Putting Food By - Janet Greene [105]
PURÉED
Wet pack, juice. Crush cherries; heat just to boiling and press through a sieve or food mill. Add ¾ cup sugar to each 1 quart of purée. Pack; leave appropriate headroom. Seal; freeze.
JUICE
Homemade cherry juice in a party punch makes it exceptional!
Wet pack, juice. Crush cherries, heat slightly (do not boil) until juice is released. Or use a juice extractor. Strain through a jelly bag. Add 1½ to 2 cups sugar to each 1 quart of juice; or pack unsweetened. Pour into containers; leave appropriate headroom. Seal; freeze.
Cherries, Sweet
The dark and “black” varieties are best for freezing—but do handle them quickly to prevent color and flavor changes. Use only tree-ripened fruit and remove the pits: the pits give an overpowering almond flavor to cherries when frozen.
WHOLE
Wet pack, syrup. Cover pitted cherries with 40 percent Syrup in which you’ve dissolved ½ teaspoon crystalline ascorbic acid to each 1 quart of syrup. Leave appropriate headroom. Seal; freeze.
CRUSHED
Wet pack, juice. To each 1 quart of crushed cherries add 1½ cups sugar and ¼ teaspoon crystalline ascorbic acid; mix well. Pack; leave appropriate headroom. Seal; freeze.
JUICE
Sweet red cherries and sweet white cherries are handled differently for juice.
Heat sweet red cherries slightly (to 165 F/74 C) until the juice is released. Or use a juice extractor. Strain through a jelly bag.
Crush sweet white cherries without heating or use an extractor. Strain through a jelly bag. Then warm this juice in a double boiler or over low heat to 165 F/74 C. Cool the red or white juice and let it stand covered overnight.
Wet pack, juice. Pour off the clear juice into containers, being careful not to include any sediment from the bottom of the kettle. Add 1 cup sugar to each 1 quart of juice; or leave unsweetened if you prefer. Leave appropriate headroom. Seal; freeze. (Sweet cherry juice by itself is pretty blah. So mix some sour cherry juice with the sweet to make a better beverage.)
Coconut
If you have a windfall, freeze some simply for fun—you may want to have a Mainland luau!
Puncture the “eye” of the coconut; drain out and save the liquid. Remove the meat from the broken-open shell. Shred it, or put it through a food chopper.
Dry pack, no sugar. Pack shelled peeled chunks or shredded meat in containers with ½ inch of headroom. Cover the top with plastic wrap. Seal; freeze.
Wet pack, juice. Cover shredded meat with coconut liquid. Leave appropriate headroom. Seal; freeze.
Dates
Wash, if necessary, and dry on paper towels; remove pits.
Dry pack, no sugar. Pack in containers with no headroom. Seal; freeze.
Figs
WHOLE OR SLICED
Only tree-ripened, soft-ripe fruit, please; and check a sample for good flavor clear through the flesh. Sort, wash, and cut off stems. Do not peel. If Dry packing, gently dry figs with cloth or paper towels.
Dry pack, no sugar. Fill containers with the prepared figs; leave appropriate headroom. Seal; freeze.
Wet pack, syrup. Cover with 35 percent Syrup to which you have added ¾ teaspoon crystalline ascorbic acid—or ½ cup lemon juice—to each 1 quart of syrup. Seal; freeze.
Wet pack, water. Pack figs; cover with water to which you have added ¾ teaspoon crystalline ascorbic acid to each 1 quart of water. Leave appropriate headroom. Seal; freeze.
CRUSHED
Wet pack, juice. Crush prepared figs. Mix ⅔ cup sugar and ¼ teaspoon crystalline ascorbic acid with each 1 quart of crushed fruit. Leave appropriate headroom. Seal; freeze.
Fruit Cocktail (or Compote)
Freezing is excellent for your favorite combinations of fruit to serve either as an appetizer or dessert. A few added blueberries or dark sweet cherries make a nice color contrast.
Use any combination of fruits peeled, cored, etc., and cut to suitable size.
Wet pack, syrup. Pack. Cover with cold 30 to 40 percent Syrup in which ¾ teaspoon crystalline ascorbic acid to each 1 quart of syrup has been dissolved. If cut-up oranges are in the mixture, the ascorbic acid may be omitted, although it is better to