Putting Food By - Janet Greene [102]
Wet pack with fruit juice. The fruit—whole, crushed, or in pieces—is packed in the container and covered with juice extracted from good parts of less perfect fruit, and treated with ascorbic acid to prevent darkening. Pack with a piece of crumpled moisture-resistant sheet wrapping on top to hold fruit below the liquid. Seal and freeze. People on sugar-restricted diets can enjoy this unsweetened fruit. Or artificial sweeteners may be added at serving time: see Sweeteners in Chapter 5.
Sugar Syrups for Freezing Fruits
Dissolve the sugar thoroughly in cold or hot water (if hot, chill it thoroughly before packing). Syrup can be made the day before and stored in the refrigerator: it must be kept quite cold.
Roughly, estimate ½ to ⅔ cup of syrup for each pint container of fruit.
Substitutions: Generally, ¼ of the sugar may be replaced by light corn syrup without affecting the flavor of the fruit; indeed, the additional blandness is often desirable for delicately flavored fruits, and some cooks prefer substituting even more corn syrup.
Honey or maple syrup may also replace ¼ of the sugar—if the family likes the different flavor either imparts. Brown sugar of course affects the color and, to some degree, the flavor.
For general use, sugar may be dissolved in the juice in the same proportion used in making a sugar syrup suitable for the particular fruit.
A greater degree of natural flavor is kept in the Juice pack, either sweetened or unsweetened, than in the Syrup pack.
Wet pack, purée. Fruit is puréed in a blender or food processor or by forcing it through a food mill, strainer, or colander. Dissolved ascorbic acid or lemon juice is mixed with the purée before packing to prevent darkening. Sweetening may or may not be added.
Wet pack with water. This is similar to the Juice and Syrup packs, except that the added liquid is cold water in which ascorbic acid has been dissolved. The flavor is not as satisfactory as it is in Juice or Syrup packs.
Apples
Apples, more so than most produce, store well by several methods: fresh in a root cellar, or dried, or as canned applesauce or dessert slices. But you may want to freeze a few for late-season cooked dishes—especially in a package shaped for a pie.
SLICES
Peel, core, and slice. As you go, treat against darkening by coating the slices with ½ teaspoon pure ascorbic acid dissolved in each 3 tablespoons of cold water. Or steam-blanch. Less satisfactory but easier: drop slices in a solution of 2 tablespoons salt to each 1 gallon of water (no vinegar) for no longer than 20 minutes; rinse well and drain before packing.
Dry pack, no sugar (for pies). Arrange in a pie plate lined with plastic wrap as for a pie, slip the filled plate into a plastic bag and freeze. Remove the solid chunk of slices from the plate as soon as frozen, peel off and discard the wrap, and overwrap the slices tightly in moisture/vapor-proof material—as if they were a piece of meat—and return to the freezer. (Handy at pie-making time because you lay the pie-shaped chunk of slices right in your pastry, put on the sugar and seasonings, top with a crust, and bake.)
Wet pack, sugar. Sprinkle ¼ cup sugar over each 1 quart of slices for pie-making. Leave appropriate headroom. Seal; freeze.
Wet pack, syrup. Cover with 40 percent Syrup for use in fruit cocktail or serving uncooked. Leave appropriate headroom. Seal; freeze.
SAUCE
Make applesauce as you like it—strained, chunky, sweetened, or unsweetened.
Wet pack, puréed. Fill containers. Leave ½ inch of headroom. Seal; freeze.
Apricots
HALVES AND SLICES
If you do not peel the apricots, heat them for 30 seconds in boiling