fruits. This is especially true for dried fruits.
- The intake of plums in any form should be limited to those who suffer from stomach ulcers.
- Doctors do not advise those who suffer from kidney failure to consume these fruits.
Plum, frozen with pit
Many housewives are interested in whether it is possible to freeze plums with pits? It is possible, there will be no negative consequences from this method.
This option for winter harvesting is simple, it is suitable for small fruits and those varieties in which the stone is tightly connected to the pulp and is difficult to separate. In the future, you can cook compotes, jelly from them, or simply eat them after defrosting them:
- The washed, dried plum is placed in a freezer container or bag. You can’t add too much, otherwise the berries will become deformed. It's better to do it in layers.
- After 12-24 hours, when the plum is well frozen, it can be “replenished” to a full capacity or put in a bag as much as is needed at one time. The fruits will no longer be able to stick together into a lump or wrinkle.
Plums frozen for the winter in this way can be stored until the next harvest.
Preparing the Freezer
If the refrigerator has a special storage or freezing function, then use them. Before the fruit is placed in the chamber, the “Freezing” mode is turned on (24 hours in advance); the “Storage” mode is switched a day after placing the raw materials in the chamber.
Fruits should be placed with meat and fish in different compartments. To preserve the beneficial properties of plums, a temperature of -18 °C is required. In such conditions, the berry can lie for up to a year. If the chamber is -8 °C, then frozen fruit is stored for no more than 90-100 days. For initial freezing, you need to clear enough space in the freezer compartment to accommodate a container (tray, cutting board, baking sheet) with fruit.
Plum slices without pits
The method is suitable for large fruits in which the seed is well separated from the pulp. This kind of freezing makes an excellent filling for pies; it can be added to meat and fruit pilaf. The halves take up less space in the freezer, and you can prepare more plums for the winter:
- cut the plum in a circle with a knife;
- the halves are separated from the bone by hand;
- Place on a tray or board and place in the freezer.
This way they will retain their shape. When the slices become hard, they can be packaged in containers or bags, as shown in the video.
If the plum has a thick skin, it is recommended to remove it before freezing to make the preparation for the winter more tender. To do this you need:
- Place a pot of water on the stove and wait until it boils.
- Prepare a second container with cold water or ice.
- Make shallow notches at the top of each plum crosswise.
- Dip 4-6 plums in boiling water for 30 seconds.
- Remove with a slotted spoon and place in cold water for the same amount of time.
Starting from the cut area, it is now easy to remove the peel. If the fruits are tender, less time may be needed to boil. You shouldn’t throw a lot of drains at once, this will affect the quality of cleaning.
How to freeze pitted plums: recipe
Freezing pitted plums is very easy. To do this, you need to choose a plum variety whose pit is easy to get, then prepare the fruit for freezing, sort, rinse and divide into 2 parts. After this, you can cut the fruits into 2-4 parts, but you can also freeze half.
- Large fruits are best, fleshy, but with a small amount of juice so that the frozen berries do not stick together. If you freeze plums in slices or small cubes, then in this case you need to choose very hard fruits so that when cutting, the plum does not turn into mush.
- The slices can be placed on a tray and left in the freezer for only 2 hours, but first they need to be thoroughly dried on a cloth or paper towel.
- It is worth freezing completely dry fruits. Place the prepared plums on a board or baking sheet lined with cling film and place in the freezer overnight. It is worth laying out so that the fruits do not touch each other. If you can’t wait that long, it’s enough to leave it for 4 hours.
- After this procedure, place the plum in a bag or special container. This plum is perfect for making pies, jellies and other desserts. If you plan to make sauce from frozen plums, it is best to prepare the fruits without peel.
Before freezing plums, you need to blanch.
To remove the skin from plums, you should perform the blanching process, for this you need:
- Rinse the fruit
- Make a cross-shaped cut at the base of the plum
- Place in boiling water for 5 seconds. To do this you need a colander
- Next, dip the plums in ice water. You can even add a few ice cubes
- Afterwards, remove the skin
- Remove pits and cut plums
- Carry out the pre-freezing process
- And sort into packages
We further sort the frozen plums.
After you have put the workpiece into bags or containers, you should not freeze the plums again. It may deteriorate or stick together. Therefore, it is very important to sort the sliced plums into portions.
Frozen plum sprinkled with sugar
Plums frozen for the winter with sugar are intended for making compote, fruit puree, sweet sauces and baking fillings. As a result of contact of the pulp with sugar, juice is released. It is necessary to ensure that it does not leak; the bags must be whole, or better yet, double. Containers for freezing are chosen without holes.
- The plums are washed, dried, and the skin is removed if necessary.
- Separate the halves from the pit.
- A layer of sugar is poured onto the bottom of the container so that the bottom does not show through.
- Place the halves cut side up and sprinkle with sugar again.
- This way you can make 3-4 layers, after which the container is placed in the freezer.
Advice! Do not cut the plums into small slices, because you will get a lot of juice, and the consistency will worsen after defrosting in winter.
Freezing methods
There are several ways to freeze plums in the freezer for the winter: whole, cut into halves, sprinkled with sugar. Before you start harvesting fruit, you need to find a suitable storage container. Use special plastic bags with a zipper or regular thick ones. Plastic containers with a hermetically sealed lid will also work.
IMPORTANT! The frozen product is packaged in different volumes depending on how it will be used in the future. For cooking compote, 400-500 g is enough, for making puree and adding to baked goods - 200-300 g.
It is advisable to remove air from the bag. They use a straw or a special device - a home vacuum degasser. Thanks to this, the workpieces will take up less space in the chamber and will be stored longer.
With a bone
The berries, dried after washing, are placed on a cutting board or tray wrapped in cling film. There should be a small distance between the fruits so that they do not stick together when frozen. Then place in the freezer and leave for 7 or more hours. When the pulp hardens, remove the tray and place the plums in bags or containers.
Pitted
From elastic, hard fruits, the stone is removed through a small incision on the side. Soft juicy berries are cut in half, the core is removed, and if desired, cut into quarters or pieces of any shape. Place on a tray covered with cling film in one layer and place in the freezer. After 4 hours, take it out and put it in bags.
With sugar
The pit is removed from the plum and cut into slices or slices of any shape. Place in a clean, dry container and mix with sugar. For every kg of plum you will need about 200 g of granulated sugar. Mix carefully and spoon into containers with a tight-fitting lid.
As a puree
Even very soft fruits can be frozen this way. The peeled fruits are crushed with a blender or ground. Cover with sugar (the amount is determined to taste). Place in a container of suitable size. Small portions are first frozen in silicone baking molds, and then the hardened plum puree is transferred to a bag.
In syrup
It is advisable to remove the skin from the fruits - boil water in a saucepan and, without turning off the heat, lower the plums into it one by one for half a minute. After a short heat treatment, the skin is easily removed. Then cut the berries in half and remove the seeds.
Prepare syrup using this recipe:
- fill the pan with water;
- add sugar at the rate of 500 g per liter;
- stir until completely dissolved;
- if desired, add a tablespoon of lemon juice for each liter of water;
- turn off after the liquid boils.
When the syrup has cooled to room temperature, place it in the refrigerator to cool to approximately 10 °C. The fruits prepared in advance are laid out in containers and poured with syrup so that it covers the fruit completely. Cover with a lid and place in the freezer.
Plum frozen in syrup
One of the delicious ways to freeze plums for the winter takes longer than others, but the result is worth the effort.
- Plums are prepared in the standard way.
- Place into containers. There is no need to stuff them tightly into the bowl; the halves should lie loosely, and the syrup will expand as it hardens. It is optimal to leave 2-3 cm of free space on top.
- For the syrup you will need 200 grams of sugar and 300 ml of water, citric acid on the tip of a knife. You need to cook it over low heat, stirring constantly so that the sugar does not burn. When the grains of sand are completely dissolved and the syrup itself acquires a yellowish tint, remove it from the heat and pour in the plums, previously laid out in a container for freezing.
- The container is removed to cool for 2-3 hours, covered with lids and sent to the freezer.
Advice! Do not pour the syrup to the edges of the sides of the container; the plums will give juice and the liquid will overflow.
Shelf life
In a chamber where the temperature is kept at -10 °C, the berries are stored for up to six months. If the temperature is below -18 °C, the period increases to 9 months. Each bag or container should be labeled with the date it was frozen. The product that was prepared earlier is moved to the top to be used first.
Freezing plums is a fairly simple process. If you do this correctly, you can quickly prepare a large volume of berries, the taste of which will not deteriorate after defrosting, and the vitamins will be preserved.
How to freeze plums for the winter. Preparations for pies, porridges | Anna Chizhova
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Frozen plum - my opinion!
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Plum puree
It can even be prepared from highly ripe fruits or varieties whose flesh is too tender to be frozen whole or in slices. The peel and pit of the prepared plums are removed, and the pulp is ground to a paste using a blender. If necessary, add sugar to taste.
It is convenient to freeze such a preparation for the winter in clean small jars of yogurt, silicone molds for baking muffins or cookies, and if you pour the puree into ice molds, then from several cubes poured with boiling water you get a quick and tasty drink.
Rules for defrosting plums
The frozen delicacy can be used in the preparation of various fillings in confectionery products, in the preparation of drinks, baby food, and also in its pure form.
To preserve all the beneficial properties, as well as appearance, you should defrost, following some recommendations:
- This must be done exclusively in a natural way. You cannot defrost berries in warm water or in the microwave; in this case, the berries will be hopelessly spoiled;
- After defrosting, a small amount of liquid will appear in the container. It can be poured into a separate container and then used;
- If the plums have been thawed, they should be used. There is no need to freeze them a second time.
Often, when preparing confectionery, housewives use plums without defrosting them completely. Frozen plums will be a real treat during the cold season.
Freezing plums in a vacuum
Vacuum packaging for the winter requires special bags and a vacuum sealer. The plum is washed, dried, the pit is removed or left as desired. The fruits are placed in a special bag in one layer and evenly distributed inside it, then the free edge of the bag is placed in a vacuum sealer and all air is removed from the bag with a device. If you don’t have such a unit at home, the drain can be perfectly vacuumed for the winter using a handy method, as in the video.
This method is good because during the winter the plum does not become saturated with extraneous aromas from the freezer or from nearby products. On the packaging you can use a marker to write the date of harvesting and the variety of fruit. In winter, it will be clear which fruits to use first. You can put not only whole plums, but also puree into bags for vacuum freezing. After thawing, such a plum, of course, will lose its shape and cannot be used to decorate dishes, but it is excellent as a raw material for filling pies or making compote.
Most often, plums are frozen for the winter according to classical schemes. But many housewives, in the process of preparing puree or syrup, add vanilla, cinnamon, change regular sugar to burnt sugar (this gives a delicate caramel-smoky aroma), and add other fruits or berries. They need to be stored in containers under a lid or in bags where moisture will not penetrate, otherwise the fermentation process may begin and the plums will be lost.
Comment! To cook compote, plums or puree are thrown into boiling water without defrosting; for other cases, care must be taken to pre-thaw the fruit.
Recipes for harvesting plums for the winter
Below are several more complex ways to prepare berries. They are ideal for making pies, compotes, fruit drinks and pastries in winter.
In addition, this is another way to wisely use an overripe crop.
Plum in sugar
A delicious and simple recipe for freezing fruit for the winter. Only ripe and juicy fruits are suitable.
Cooking algorithm:
- The fruits are washed and dried, the seeds are thrown away.
- The bottom of the plastic container is covered with a small amount of sugar. Place plum halves on top (cut side up), and sprinkle sugar again.
- In this way, 2 more layers are made.
Do not cut the fruit into slices. There will be too much juice.
Plums prepared in this way are perfect for making compotes, as they turn out very sweet.
How to freeze berries in syrup
Freezing berries in syrup at home will take a little longer than other methods, but the result will be an appetizing product. Both overripe and hard fruits are suitable.
How to cook:
- The plums are washed and the pits are removed.
- Fruits with hard skins are peeled.
- Prepare the syrup: 350 ml of water and 200 g of sugar.
- The fruits are placed in a container (in halves or slices) and filled with the resulting syrup.
- First, the container is placed in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, and then closed with lids and sent to the freezer.
The containers do not need to be filled to capacity, as the liquid will expand when cooled.
Fruits in syrup
Making plum puree
No special skills are required for this recipe. Pureeing is a great way to consume overripe fruits.
Step by step recipe:
- The fruits need to be washed and the seeds removed.
- Grind the fruit in a meat grinder or using a blender.
- If the fruits are sweet, then you don’t need to add sugar; if they are sour, then you should sweeten them a little.
- Pour the resulting puree into molds and place in the freezer overnight.
- In the morning, you need to release the puree from the molds and place it in bags.
It should be remembered that plums cannot be re-frozen. Compotes are prepared without defrosting. If you still need to defrost the fruits, then you should do this only at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
