Preserving Fruit

Here in Portugal there's not a month of the year where there isn't some kind of fresh fruit in season. In winter it's the citrus fruits: oranges, clementines, tangerines, kiwis, kumquats and persimmons, to name but a few; from April through to June come the soft fruits: strawberries, blueberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants, cherries, apricots and loquats; those gradually give way to summer figs, plums, nectarines, peaches, melons and early pears; and by late July the autumn fruits are ripening: apples, blackberries, elderberries, autumn peaches, pears, grapes and pomegranates - many of which last all the way through to Christmas when all the citrus fruits are back in season again.  Basically there's a year round, slightly overwhelming abundance of glorious fresh fruit.

Even if you don't live in a climate where fruit abounds, chances are you have access to some sort of tree, bush, or hedgerow that produces more fruit than you know what to do with at some point in the year.

The trouble is, that there are only so many cherries, apples, pears, figs, peaches, or any other sort of fruit you can eat in a day, so what do you do with the rest? Do you leave it on the ground to rot? No, that's sacrilege. You preserve it of course! 

Depending on the time of year, there are multiple ways to use up a glut of fruit. Here are just a few of my favourite things to do with fruit:


Fresh Fruit


Preserves


A word about sugar

When it comes to preserving fruit, unless you're drying it or freezing it,  you're going to need to use sugar. 

Sugar is a good preservative because, like salt, it prevents bacterial growth by drawing the water out of their cells by osmosis, thus dehydrating them.

When used in the right quantities, and in combination with high quality fruit and sterile, properly sealed jars, sugar gives your fruit preserves a shelf-life of about a year. 

Now, we all know that sugar is not exactly great for your health, so if you want to use less, or no sugar (not recommended, but who am I to tell you what to do?) then be prepared for a much shorter shelf-life, an increased risk of food poisoning and, once opened, your preserve will need to be kept in the fridge and eaten pretty sharpish or it will go off.  I've lost count of how many times a jar of homemade jam or chutney gifted to me by health-conscious neighbours has ended up as chicken food or in the compost because by the time I've got around to opening it, it's already gone alcoholic or mouldy due to a lack of sugar.

My suggestion, if you're experimenting with using less sugar, is to use small jars to avoid  your efforts being wasted.