Preservation of FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.

OREGON STATE LIBRARY Documents Section Preservation of FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. 0) By Lois Sather and E. H. Wiegand Food Technology Department.37 CALENDAR FOR FREEZING FOODS April, May SpringMarch, St r a wberrie s, rries, Rhubarb, Peas, Spinach, Greens. s July, August SummerJune,' Gooseberries, Strawberries, Cherries, Figs, Blueberries, Apricots, Cane Berries, Beans, Beets, Peas, and Summer Squash. FallSeptember, October Grapes, Peaches, Cantaloupe, Cranberries, Prunes, Beans, Beets, Broccoli, Brussels Cn, Peppers, Squash, and Pumpkin. Sprouts, Carrots, Cauliflower, WinterNovember, December Apples, Cranberries, Cauliflower, Broccoli, and Winter vegetables. Extension Bulletin 688 Revised June 954 Federal Cooperative Extension Service Oregon State College f Cvallis Cooperative Extension Wk in Agriculture and Home Economics, F. E. Price, direct. Oregon State College and the United States Department of Agriculture cooperating. Printed and distributed in furtherance of Acts of Congress. of May 8 and June 30, 94.

FRUITS Freeze and ste at 0 F. lower. See inside pages f general instructions. F sugar and sirup preparation see page 4. NAME AND VARIETIES PREPARATION APPLES Peel, ce and trim. Slice into light brine ( tablespoon of Gravensteins and firm winter varieties, white yellow flesh, such Ascbic acid optionalsee page 4. Prepared sauce may salt per quart of water). Drain, pack, cover with sirup. as Yellow Newtown, Winesap, also be frozen. Snitzenburg, Jonathan. APRICOTS St, wash, halve and pit. Dip in boiling water sirup Royal, Blenheim, Tilton, minute to prevent discolation, air cool immediately, Wenatchee Mopark. add ascbic acid to sirup (see page 4). Pack, cover with sirup. BLACKBERRIES St carefully, wash, drain, and pack, then cover with Pacific Nthwest Native Wild, sirup. May be packed dry with nothing added f use Cascade, Pacific, Chehalem, Hima- in pie jam. laya, Evergreen, Olallie. BLUEBERRIES AND HUCKLE- BERRIES Native Wild Blue and Red, June, Concd, Jersey, Rubel, Dixi, Pemberton. BOYSENBERRIES (NECTAR) AND YOUNGBERRIES *CANTALOUPE Any well-flaved variety with thick, firm, well-coled flesh. CHERRIESSOUR Montmency, Early Richmond, English Mello. FRUIT JUICES Grape and berry. " Vegetable used as a fruit. St carefully, wash well to remove all feign matter. Drain and pack ; cover with sirup. May be packed dry with nothing added f use in pie jam. On native wild berries, a minute blanch is desirable to soften skins. Cool quickly, drain, pack as desired. St and wash carefully. Drain and pack; cover with sirup. Cut balls, dice slice from ption of fruit that is firmripe. Pack, covering with light sirup. Wash, st, and pit. Soaking in cold water f 2 hours aids pitting. Mix with sugar; package. CHERRIESSWEET Stem and wash. Pitting not necessary but desirable. Drain, Lambert, Bing, Deacon, Royal Ann, pack, cover with sirup. Ascbic acid optionalsee page 4. Republican. CRANBERRIES St carefully, wash, and drain. Pack and cover with McFarlin, Howes, Stankovich. sirup, pack dry with nothing added. CURRANTS St carefully, wash and drain. Pack and cover with sirup, Perfection, Fay's Prolific, Cherry, mix with sugar and then package. May be packed dry Red Lake. with nothing added. FIGS Stem, wash, and st. Peel, halve, slice; leave whole Mission, Kadota, Gillette, Granata, unpeeled. Pack and cover with light sirup. Ascbic acid Lattarula, Black Spanish. optionalsee page 4. GOOSEBERRIES Stem, wash, st, drain. Pack dry with nothing added. GRAPES Wash, st carefully, and drain. Pack and cover with Thompson Seedless, Wden, light sirup, pack dry with nothing added. (Will be Campbell's Early, Concd. somewhat soft if completely thawed befe using). LOGANBERRIES St, wash well, drain. Pack, cover with sirup. PEACHES Halve, pit, scald until skin slips, and peel. Either () Elberta, Halehaven, Rio Oso Gem, dip slices into boiling water sirup minute to prevent Veteran, Triogem, Slappey, J. H. discolation, air cool, (2) add ascbic acid to the Hale. sirupsee page 4. Pack and cover with sirup. PRUNES St, wash, halve and pit. Pack and cover with sirup. Italian. Ascbic acid optionalsee page 4. RASPBERRIESBLACK St, wash, and drain well. Pack and cover with sirup. Dundee, Munger, Bristol, May be packed dry with nothing added f use in jam. Plum Farmer, Winfield. RASPBERRIESRED St, wash carefully, and drain. Pack and cover with Cuthbert, Canby, Washington, sirup, mix gently with sugar and then package. Newburgh, Willamette. RHUBARB Wash, trim, cut into -inch pieces. Drain, pack and cover Canada Red, Valentine, McDonald. with sirup. May be packed dry with nothing added f use in pie preserves. Prepared sauce may also be frozen. STRAWBERRIES Marshall, Cvallis, Nthwest, Brightme St, cap, wash, and drain well. Slicing is recommended. May be packed whole if desired. Pack whole berries and cover with sirup, mix sliced berries with sugar and then package. Use only mature fruit. St and wash. Place in preserving kettle with small amount of water. Simmer 0 minutes. Do not boil. Drain in jelly bag. Add sugar-approximately cup sugar to 3 to 5 cups juice as desired. Pack in liquid tight containers, full. 2

and blanching procedure. NAME AND VARIETIES ASPARAGUS PREPARATION Mary Washington, fnia 500. Paradise, St, wash carefully, Cali- leave whole. and trim. Cut stalks in -inch pieces, BLANCH: 2 to 4 minutes Cool quickly, drain, and depending on thickness of pack. stalk. St, snip, wash carefully, cut as desired. BEANSGREEN OR WAX Blue Lake strains, Refugee, Tendergreen, Stringless Wade, Green Pod, Process, Columbia, tucky Wonder, Round Ken- Wax. Pod Kidney BEANSLIMA PEAS Thomas Laxton, Improved Stratagem, Tall Alderman, Gradus, Recd, Wld's Laxtonian, gress, Perfection. Laxton's Pro- PEPPERSGREEN Any variety with and thick, tender deep green col may be frozen f flesh. When red use as garnish. SPINACH AND OTHER Improved Thick Leaf, GREENS Giant Leaf. SQUASH OR PUMPKIN Any firm-fleshed, mature, flaved well- variety. SQUASHSUMMER Zucchini, Summer Crookneck. VEGETABLES Freeze and ste at 0 F. lower. See inside pages f general instructions BLANCH: 3 to 4 minutes, etitc ERRARY_. Henderson's Bush, St and wash beans Clark's Fdhook Bush, 242, carefully. Pack white and Early Thogreen. separately. green beans BLANCH: 2 to 3 minutes. BEETS Detroit Dark Red, Early Model. Remove tops, then wash beets. Cook until tender, Cool BROCCOLIGREEN quickly and peel. Slice dice as Calabrese, desired, pack. Waltham 29, St carefully. Trim Green Sprouting. Italian Split stalks to f-inch off large leaves and woody stem ends. ness. Wash thoughly. thickness, flowerets to -inch thick- BRUSSELS SPROUTS Long Island Improved, St, trim carefully and wash. Oregon Special. Catskill, CARROTS Red Ced Chantenay, Nantes. Use only young tender Small carrots may be carrots. Wash and scrape left whole. Slice well. BLANCH: 3 to 5 minutes dice others. 3 minutes f diced f small, whole sliced. carrots; 2 to CAULIFLOWER Snowball 6, St. St, trim and wash thoughly. ball X, Y, E, Valentine, Snowthickness, flowerets to -inch thickness. f-inch Split stalks to Super Snowball. CORNCUT ON-THE-COB Carmelcross, Seneca dermost, Golden, Ten- Use only ears with milky, sweet juice. Prosperity, Golden wash. Husk, silk, and Bantam. Many other Cross rieties freeze with popular va- WHOLE-KERNEL CREAM-STYLE good results. BLANCH: 4 to 5 minutes. 2 times as long Cool thoughlyat as blanch. Drain, cut off least to freeze immediately. cob, pack and CORN ON THE COB BLANCH: 8 to 0 minutes. Cool package. Wrap each thoughly, drain and tightly pack ear separately in desired amount together locker wrap; in MUSHROOMS bags containers. large freezer Use of wild mushrooms unless you know positively is not safe Use only fresh, young mushrooms free from spots decay. are edible species. that they Wash thoughly, trim pieces. stem end. Cut into small unifm Heat in fry pan until tender. Cool in brown, at least 3 minutes, pan in cold water, then until BLANCH: 3 minutes. Adding lemon juice (3 package. Or quart of water) to blanching teaspoons per Cool quickly, drain and water prevents darkening. pack. After shelling, st out split peas. Wash well. overlarge, hard, starchy, and BLANCH: 3 to 2 minutes. Cool immediately, drain and pack. Wash, slice halve, it does soften tissue and remove seeds. Blanching is optional; BLANCH: 2 minutes. aids packing. St, trim and wash BLANCH: 2 minutes. very thoughly. Cool quickly, drain well and pack. Halve, remove seeds, bake until tender. Sieve cut into pieces. Steam over water no addition of liquid mash, cool and pack salt. with Wash and cut into BLANCH: 2 minutes. f-inch thinner slices. 3

Containers f frozen fruits and vegetables - A good container f frozen foods should be () moisture-vap proof, (2) strong 'add -durable, (3) sturdy enough to maintain a liquid-tight seal, (4) easy to handle and fill, (5) easy to seal, (6) easy to label, (7) economical. of stage space (square containers fit together to save space). Types of containers especially made f frozen foods are plastic boxes, waxed cartons, durable cardboard boxes with inner liners, plastic moisturevap proof cellophane bags, metal cans and glass freezer jars. Other types of jars may be used but may not be as resistant to low temperatures and can break during freezing and stage. Befe closing freezer bags, push squeeze out as much air as possible. Containers with snap-on lids should be checked after product is frozen to be sure lid has not come loose. Rememberno container will protect your frozen foods properly unless it is tightly sealed to prevent air from entering, moisture from escaping. Sirup pack The sirup may be prepared from either cane beet sugar and water. If desired, up to one-third of the sugar may be replaced by cn sirup honey. What strength sirup to use on any fruit depends on individual preference and the maturity and variety of fruit. Allow approximately cup of sirup f each pint of fruit; IA cups of sirup f each quart of fruit. Chill sirup well befe using. Approximate Strength Water Sugar Yield coverage Light 4 2 5 cups 7 pints Medium 4 3 5i cups 8 pints Heavy 4 4 6/ cups 9 pints Dry sugar pack The amount of sugar td add is governed by each family's preference. A common practice is to use either 4 pounds of fruit to pound of sugar (4 : ) 3 pounds of fruit to pound of sugar (3 : ). Sugar and fruit should be gently but thoughly mixed together until the sugar has dissolved in the juice. Then package. Ascbic acid The darkening of light-coled fruits (apples, apricots, peaches, figs, prunes, and sweet, pitted cherries) is retarded effectively by the addition of ascbic acid (vitamin C). Ascbic acid in tablet, powder, crystal fm may be secured from most drug stes, locker plants, some food stes. Just befe using, dissolve ascbic acid in 2 3 tablespoons of cold water, then mix in cool sirup. Allow teaspoonful of crystal powder to quart of sirup, this being enough sirup f use on 8 pints 4 quarts of prepared fruit (50 mg. per pound pint of fruit). Commercial preparations of ascbic acid f frozen fruits are on the market. When using these, follow the manufacturer's directions and be sure enough sirup is used to cover fruit. 4

PEAS Freeze and ste at 0 F. lower Select suitable variety. See pages 2 and 3. Freeze only fresh products of good quality and proper maturity. Gather products in the cool of the mning; handle quickly; rush to freezer soon as possible. Keep in cool place while under preparation. Prepare only small lots at one time; preferably 2 to 3 pounds. Wash thoughly and remove feign materials, decayed, badly bruised, immature over-ripe products. Label cartons with name of product, date, and other infmation you deem useful, befe starting actual preparation of the product. Special pens waxed pencils are available f labeling frozen food cartons. A crayon may be used. When using locker bags, press air out of unfilled part of bag befe sealing. F Fruits Prepare sirup if it is to be used, and chill thoughly in the refrigerat. See page 4. Label cartons. Prepare as f table use. Wash and st carefully in cold running water. Drain well. Mix thoughly with sugar and then fill containers to /2 inch from top Fill, then cover with sirup allowing space f expansion as instructed on carton, inch from top of quarts pints /2 inch from top of squat pints. Crumpled locker wrap may be placed under the lid of container to keep fruit submerged in the sirup Fill containers to /4 inch from top, leave dry with nothing added. Seal containers securely to prevent leakage. Place immediately in freezer in refrigerat if necessary to hold befe freezing. F Vegetables Label cartons. Prepare as f table use. Wash and st carefully in cold running water. Blanch f required length of time as given on page 3. ice water. Cool immediately in cold running water, in Drain well. Fill to /2 inch from top of container, except loose products Ike peas and beans may be filled full. if necessary to hold befe freezing. Do Seal containers securely to prevent drying out of the products during stage. Place immediately in freezer in refrigerat not hold longer than 3 hours befe freezing. Blanching ning water ice water. Vegetables must be cold when packed. quart 2 ing utensils. Place approximately pounds of the prepared vegetable in wire basket colander (cloth sack may be used if loosely filled) and immerse in 4 quarts me of rapidly boiling water. Start counting blanching time when water returns to a full boil. The quantity of vegetables should be small enough so water returns minute less. Stir occasionally to boiling in during blanching. Cool immediately in cold run- Blanching is necessary to inactivate the enzymes which would otherwise cause undesirable flav changes. Most deep fat fryers make good blanch-.2.. pled piece of locker wrap keeps fruit submerged in sirup. To sealpress lid on firmly. A crum- then package. Gently mix fruit with sugar and Cover the fruit with chilled sirup rule 6 f fruits. Drain well and then fill cartons as Wash and st carefully in cold water. Prepare as f table use. and date. Label cartons with name of product RED RASPBERRIES General Rules f Both Fruits and Vegetables Label cartons with name of product and date. Wash and st carefully in cold water. Prepare as f table use. Blanch in boiling water f required length of time as shown on page 3 Cool immediately in running water ice water. Drain well, then fill containers as in rule 6 f vegetables. Press air from bags, then heat seal securely twist top of bag tight, fold over, secure with rubber band string.