In August, juicy and bright plums appear on personal plots and store shelves. And which only there: white, pink, purple and even black. With a dense elastic skin or thin, like parchment, it is worth only a little pressure - and the sweetest fragrant juice will splash. No, not juice, but real fruit nectar! Both adults and children are always happy to enjoy such yummy. And how many vitamins in plums! Such a gift of autumn is simply not a sin for winter. Plum will be good everywhere, this is an excellent filling for pies and rolls, and the jelly will be excellent, and it can also be served with meat and added to sauces. Preserving plums is a simple matter, but in winter you can enjoy the bright taste of summer and significantly replenish the lack of vitamins.
Plum subtleties
You probably already noticed that plum varieties differ not only in appearance and size, but also in taste. It can be pronounced or tender, plums are elastic and dense or juicy, with thin peels, sweet or frankly acidic. All these factors must be considered. So, the preservation of plums of sweet varieties can occur even without the addition of sugar. According to this recipe, you can cook, for example, a plum in your own juice. This option will not only please those who monitor their forms, but also perfectly suit diabetics.
But sour varieties are better to harvest with the addition of honey or sugar syrup. If you want to preserve the plum whole, and the peel of the fruit is dense, then it is likely that it will crack during heat treatment, and the appearance will suffer significantly. To prevent this from happening, plums must first be blanched for about 3-5 minutes in hot water (80 degrees), and then cool in cool. And now let's move on to the most interesting - this is the conservation of plums for the winter, recipes with photos and descriptions for your family.
Stewed Plums
Wash plums and cans well. For compote, you can use both whole fruits with a stone, and without it (halves). Put the prepared plums tightly in a container, now you just have to fill them with syrup and sterilize. Syrup is prepared on the basis of the sweetness of the fruit. Usually, 250-450 g of sugar is required per liter of water, and pouring should be at a temperature of 60-70 degrees. The jars are sterilized as follows: they are covered with lids and installed in a container (pan) with water heated to 50 degrees, and then brought to a boil. Time for container sterilization: 1 liter - 15 minutes, 2 liters - 20 minutes, 3 liters - 25-30 minutes. After this, the jars are corked and placed upside down for air cooling. Remember that preservation of plums in seed syrup should be stored for no longer than 5 years.
Plums in own juice
For this preparation, it is convenient to use overripe plums for making juice, but dense plums are suitable for the base. The ratio is approximately 30/70, but everything, of course, will depend on the juiciness of the fruits themselves. Preserving whole plums in their natural juice does not require the addition of sugar if the fruits are sweet. To prepare the juice, ripe plums are peeled and sent to a juicer. You can use a meat grinder, then the juice is defended, and the thick is squeezed. Fruits are placed in prepared jars and poured with juice heated to a boil. After it is covered with lids and sent to be sterilized: 3 l cans - for half an hour, 2 l - 20-25 minutes, and liter - 15 minutes. After the lid is closed, the cans are turned upside down and cooled.
Plums without sterilization
Preservation of plums without sterilization is suitable for the recipe with and without sugar. Prepared fruits are placed in a container, and then pour hot syrup in three doses. A syrup is prepared from water and sugar in the ratio: 400-200 g of granulated sugar per liter of water. Plums, laid out in banks, pour boiled syrup for 3 minutes. After it is drained, brought to a boil and re-poured into jars. After the third time, the syrup is not drained. Banks are corked, flipped and left in this form to cool. For pouring, you can use not syrup, but plain boiling water. In this case, your plums will have a more natural taste and are suitable for people who follow a low sugar diet.
Peeled halves
Such conservation of plums makes it possible to get not just a delicious dessert, it is also perfect for baking. It is better to choose hard fruits or slightly greenish. Plums are dipped in boiling water for 3-4 minutes, and then they are removed and cleaned of the skin and stones. The prepared pulp is placed in jars and poured with syrup. Prepare it the same way as for a regular compote from plums. The containers are covered with lids and sent to be sterilized: liter cans - for half an hour, two-liter cans - for 35 minutes, and 3-liter cans - by 40. Now preservation must be rolled up. Tilt the jars upside down and leave until completely cooled.
Pickled plums
But such conservation of plums will certainly conquer any man and will not go unnoticed on the festive table. This treat is a great alternative to overseas olives, and most importantly - completely natural and without obscure store additives. It will serve as an independent snack and perfectly emphasize the taste of meat dishes.
It is better to take plums of dark varieties. They are thoroughly washed and pierced with a toothpick in several places. 3-4 cloves, a piece of cinnamon and a few peas of allspice are placed in clean dry half-liter jars, plums are on top. Pouring is prepared: 1 kg of granulated sugar is taken per 1.5 liters of water. It is boiled until sugar crystals are completely dissolved, and then carefully injected with acetic acid (80%) - 20 ml, or one glass (250 ml) of 6% vinegar. The marinade is cooled to 60 degrees, pour plums on it, cover the jars with lids and sterilize for 15 minutes. Water should not boil during sterilization, a suitable temperature is 80-90 degrees. Then the jars are removed and immediately sealed and turned over. Cooling is air. This amount of marinade is enough for 10 half-liter cans.
Well, we hope that these simple recipes will be an excellent help during the autumn harvesting season. Bon appetit to you and your loved ones!