How to freeze plums in the freezer

You can freeze plums in the freezer by simply putting the fruits in for a day. However, after thawing, it may happen that a tasty fruit turns into an unpleasant-looking porridge. The problem is a violation of freezing technology. To avoid such trouble, you must follow the recipe exactly.

Preparing plums for freezing

In order to freeze plums in the freezer for the winter, and after thawing to obtain a whole product, the fruits are carefully prepared. The process involves sorting and removing stalks.

For freezing to be successful, adhere to the following rules:

• Only those plums that have dense, tasty and not watery pulp are suitable for the freezer.
• Only ripe fruits need to be frozen for the winter. Unripe and overripe fruits cannot be frozen.
• It is best to freeze plums of those varieties whose fruits can withstand transportation. Such fresh fruits can be preserved for a long time, and they will not lose their quality in the freezer.
• It is better to enjoy the juicy plum right away. It cannot be put in the freezer. Once defrosted, the pulp will become porridge.

If you managed to sort the fruits in compliance with these simple rules, then half the way to harvesting fruits for the winter has already been completed.

Is it possible to freeze plums?

The advantage of freezing fruit for the winter is that it preserves all natural vitamins and microelements. This also applies to plums. Jams, compotes, dried fruits, and jellies prepared for the winter are subject to heat treatment. Apart from taste, the product is not rich in anything else. Partially, only a few useful substances remain. A frozen plum taken in winter after thawing is practically no different from a fresh fruit. The consistency of the pulp will, of course, change slightly, but the fruit will remain just as healthy and nutritious.

What properties are preserved when plums are frozen?

Fresh plums are rich in vitamin C. The juice and pulp contain pectin and sugar. There are vitamins of group B, as well as A and PP. When blast freezing in the freezer, all substances are preserved. For the winter, a person completely provides himself with a natural vitamin product.

The benefits of frozen and fresh plums are the same:

• The fruit is an excellent laxative and diuretic.
• Recipes of traditional healers recommend the use of thawed pulp for hypertensive patients with liver and heart disease.
• A defrosted product eaten on an empty stomach stimulates the appetite.
• In patients with jaundice, the fruit relieves yellowness.

The defrosted product is quite suitable for diets and preparing baby food.

What varieties of plums are suitable for freezing?

You can put any type of plum in the freezer for the winter. It will freeze, but what will the nutritional value be after it thaws? There are varieties that are best suited to shock freezing:

• Anna Shpet - late-ripening German variety. The dense, dark blue flesh freezes well, but the small stone is difficult to separate. Such fruits are sent to the freezer whole.
• Grand Duke - large-fruited variety. The orange fruit weighs about 60 g. The pit is difficult to separate, but due to its fleshiness, the plum can be cut into slices and frozen for the winter.
• Greengage – best preserves commercial quality in the freezer. The bone separates well. The product can be saved whole or in slices.
• Prunes - a popular variety. The bone is easily separated from the dense pulp.

The fruits of the “Ekaterininskaya” variety cannot be frozen due to the soft pulp. Once thawed they will become mushy. The Victoria variety can be frozen, but the specific taste will not improve after being in the freezer.

Do I need to wash plums before freezing?

The collected fruits are covered with a natural waxy coating, to which a lot of dust sticks. Before you put the harvest in the freezer for winter storage, you need to wash it. Even if, after unsuccessful freezing, the product becomes mush, it will be clean and can be used for making purees or compote.

Wash the plum thoroughly 2 or 3 times. Clean fruits are laid out on cloth to dry. The process can be speeded up by wiping with a paper towel.

How to freeze plums for the winter in the freezer

To avoid confusion with varieties, it is better to freeze late-ripening plums for the winter. They are usually hard and can be stored for a long time. It is advisable to put fruit in the freezer immediately after purchasing or picking from the tree. To prevent the whole product or slices from freezing into a ball, they are frozen for 24 hours in one layer on a tray, and then packaged in portions in bags.

There are many recipes. The best are those that involve preserving the fruit in slices or as a whole. This product does not lose its nutritional value. Only shock freezing is needed, in which the fruits are placed in a freezer with the lowest temperature possible.

For those who are not satisfied with whole fruits, there are recipes where the pulp is processed into puree, covered with sugar, and filled with syrup. The taste is improved due to additional ingredients, but the product loses its natural nutritional value.

How to freeze plums with pits

The easiest way to preserve fresh produce for the winter is to freeze whole plums. The recipe is simple. After sorting and washing, the fruits are dried on a cloth. Spread in one layer on a tray and place in the freezer. It is advisable not to allow the fruits to touch each other to prevent them from freezing. When the pulp becomes “glassy,” they begin packing it into bags, sign the date with a marker, and leave it for further storage for the winter.

How to freeze pitted plums

This pitted freezing recipe gives free rein to your imagination. The pulp can be cut into slices, slices, and strips. If the stone separates well, then the fruit can be preserved whole by removing the core through a small incision.

The pulp of washed and dried plums is cut into pieces of the required size.The prepared mass is laid out in one layer on a dish and sent to the freezer. When blast frozen, the pieces will become “glassy” in about 4 hours. Now the product can be packaged and sent for further storage.

Plum frozen with sugar

Those with a sweet tooth will love this frozen recipe, where sugar is an additional ingredient. Its amount depends on the natural sweetness of the plum. Housewives usually use 1 part sugar to 5 parts prepared pulp. Whole plums are not frozen in this way. The product turns out to be a sticky lump. After defrosting, you practically get a sweet puree, where the bones will only get in the way.

Ingredients you will need:

• 5 kg plums;
• 1 kg granulated sugar.

The freezing process consists of the following steps:

1. The pulp is cut into slices. It is better to give preference to slices.
2. Pieces of plums are laid out in layers in a saucepan, sprinkled with sugar.
3. The entire contents of the container are carefully mixed to crush the slices as little as possible.

Now all that remains is to pack the product into containers and put it in the freezer. You can even store slices with sugar for the winter in plastic bags.

Freezing plums for the winter in sugar syrup

The final product prepared according to this recipe resembles jam made from fresh plums without heat treatment. To remove the skin, the fruit will have to be immersed in boiling water for a short time, but it will still remain fresh. However, after such actions, natural vitamins are partially lost.

Ingredients you will need:

• plums;
• water;
• sugar.

The syrup is prepared from 0.5 kg of sugar and 1 liter of water. You need enough of it to completely cover the fruits laid out in the container.

You can freeze fruits with skin, cut into slices, in syrup.It is allowed to pour whole plums after first piercing the skin with a fork. If you decide to cook only pure pulp in syrup, follow these steps:

1. The plum is immersed in boiling water for thirty seconds. The skin will crack and easily separate from the pulp.
   
2. The pulp is carefully cut with a sharp knife. Remove the bone.
3. Syrup is made from water and sugar. Cool it to a temperature of +6^OWITH.
4. Pour the cooled syrup over the plum slices until they are lightly covered.
   
5. The finished mass is laid out in containers, covered with a lid, and sent to the freezer.

Once defrosted, you get a delicious, sugar-soaked fruit.

How to freeze plums for the winter in bags

A plastic bag is the most common container for freezing. Plums can be whole with pits or sliced. You can even package the puree into bags. Whole fruit or slices are first frozen on a tray before being placed in a bag, and only then packaged. Portions are calculated so that the defrosted product is enough for one-time use. Before placing in the freezer, air is removed from the bag with plums through a straw or with a vacuum pump.

A modern method is to freeze plums in a vacuum. To do this, you need to have special bags and a device - a vacuum sealer. The fruit is completely covered with a film without access to oxygen.

How to freeze plum puree with sugar in the freezer

Soft, overripe, juicy and burst plums do not need to be thrown away. They can also be frozen for the winter, only in the form of puree. The process involves removing the seeds and grinding the pulp into a paste-like pulp. Sugar is added to taste. If the plums are very sweet, then it is not needed. You can grind it with a meat grinder or blender.To prepare puree without pieces of skin, the fruits are first doused with boiling water and peeled.

It is convenient to freeze plum puree by placing it in silicone molds. When the mass becomes “glassy,” the figures are removed from the molds, packaged in bags, and sent for further storage.

Freezing plums in slices for the winter

The most convenient and popular method of freezing is considered slices. In winter, it is convenient to take out a portioned bag of ready-to-eat fruits from the freezer. To freeze slices, whole fruits are sorted, washed, and dried on a cloth.

After drying, each fruit is cut lengthwise with a knife and the pit is removed. The slices are laid out on a dish or tray with the dimples facing up and placed in the freezer. After about 4-7 hours the pulp will become “glassy”. The slices are packaged in bags or containers and sent to the freezer for further storage.

The freezing process is shown in the video at the end of the article.

What to cook from frozen plums

Before you cook anything from frozen food, you need to defrost it properly. If an ingredient is needed for cooking compote, then you can throw it straight from the freezer into boiling water. For all other dishes that require preserving the whole fruit, slow defrosting is used. The plums are left to thaw in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator.

The slices are great for pie filling. The bottom of the yeast dough is rolled out, defrosted plums are laid out, sugar and pieces of butter are added. The top is also covered with dough, and the edges are sealed. Bake the pie in the oven at a temperature of 210^OUntil a golden brown crust appears.

You can make delicious marmalade from frozen plum puree.The mass is boiled until thick, until it begins to lag behind the bottom of the pan. The boiled puree will reduce by about half. The marmalade is allowed to harden, cut into pieces, and sprinkled with sugar.

Conclusion

Freezing plums for the winter if you have a chest freezer at home is not difficult. You just need to follow the technology and prepare the ingredients correctly.

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