Preserving and preparing plums (2024)

FAQs

Preserving and preparing plums? ›

Select firm, ripe fruit. Wash, halve and pit. Plums can be frozen in a sugar pack (using 5 parts fruit with 1 part sugar) or syrup pack (using a 50% syrup) or frozen whole with no added sugar or syrup. Plums and prunes can also be cooked in a sugar syrup before freezing to make a sauce.

Once ripe, they'll only last a day or two on the counter or in the refrigerator for three to five days. If you have an abundance of ripe, juicy plums, your best bet is to freeze them to enjoy later. Freezing plums is as easy as can be, and the fruit wedges will last up to six months in your freezer.

Freezing plums

Wash and dry the plums gently, then cut them in half to remove the stones. From here you can freeze them whole or slice them first, which makes them easier to use. Lay out your plum slices on a baking tray and put them in the freezer.

Pack plums into your jars.

Add your whole plums or plum halves into the jars, simply packing them but not squishing them down. Use a ladle to fill jars with your hot syrup, leaving a half-inch of headspace at the top. With a fork or chopstick, remove any air bubbles on the sides of your jars.

Leave whole or cut in halves or quarters and pit. Syrup Pack – Use cold 40 to 50 percent syrup, depending on tartness of fruit.

Answer: Plums may be packed in water or syrup. In a boiling water bath canner, process pints in hot or raw pack for 20 minutes or quarts for 25 minutes. In a dial gauge pressure canner, it is recommended to hot pack pints or quarts for 10 minutes at 6 pounds of pressure in hot or raw pack.

Put the plums in freezer bags.

Use a vacuum sealer or a straw to remove excess air from the bags, then seal them tightly. Label and freeze the bags.

Temperature: Plums last longer when stored in a refrigerator, typically lasting up to two weeks. At room temperature, ripe plums generally remain fresh for about 2-3 days.

Lay plum pieces on a baking paper lined oven tray, single layer, skin side down, and place in freezer. After several hours the plum pieces will have firmed up enough to allow you to transfer into a large zip-lock freezer bag. Meanwhile repeat with remaining plums.

How do you can plums without a canner? ›

Pack plums into a hot jar to within 3/4 inch (2 cm) of top rim. Add hot liquid to cover plums to within 1/2 inch (1 cm) of top of jar (headspace). Using nonmetallic utensil, remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if required, by adding more plums and hot liquid. Wipe jar rim removing any food residue.

Canned plums have become hard to find; they are generally no longer on grocery store shelves. These plums are packed well, have good flavor, and serve in all recipes where canned plums are called for. They're a little expensive, but given the lack of alternatives, are a product that I'll continue to buy.

Its really quick to do and the plums preserve really well in brandy and somehow they are a perfect Christmas treat. I also love looking at them - we have them on the kitchen worktop as a reminder of the summer and plums ripening. I put them in kilner jars and add brandy, sugar, star anise, cinnamon - and let them sit.

Plums are chock full of fiber, which helps slow down a blood sugar spike after you eat carbs. They can also boost your body's production of adiponectin, a hormone that helps regulate your blood sugar levels. Bone health. Some studies show that prunes (dried plums) may help reduce bone loss and may even preserve it.

Stew them and serve with custard, or cook them in a pie or crumble or clafouti. You could cook them with wine, sugar and spices to make mulled plums. Steep them in vodka or brandy with some sugar to make a liquer. Or make a chinese spiced plum sauce to serve with duck or stir fries.

Whole plums should be stored at room temperature until ripened. Once ripe, the plums can be kept whole in a bowl in the refrigerator and covered with Glad^® Press n' Seal wrap. Or, to store cut plums, remove pits and cut fruit into chunks or wedges of desired size.

Dry at 140 degrees F (60°C) in an oven or dehydrator. If necessary, turn large pieces over every 3 to 4 hours during the drying period. Fruits can scorch easily toward the end of drying, so monitor more closely as drying nears completion. Dried fruits should be leathery and pliable.

Wash plums well, and layer them in the jar with sugar. Pour vodka over. Put lid on. Store it in a cool, dark place.