Can it! Start Canning and Preserving at Home Today. Jackie Parente

Can it! Start Canning and Preserving at Home Today

45.)

12. Label the container with the contents and date, and update your freezer inventory.

13. Put your preserves in the freezer at -10 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the food is solidly frozen, return the freezer to 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

14. Enjoy within the next year!

THE TROUBLEMAKERS

The goal of freezing—or any type of food preservation—is to make the food not only safe but also tasty. There are a number of issues that can impair the quality of your frozen foods.

Enzymes. Enzymes are a harmless and necessary part of life—you’ll remember from earlier chapters that enzymes are chemicals found in all living organisms that control their change and growth. Unfortunately, after the product is picked, those enzymes don’t understand that their job is done. They just keep working, and the changes that they inflict may not be appetizing. This can be especially noticeable in frozen foods if they have not been properly prepared. Vegetables may become tougher and more fibrous; fruits will brown and lose vitamin C. To stop the enzyme activity, simply blanch your fruits and vegetables according to the instructions in “All About Blanching” in the appendix and following the times listed in each recipe.

Freezer Burn. Freezer burn is not a burn, but rather a loss of moisture. The dry climate inside the freezer literally saps the moisture out of frozen foods that are not sealed properly. The result depends upon the frozen product. Fruits, vegetables, breads, and meals will be dry and shriveled, often with a coating of ice crystals on the inside of the lid. Meats will take on a gray or whitish cast. In either case, the result, while not harmful, is not very appetizing and often causes loss of nutrients. Freezer burn is more likely to occur in frost-free freezers, which have fans that remove the moisture to prevent frost. This is highly preventable with the use of proper containers and wrapping methods.

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.

Mushy texture. To ensure the best frozen product, remember to flash-freeze food at -10 degrees Fahrenheit and defrost it slowly at cool temperatures, ideally in your refrigerator.

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.

Wet packing with sugar. Sprinkle sugar (and ascorbic acid to prevent darkening, if necessary) on the fruit, and stir gently until the sugar is dissolved and the fruit’s juice is drawn out.

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.

Wet packing with syrup. Prepare a syrup by mixing the appropriate amounts of sugar and water. Depending upon what you are freezing, you may add ascorbic acid to the syrup to prevent darkening. A medium syrup (40 percent sugar) is generally good, but you might want a heavy syrup (50 percent sugar) for some tart fruits, such as sour cherries, which will benefit from the added sweetness. It will take between ½ and cup of syrup for each pint of fruit.

Be sure to treat your peaches with ascorbic acid before freezing them so that they keep their bright yellow color.

Wet packing with fruit juice or puree. This is a good alternative for folks who want to watch their sugar intake. Prepare a juice or puree from the less-perfect fruit (or use a commercial juice such as apple juice) and add ascorbic acid per the manufacturer’s directions. Fill the container with whole, crushed, or cut fruit and cover it with the juice or puree.

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

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