How To Freeze Food; How To Freeze Fruits - Whirlpool EH050FXVN00 Manual

How To Freeze Food
How to freeze fruits
Most fruits can be frozen satisfactorily, but the
variety chosen, ripeness and type of pack used
will determine the quality of the frozen fruits that
come from your freezer.
1. Select ripe, blemish-free fruits for freezing and
taste them to be sure of good flavor.
2. Wash 2 to 3 quarts (2 to 3 liters) at a time in cold
water and drain thoroughly. Fruit that stands in
water may lose food value and become
watersoaked.
3. Sort fruit, peel, trim, pit and slice as necessary.
Overripe or imperfect fruit can be pureed or
crushed and frozen.
4. Pack using one of the three types of packs:
syrup, sugar, or unsweetened. (See chart
below.)
5. Pack fruit in rigid, wide-mouthed moisture-
vapor-proof containers or in bags or sheets of
moisture-vapor-proof material. Leave head-
space to allow for expansion of liquids during
freezing:
Container size Headspace needed
pint (500 milliliters) % inch (1.25 cm)
quart (liter)
1 inch (2.5 cm)
6. Close containers; seal, mark with contents and
date, and freeze at once. (Most containers have
lids that fit tightly and require no additional
sealing.)
Fruit packing chart
TYPE OF PACK USE FOR HOW TO DO
7. Some light-colored fruits may darken when
frozen. This can be prevented by the addition of
a commercial preparation of citric acid, lemon,
lime or pineapple juice. However, ascorbic acid,
which is available at drug stores in crystalline,
powdered, or tablet form, is the most satisfactory
since it preserves color and flavor and adds
nutritive value (vitamin C) as well. Ascorbic acid
should be dissolved in a small amount of cold
water and added to fruit just before packing.
(Since it loses strength with exposure to air,
ascorbic acid solution should be prepared just
before using.) Crush ascorbic acid crystals
before dissolving in water. If tablets are used in
place of the crystalline form, use the following
guide to give you an equivalent quantity:
Crystalline amount Tablet amount
l/e teaspoon (0.6 ml)
375 milligrams
Darkening also can be controlled in some fruits
by steaming.
8. Freeze no more than 3 pounds of fruit for each
cubic foot of capacity (1.35 to 1.8 kg of food for
each liter of freezer space) at one time.
Sugar
Uncooked fruit Put fruit in shallow bowl. Sprinkle evenly with sugar. Mix
gently until fruit is evenly coated and sugar is dissolved.
Syrup Desserts (syrup
preserves shape
and texture best,
but dilutes juices)
Determine the percent syrup needed from the recipe. Mix
as follows:
Syrup
Ingredients
30 percent 2 cups (500 ml) sugar to 1 quart (1 I) water
35 2% cups (625 ml) sugar to 1 quart (1 I) water
40 3 cups (750 ml) sugar to 1 quart (1 I) water
50
4% cups (1.2 I) sugar to 1 quart (1 I) water
60
7 cups (1.8 I) sugar to 1 quart (1 I) water
65 8% cups (2.2 I) sugar to 1 quart (1 I) water
Dissolve sugar in water. Syrup can be made a day ahead of
time and stored in the refrigerator. Syrup should be cold when
adding to fruit. Allow 1 cup (250 ml) of syrup to each quart
(liter) of fruit. Place fruit in container. Cover with syrup. Leave
headspace. (See 5 on page 6.) To keep fruit submerged,
place a piece of crumpled freezer wrap or other water-
resistant wrapping material over fruit and push fruit down
until syrup covers it. Seal and freeze.
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