Preserving fruits

[remnant]

Sometimes there is a bumper harvest of fruits in the countryside which creates a glut in markets. Some of these fruits ripen too quickly resulting in spoilage. I am aware of some methods to hasten fruit ripening including the use of ethylene gas. Do you know of any method to delay fruit ripening?

 

[Chuck]

Nothing but refrigeration as far as I know

 

[Durgan]

Never can one have too many juice containers. Always with ripe fruit. Here is my method and I make about 500 liter jars each year. Method is applicable to any fruit.

http://www.durgan.org/2015/September%202015/14%20September%202015%20Concord%20Grape%20Juice/HTML/index.htm 14 September 2015 Concord Grape Juice
Seventy five pounds of Concord Grapes were purchased from a Vineyard ($25.00 per bushel) on the Niagara escarpment. The grapes are in peak condition. The removed substrate weighed 5 pounds, and the strained seeds weighed eight pounds. Sixty two pound were made into juice. The fruit was placed in the cooking pot in four batches of ~ 15 pounds each with ten liters of water to make a drinkable texture. The fruit was cooked until soft about 20 minutes, then blended into a slurry. The slurry was put through a food mill of 2mm mesh to remove debris and seeds. The juice was then put into liter jars and pressure canned at 15 PSI for 15 minutes. Forty nine liter jars of juice was obtained, 1.25 pounds of grapes per liter.

 

[Rosyrain]

The only way I know to slow ripening is to keep the fruit on the plant, but that would not work in this instance. I agree with Durgans answer, pick it all and make juice or preserves with it. You can also dry it and make fruit leather.

 

[amelia88]

The only way I know to slow ripening is to keep the fruit on the plant, but that would not work in this instance. I agree with Durgans answer, pick it all and make juice or preserves with it. You can also dry it and make fruit leather.

I was about to suggest the fruit leather too! I'm actually thinking about buying a fruit dehydrator to make dried fruit this summer. It's just a good way to use up the fruit and not have things going to waste when they're in season!

 

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?KSWVC 20 July 2012 Blueberry Fruit Leather(Logistics)
Fruit leather in general is not a cheap item to produce.Each large sheet in the photographs requires about two pound of berries, which presently cost 3.00 per pound. If the sheet is cut into typical serving size of 20 from a sheet. The cost per piece is about thirty cents just for the ingredients. Other issues are storage and softness of the finished product.To store at room temperature the product must be thoroughly dehydrated until hard, which is not conducive to casual eating.But is ideal for camping and the like lifestyles.For casual eating the product must be relatively soft and palatable. This means moisture is present and the product must be refrigerated or it will mold in a few days.Vacuum packing extends shelf life at room temperature considerably and is ideal for freezing. I envision this product along with other dehydrated fruits as a healthy, nutritional snack food replacing the typical supermarket junk food.The product presented is only blueberries with nothing added.Annotated photographs depict the process.

 

[Vinaya]

We preserve mango, banana and pears by cutting the fruits into thin slices and then drying up in sun. Sun damages most of the vital nutrients when we dry fruits, however, some portion of nutrients are still there and the dried fruits has the same taste of fresh fruits. We also preserve fruits as fruit pickles.

 

[Corzhens]

The only bumper harvest we get are bananas and mangoes. With mangoes, we make into pickles the excess harvest. It is just slicing and pickling in bottles or plastic containers that would last for more than a month. With bananas, there is no way to preserve so what we do is to make it into buns or banana muffins that we give away to children in the neighborhood which they usually bring to school for snacks.

 

[IcyBC]

I agree with everyone here, make juice, or dried fruit pieces or refrigerate them.

 

[headfullofbees]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?KSWVC 20 July 2012 Blueberry Fruit Leather(Logistics)
Fruit leather in general is not a cheap item to produce.Each large sheet in the photographs requires about two pound of berries, which presently cost 3.00 per pound. If the sheet is cut into typical serving size of 20 from a sheet. The cost per piece is about thirty cents just for the ingredients. Other issues are storage and softness of the finished product.To store at room temperature the product must be thoroughly dehydrated until hard, which is not conducive to casual eating.But is ideal for camping and the like lifestyles.For casual eating the product must be relatively soft and palatable. This means moisture is present and the product must be refrigerated or it will mold in a few days.Vacuum packing extends shelf life at room temperature considerably and is ideal for freezing. I envision this product along with other dehydrated fruits as a healthy, nutritional snack food replacing the typical supermarket junk food.The product presented is only blueberries with nothing added.Annotated photographs depict the process.

That is very clever.

 

[steve bossie]

last year, on what used to be lawn, i planted blueberries, autumn olive, goumi berries, elderberries. honeybees, serviceberries, black currants, aroina berries and seaberries. most should have some crop this year. i plan to freeze, juice, jam, dry and make fruit leather out of them. all are considered super foods. i also have a 12' by 24' patch of raspberries that i got a lot of berries off last season. still have lots of jam left. ate a bunch of frozen over the winter.