SAEDNEWS: If you have a large amount of plums that you do not plan to dry or turn into fruit leather and you want to keep them fresh for a long time, you can freeze them.
According to SAEDNEWS, The simplest way to preserve excess plums for long-term storage is freezing. Freezing plums allows you to use and enjoy them in various ways whenever fresh plums are not available. The advantage of freezing over canning fruits is that frozen fruits retain a more natural taste and more nutrients. In this section, you will learn how to properly freeze plums.
First, select plums that are fully ripe and free from wrinkles or blemishes. Frozen plums taste best when they are ripe and flavorful before freezing.
Avoid freezing overly ripe or slightly unripe plums, because after thawing they will not have a pleasant taste.
If the plums are still firm and unripe, keep them at room temperature for a few days until they soften and ripen, then place them in the freezer.
Wash the plums before freezing, then cut them with a knife and remove the pits. Each plum slice should be about 3 cm to help preserve its texture.
Place the plum slices in a container with some space between them so they do not stick together while freezing. Put them in the freezer for a few hours until they become slightly firm and partially frozen. Then remove them from the freezer, transfer them into a plastic bag, and place them back in the freezer.
Using this method, plums can be stored for up to 6 months.
In this method, plums are placed in syrup and then frozen. To do this, follow these steps:
Wash the plums thoroughly.
Peel the plums, because in this method the skin loses its shape and appearance after freezing and negatively affects the taste.
Prepare two pots: one with boiling water and one with ice water.
Make a cross-shaped cut at the bottom of the plums using a knife so that the skin does not crack.
Place the plums in boiling water for about 30 minutes, then remove them and transfer them into a pot of ice water.
After another 30 minutes, drain the plums and easily peel off their skins.
Now cut them into desired sizes and remove the pits.
To prevent the plums from darkening in the freezer, you can drizzle some lemon juice over them.
Prepare a syrup made of water and sugar in a container and mix the plums with it. This method enhances the flavor of the plums and allows them to last up to one year.
Place the plums along with the syrup into ziplock bags and seal them.
When using them, you can thaw the plastic bags by leaving them at room temperature in open air.
Frozen plums can be stored for about 6 months to one year. However, during this period their quality will not be the same as fresh plums, but they are still safe to eat and pose no health risk.
The best way to use frozen plums is for making jam, because in jam the appearance and texture of the fruit are not important.
