Freezing plums for the winter at home in the freezer in bags, with pits and in syrup

Buying plums from the supermarket for freezing is not recommended. However, fruits from your own garden or bought at the market are ideal for this purpose. There are several ways to do this. How to freeze plums for the winter, several. Any of them allows you to preserve its beneficial properties. Frozen fruit can be stored in the freezer of a home refrigerator for up to 9 months, if the freezer compartment is kept at -19°C.

Features of freezing plums for the winter

Freezing is a popular and practical way to preserve fruits and vegetables for the winter. Many homemakers choose this method. Preparing fruits for freezing takes little time, and preparing a finished dish from them takes even less.

Before beginning the process, the homemaker should decide how the plums will be used. For example, if you plan to make compotes from them, it's more convenient to store them in bags, using only the amount needed for the drink. The pits can be left in place.

Plums are best used as a filling for sweet pies when sliced. They are easy to store in both bags and special freezer containers. For decorating sweet desserts, fruit in syrup or sugar is best.

Freezing should be done in small portions, laying out the fruits in a single layer. With a layer thickness of 2 cm, freezing takes 3 to 4 hours; if the layer is thicker (4 cm), it takes 10 hours. A quality product is obtained only if the raw materials meet certain parameters:

• the fruits are ripe, but not overripe;
• the pulp is dense;
• the stone comes off without any problems.

According to home cooks, Hungarian cabbage is excellent for freezing. Other varieties that are equally good for freezing include Renklod, Grand Duke, and Anna Shpet.

Preparing the product for freezing

Prunes must be washed in several washes. Before soaking, they are sorted. The following are discarded:

• overripe;
• unripe;
• spoiled.

You can sort all the ingredients by size. Leave the smaller fruits whole, and chop the larger ones.

The sorted plums are poured under cold water, changing the water after about 10 minutes. The water is drained again, the berries are placed in a colander, and rinsed with running water. When placing the plums in the freezer, they should be dry, so after washing, they are placed in a colander or spread out on a cloth to dry.

Preparing the freezer

If your refrigerator has a special storage or freezing function, use it. Before placing the fruit in the refrigerator, turn on the "Freeze" mode (24 hours before), and switch to "Storage" mode 24 hours after placing the fruit in the refrigerator.

Fruits should be stored in separate compartments with meat and fish. To preserve beneficial properties of plums A temperature of -18°C is required. Berries can be stored at these temperatures for up to a year. If the freezer temperature is -8°C, frozen fruit will last no more than 90-100 days. For the initial freezing, make sure there's enough space in the freezer to accommodate the container (drip tray, cutting board, or baking sheet) containing the fruit.

How to freeze plums at home

Recipes for freezing plums are simple. There aren't many, but they suggest various storage options: pitted, pitted, in sugar or syrup. Freezing can be done in plastic containers, special freezer bags, or regular food-grade bags. It's a good idea to have stickers and a marker on hand to label the frozen fruits, indicating the production date and ingredients.

With a bone

This is the easiest method. Most of the time is spent preparing the product for freezing. Next, a tray or baking sheet is filled with fresh, dried plums. Care is taken to ensure they don't touch each other.

The filled containers are placed in the freezer. They remain in the freezer for at least four hours, after which they are removed, the frozen fruit is carefully poured into prepared bags or containers, labeled, and placed in the fruit and vegetable compartment.

Seedless

Using a sharp knife, cut the plums in half and remove the pit. It's best to wrap the freezer tray in plastic wrap to make it easier to separate the frozen berries. Arrange the prepared halves in a single layer, cut side up.

There's no need to rush; it's best to arrange all the berries neatly so they don't stick together and will look marketable. Freeze the halves for 4 hours. Before removing the tray, prepare bags for quickly transferring the berries. Frozen halves can be used as a filling for sweet pies.

In slices

Large-fruited plum varieties are easier to freeze in slices. To prevent the plums from falling apart when sliced, the flesh should be firm. Some housewives prefer to peel the plums. To do this, make a cross-shaped cut on the bottom. The fruit is first dipped in boiling water, then in cold water.

After these procedures, the skin peels off in a matter of seconds. The plums are split down the middle, the pit removed, and both halves cut into wedges. They are immediately laid out on a tray, arranged in a single layer. The tray with the plums is placed in the chamber for three hours, after which it is removed, the plums are poured into bags, and placed in the appropriate compartment.

In sugar

Plums frozen in sugar are a ready-made dessert, but housewives most often make compote from them. It's delicious and just the right amount of sweet. The plums are washed, dried, and cut in half, removing all the pits.

It's best to freeze in a plastic container. Sprinkle the bottom with sugar, then lay the plum halves cut-side up. Sprinkle with granulated sugar. Layer as many times as the container will hold in the same manner. Sprinkle each layer with sugar.

In syrup

You'll need a container. Place the properly prepared plums in it. Wash, dry, cut in half, and remove the pits. Never fill the container to the top, as freezing the liquid will cause it to expand. To make the syrup, boil water and add sugar.

Ingredients:

• water 350 ml;
• sugar 200 g.

Before pouring the syrup into the container with plums, it is cooled.

In a vacuum

Vacuum-sealed bags preserve frozen fruit's nutritional value longer. They are made from a special film (coextruded). Both cut and pitted fruits can be packaged in these bags, as well as whole fruits.

Place them in a single layer. Use a special device to remove air. Place the filled bag in the quick-freeze compartment, and after 3 hours, transfer it to the freezer compartment where you store the fruit.

Storing frozen foods

Each type of food product has a set shelf life in the freezer.

Product	Storage time (months)
Beef	6
Mutton	6
Poultry (pieces)	6
Pork	6
Fish (lean varieties)	6
Semi-finished products	3-4
Ground meat	3-4
Fruits	12
Vegetables (except tomatoes, peppers, zucchini)	12
Tomatoes	2
Zucchini, pumpkin	1
Pepper	4
Green	3
Berry (any)	6

Rules for defrosting plums

When making compote, remove the frozen plums from the freezer and immediately place them in a pan of boiling water. If you're using plums frozen in sugar or in slices as a pie filling, they also don't need to be defrosted.

For other purposes, berries are thawed naturally, without the use of a microwave or hot water. The bag (container) is removed from the freezer compartment, placed in a bowl, and left to thaw. The berries are frozen only once.

Thawed fruits are not re-frozen.