Hardly harvested, the quality of fresh pineapples deteriorates rapidly. Anyone who is now familiar with the traditional way of preserving by boiling preserves the refreshing fruit enjoyment for a long time. Follow these instructions to do it.
The right preparation - explained step-by-step
You start preparing the fresh pineapple immediately after harvesting, because even short storage impairs the quality. The leaf crown and the base are first cut off with a sharp knife. To get as much pulp as possible, proceed as follows:
- Cut the unpeeled pineapple into 1 cm thick slices
- Using a sharp knife, peel each slice as thinly as possible
- remove the hard center with a cookie cutter
Cut the pineapple slices into bite-sized pieces or leave them in one piece, whichever you prefer. To preserve a large fruit, 2 to 3 mason jars are usually required. As part of the preparation, these and the lid are meticulously cleaned. Next, dissolve 300 grams of sugar in 1 liter of boiling water and set aside until cool.
How to cook pineapple perfectly
The prepared pineapple slices or pieces of fruit are filled into the glasses. A small margin of 1-2 centimeters remains free. Pour the sugar solution over the fruit. How to proceed:
- Place the unsealed jars in a pot of water
- hang a cooking thermometer in the cauldron
- heat the water up to 100 degrees Celsius
- Cook at this temperature for 25 minutes
The cooking time is reduced to 4-5 minutes if the pineapples have already been heated. When the time is up, turn off the stove. The pineapple jars stay in the water for another 10 minutes to cool down. Then screw the cover tight. Leave the preserving jars upside down on a kitchen towel until they have completely cooled.
tips and tricks
Do not throw away the severed tuft of leaves. You can easily grow a new pineapple plant from it. Put the stalk, freed from the pulp, in a nutrient-poor, well-drained substrate. First pull off the bottom two rows of sheets. In the warm, humid microclimate of the mini greenhouse or under a plastic bag, rooting gets going quickly.
GTH