Preservation pointers to keep fruit fresh

Though fruit seasons are short, they usually produce plentiful harvests. This makes it smart to stock up and preserve.  Here are some methods and how to use them.

• Always remember to wash and dry your fruits before using any of these preservation methods.
• Freezing: This is the easiest method. Although it may lose some of its texture, frozen fruit retains all the flavour of fresh.
• Dry freezing: Use this method for berries and soft fruit. Spread the fruit onto trays lined with wax paper, freeze for one hour, and then pack into boxes and return to the freezer.
• In sugar: Pack fruit between layers of caster (superfine) sugar. Allow 100 to 175 grams (3.5 to 6 ounces) of sugar per 500 grams (1 pound) of fruit.
• In syrup: Put fruits, mixed in with the syrup, into rigid containers before freezing. Make a simple syrup using 250 grams (1 cup) of sugar to every 250 millilitres (1 cup) of water.
• Poached or puréed: This method is ideal for less-than-perfect specimens. Poach fruit for a few minutes in a sugar syrup and let it cool before freezing. Or, purée in a blender and freeze it in batches.
• Bottling or canning: Most unblemished fruits can be bottled (or canned), in either a sugar syrup or in alcohol.
• Use ovenproof jars with an airtight seal, and use a fresh lid for each jar.
• Peel, core, and slice apples and pears; skin, halve, and stone apricots and peaches; and bottle plums and soft fruits whole. Pack them into sterilized jars and top up with boiling syrup.
• Put lids on loosely and process the jars by standing them on a rack in a large pot of boiling water. Process them for the amount of time that the recipe calls for, then seal.
• To bottle in alcohol, layer fruit with sugar and then top up the mixture with any spirit more than 40 percent alcohol. Shake every few days for a month to dissolve the sugar.

These preservation methods are a great way to save money and enjoy your favourite fruits all year round. Better stock up!

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