If you are one of the lucky ones who can look forward to a rich fruit harvest in your own garden year after year, but do not really know what to do with the fruity all sorts to preserve it for a long time, we have a good idea for you: Just insert the fruit. Our tips and basic recipe will help you!
Fruits in alcohol are tasty and have a long shelf life
Note: The procedure is also suitable for connoisseurs who buy their fruit in the supermarket.
Insert fruit - general information
Pickling, pickling, preserving - these three terms are all too often used synonymously, although there are definitely differences. While fruit or vegetables are (strongly) heated when canning and preserving, this is not the case when pickling. Normally, pickling is done without heating - you can put the fruit fully blanched in the preserving liquid if you like, but with the right ingredients, you can do all that preliminary work.
tips
The big advantages of pickling without heating are that the fruit stays nice and crunchy and there is no loss of nutrients.
Note: Not every type of fruit is suitable for all three preservation methods mentioned (pickling, canning and preserving). Some should only be pickled (elderberries), others only boiled down (currants). The majority of the fruits, however, allow all variants. These include apples, pears, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, plums, apricots, peaches, cherries, plums and more.
When pickling vegetables, vinegar or oil are commonly used as a base; You can also pickle some fruit in vinegar - such as cherries, pears or quinces. However, most types of fruit do not go particularly well with vinegar, so we recommend that you use alcohol (only high-proof!) for pickling fruit. Like vinegar, alcohol has a preservative effect. Vodka, gin, brandy and double grain are suitable.
Recipe for pickling fruit
Basically, you can combine whatever suits your taste. The main ingredients are the desired fruits and suitable alcohol. In addition, cinnamon sticks and vanilla pulp are often suitable for flavoring the preserved fruit.
tips
Also try out more “exotic” combinations such as apricot-parsley or raspberry-thyme as well as strawberry-basil. You will be surprised how delicious such variations can taste!
You always need:
- fruit of your choice
- high-proof alcohol
- Sugar*
- Extras of your choice (such as cinnamon sticks, vanilla pulp, fresh parsley, etc.)
* It is advisable to use birch sugar instead of normal sugar - your health will thank you.
How to pickle fruit correctly
- Mix the alcohol and the chosen extra (e.g. vodka with vanilla pulp).
- Wash the fruit and remove any inedible parts. If necessary, cut the fruit up and into small pieces.
- Put the fruit and sugar in the mason jar.
- Pour the alcohol over the sugared fruit. The fruit must be covered.
- Close the jar tightly.
- Leave it for at least two weeks.
tips
The pickled fruit can then be stored in the refrigerator for about three months.
The garden journal freshness ABC
How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?
The garden journal freshness ABC as a poster:
- as a free PDF file to print out yourself