Can you can plums without sugar?
It’s perfectly fine to can plums in just plain water, and that’s a great option for people hoping to can without added sugar. The problem with canning in plain water is the fruits will leach some of their natural sugars into the canning liquid, and water canned plums will taste washed out and less sweet than fresh fruit.
How do you clean plums before bottling?
Wash the plums by filling up a large bowl or your clean sink with water, and give the fruit a light wipe down. This is also a great chance to pull out any pieces of fruit that are bruised or very ripe – these are not good to use for bottling, save them and stew them to put in the freezer.
How do you pack plums for canning?
Then pack the hot plums into canning jars and top with hot canning liquid (leaving 1/2 inch headspace). Raw Pack ~ Simply packing the prepared raw plums, either whole with pinpricks on the skin, or halves with pits removed, is much easier.
How to make plum syrup at home?
Make a light syrup using 3 parts water to 1 part sugar (I used raw sugar) Bring the sugar and water to the boil and simmer for five minutes. Wash your plums, leave them whole and pop them into the simmering syrup. Be careful not to over cook them. Just leave them until the skins split a little then start bottling.
How do you preserve fruit in a jar without sugar?
For best results, prepare fruits to be canned without sugar using hot-pack methods. However, use water or regular unsweetened fruit juices instead of a sugar syrup. Juice made from the fruit being canned works well. To prepare, bring thoroughly ripe, crushed fruit to a simmer over low heat.
What is the best way to preserve plums?
The easiest method is to slice and pit the plums, then lay them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet, skin-side down. Pop the sheet into the freezer. Once the slices are hard, transfer them to a freezer bag.
How do you make bottled plums?
Bottling plums and stone fruit is the perfect way to preserve the summer harvest to enjoy all year round....So let's get into it!Step 1: Sterilise your jars and lids/seals. ... Step 2: Make the sugar syrup. ... Step 3: Wash & prepare the fruit. ... Step 4: Pack the fruit and syrup into jars. ... Step 5: Heat processing the jars.
Can you can plums in water?
Plums may be canned in water, fruit juice or sugar syrup. Prepare syrup in canner batch quantities—approximately 5 cups (1250 ml) for 7-500 ml jars, according to chart.
Can you preserve plums without sugar?
As with most fruits, the liquid for canning plums can be a wide variety of syrups or juices, depending on your preference. It's perfectly fine to can plums in just plain water, and that's a great option for people hoping to can without added sugar.
How do you store plums without canning them?
How to can without a canner?If you don't have a canner, take a large pot that will allow the jars to stand in it and be completely covered with water.Place a clean kitchen towel on the bottom of the pot.Place the jars on the towel making sure that they don't touch each other.Cover with hot water.More items...•
How do you canned plums?
Hot PackBring your canning liquid (water, syrup or juice) to a boil.Quickly add plums in and return to boil for 2 minutes.Turn off the heat and put the lid on the pot.Allow your plums to sit for 20-30 minutes or so, which will help them heat through slowly.Immediately pack your boiled plums into canning jars.More items...•
How do you preserve fruit in a jar?
Here are the basic steps:Step 1: Prepare the fruit using a recipe from any basic cookbook. ... Step 2: Fill the jars to within ½ inch of the tops with the prepared preserves, jam, or jelly. ... Step 3: Keep lids and rubber seals in simmering water before putting them on the hot jars. ... Step 4: Remove the jars and let them cool.More items...•
Can plums be bottled?
There are other varieties around to work with though. I love cherry plums, not so much for bottling as their skins tend to stay bitter, no matter how strong the sugar syrup or the length of time in the bottles. One of my favourite jams, a close second to third to raspberry or greengage, is yellow cherry plum jam.
How long do canned plums last?
Properly stored, an unopened can of fruit cocktail will generally stay at best quality for about 18 to 24 months, although it will usually remain safe to use after that.
How do you process small plums?
Bring to a boil at moderate heat with just enough water to prevent sticking. I used one cup of water in a large soup pan, but could have gotten by with ½ cup. Simmer until the plums are cooked. When the skins are beginning to split, use a hand mixer to break up all the plums.
Do you have to peel plums before canning?
Plums and nectarines should be peeled, as their skins can be tough / chewy in jam. If you do want to leave the skins in, you might want to run the fruit through a blender or food processor to chop them up (after you remove the pits, of course).
How do you store fresh plums long term?
How to Store PlumsWait. Whole plums should be stored at room temperature until ripened.Cover. Once ripe, the plums can be kept whole in a bowl in the refrigerator and covered with Glad® Press n' Seal wrap.Cut. Or, to store cut plums, remove pits and cut fruit into chunks or wedges of desired size.Refrigerate.
Can I freeze plums without cooking them?
The sliced freezing method is great for storing frozen plums for an extended period of time, but one of our favorite summer hacks is freezing our plums whole. All you need to do is wash the plums and place the whole fruits in a plastic bag in the freezer.
How long can you keep plums in the freezer?
Frozen plums will keep for about six months in a freezer attached to a refrigerator and up to a year in a stand-alone freezer. More time will start to degrade the quality of the plums but isn't necessarily dangerous.
Can you freeze plums with pits in?
Slice the freshly peeled plums in half and remove the pits using a sharp knife. Work around the pit and remove it as you pull the two halves apart. At this point you can slice them into small pieces but we found they freeze best in halves.
The storage impact of going sugar-free with your fruit
Sugar has no preservative qualities in terms of safety when canning fruit. That being said, it does have some preservative qualities in terms of food quality: it can help to retain the firmness and colour of the fruit.
Home canning your fruit with spices
You could also experiment with adding to your jars of ready-to-can fruit hard, whole spices such as a whole clove or two, half a stick of cinnamon, an allspice berry, a few vanilla seeds scraped from a vanilla pod, a star anise, etc.
Home canning your fruit with alcohol
It’s also okay to add alcohol flavouring to the canning liquid for canned fruit. Perhaps it’s not mentioned often, as many home canning audiences in the States are more fundamentally religious.
Preventing fruit darkening in storage
One thing sugar can help preserve is the colour of fruit, acting as a fixative. But even if you do use sugar, it’s not a 100% guarantee, either. Consequently people have worked out techniques to prevent fruit darkening. Such techniques can help compensate for a complete lack of added sugar, period.
Raw pack versus hot pack when canning fruit without sugar
When you are canning fruits, for many fruits you have the choice of whether just to pack them raw into a jar, or, to blanch them first.
Pressure canning versus water bathing home canned fruits
All home canned fruits can be safely water-bathed, with the right directions.
Special procedures for low-acid fruits
Low-acid fruits require special handling, regardless of whether there is added sugar or not. It is the acid that makes fruit safe for canning; not the sugar.
How to serve poached plums?
Serve them hot, or cold. They’re delicious served with ice cream, porridge, pancakes or just on their own straight from the bowl.
Can you freeze cooked plums?
Yes, absolutely! Once poached, these plums will freeze extremely well. When defrosted you may find them a little softer than they were when first cooked, but they’ll still taste wonderful.
Choosing & Preparing Plums for Canning
Believe it or not, plums actually hold up remarkably well during canning. I found that they had a firmer texture than my home-canned peaches, and they maintained their shape whether canned as whole or halves.
Hot Pack or Raw Pack Methods
Plums are approved for canning as either a hot pack fruit, or a raw pack fruit. Generally speaking, hot pack fruit has a better quality than raw pack fruit, but it’s a bit more work.
Syrup for Canning Plums
As with most fruits, the liquid for canning plums can be a wide variety of syrups or juices, depending on your preference.
How to Can Plums
Once the fruit is packed into jars, be it hot pack or raw pack, it should be covered in a hot canning liquid of your choice. Be sure to leave 1/2 inch headspace, this will help ensure that the plums don’t push up into the canning lid and prevent sealing.
Notes
Yields ~ It takes roughly 2 pounds of fresh plums for every quart jar or 1 pound per pint jar. This will vary slightly depending on the size of the plums, whether they're half or whole, and whether they're raw or hot pack (hot pack requires more fruit per jar).
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Fruit Canning Recipes
Preserving more than plums this season? Keep your canner full with these whole fruit canning recipes:
