alt="image" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="#fb3_img_img_64cfb1a7-4f96-5364-8bc3-35aeaef8345e.jpg"/> Discoloration and oxidative changes. Light-colored fruits (such as peaches, pears, apples, apricots, and bananas) begin to darken when exposed to the air. While this does not affect the safety of the food, it does make it less appetizing and less nutritious. Pretreat these to retard darkening by following the instructions in “Treating for Discoloration” in the appendix.
FREEZING FRUITS
The method for freezing fruits is basically the same as described in “The Process Overview” on page 46. What changes is how you pack it, how much sugar you use, whether or not it needs to be treated to prevent darkening, and how much headspace you need to leave. With frozen fruit, the amount of sugar recommended is just that—a recommendation. Unlike with other types of food preservation, the safety of the fruit is not dependent upon the amount of sugar. The recipes give you recommended amounts.
PACKING THE FRUIT
You can always pack fruit dry without sugar, but many people prefer the texture and flavor of fruit that has been packed in sugar or sugar syrup. See “Sugar Syrups” on page 50 for syrup proportions.
Cookie-Sheet Quick-Freeze (CSQF) Method
To freeze flexible bulk supplies, first freeze the fruit, vegetable, or single meat portions on a large, flat sheet, such as a cookie sheet, lined with waxed or parchment paper at -10 degrees Fahrenheit. For fruits or vegetables, rinse them thoroughly, drain them, and spread them out into a single layer (for most vegetables, make sure you blanch and cool them first). For meats, pastries, breads, and so on, place single portions on the cookie sheet. Once the food is frozen, remove the cookie sheet from the freezer and quickly transfer the food to a freezer bag, making sure to break apart the frozen pieces, remove excess air, and seal the bag. (You can use rigid freezer containers, as well, but plastic zipper-style freezer bags are especially handy because they allow you to exhaust all air from inside, thus preventing freezer burn.) Any time you need some of your frozen food, simply unzip the bag, and remove only what you need—just enough blueberries for breakfast, just two chicken breasts for supper…you get the idea. Very convenient!
DRY PACKING
Dry packing is just that. After you wash and drain the fruit, treat it to prevent darkening if necessary, then put it in the container and freeze. For some fruits, such as blueberries and strawberries, the CSQF method works well (see the sidebar on page 48).
WET PACKING
For wet packing, you pack the fruit with some type of liquid, such as its own juices, sugar or honey syrup, fruit juice, crushed fruit, or water. Rigid freezer containers work best for wet-packed fruits. When packing the fruit into the container, be sure that the fruit stays covered with the juice. If necessary, pack a piece of crumpled waxed paper or plastic wrap on top of the fruit to hold it down.
Strawberries sprinkled with a little sugar will freeze very well. When you thaw them, the sugar will have mixed with the natural juices to form a delicious, natural syrup.
Be sure to treat your peaches with ascorbic acid before freezing them so that they keep their bright yellow color.
Sugar Syrups
When preparing syrup packs for either canning or freezing, use the proportions below. You may use honey for part of the syrup, though it will influence the flavor of the fruit. To prepare the syrup, combine the ingredients in a pan and bring them to a boil. Simmer the mixture until the sugar is completely dissolved. Depending upon the syrup’s intended use, either cool it or use it while hot. You will need approximately ½ to
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