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Many lovers of the exotic feijoa fruit are interested in processing and storage issues. This plant is a resident of the subtropics. But in Our Country, feijoa is also grown in the south. s can buy fruits in the fall, somewhere in October-November.
The fruits are very tasty, in their aroma there are notes of strawberries, kiwi, pineapple. Unfortunately, fresh feijoa is not stored for a long time, it requires processing. Fruit lovers know how to make jam, jams, compotes from fruits. But they are often interested in the question of whether it is possible to freeze feijoa for the winter in the refrigerator. If yes, how to do it right.
About the beneficial properties of the fruit
We will try to answer the question posed, but first let’s find out how the fruits are useful.
The fruits contain a large number of various vitamins, macro- and microelements of organic substances, essential oils. Experts say that feijoa contains almost the entire periodic table. In a word, a real pantry of health. But the most important, perhaps, is vitamin C and iodine. Fruits in terms of iodine content are compared with seafood.
Nutritionists also highly appreciate feijoa, recommend them as a dietary food, as well as for preventive and therapeutic purposes:
- with problems with the thyroid gland;
- with inflammatory processes of the gastrointestinal tract and gastritis;
- with atherosclerosis and vitamin deficiency;
- with hypovitaminosis and pyelonephritis;
- gout, as well as in the season of colds.
For people who are constantly experiencing mental stress, doctors advise using feijoa.
Feijoa has another unique property – allergic reactions to it are almost never found. Therefore, feijoa can be consumed at any age. Even women in an interesting position and while feeding a child can safely add them to their diet.
About the benefits of fruit:
Since the fruits are so useful, and their presence on the shelves is limited to a few months, the question arises how to preserve the fragrant fruits in the winter. There are many options:
- grind fruits with sugar;
- make jam without cooking;
- cook jams, compotes.
But our readers are interested in whether it is possible to freeze the fruits, and how to do it better.
Freezing methods
As we have already said, you can keep fruits fresh in the refrigerator. But unfortunately, no more than 10 days. And if the fruits are already ripe, then even less. Therefore, they must be immediately eaten or processed. We choose the processing method, specifically, freezing.
We can safely say that freezing feijoa in no way affects the quality of the product. All useful properties are preserved in the fruits.
Freeze fruits whole, with and without sugar. Let’s take a closer look.
Fruit preparation
Regardless of which freezing method you choose, we always prepare them the same way:
- We sort through, remove fruits with the slightest signs of damage and black peel. After all, a healthy feijoa has a uniform green surface.
- Rinse in cold water.
- We cut off the buttocks.
Freezing whole fruits
Dry the washed and cut fruits on a towel. They must be dry before freezing. We spread the fruits on a clean sheet in one layer and put them in the freezer. We leave them until the feijoa turns into “pebbles”. We put them in a container or a plastic bag and put them away for storage. This method is possible if you have enough space in the freezer.
frozen puree
1 way
Cut the berries into small pieces, grind in a manual meat grinder or interrupt with a blender.
We spread the mass in small portioned containers and send it to the freezer.
2 way
Add granulated sugar to the crushed mass, in a ratio of 1: 1, mix well. You don’t have to wait for the sugar to dissolve. Pour puree into containers immediately. Otherwise, the mass will darken due to the contact of iodine with air.
Conclusion
As needed, take out the containers, defrost and add, for example, to porridge, yogurt or ice cream. Whole fruits can be passed through a blender, add sugar, some fruits or berries and make cold jam. You can do the same with puree.