How long do plums last at room temperature?

Storing unripe plums

Unripe fruits can also be preserved, and in several ways. However, you must first select berries with the same stage of immaturity, without damage.

They can be left in a warm, bright room for a couple of days, but on the condition that direct sunlight should not fall on them. Plums will also ripen if they are placed in paper bags. Due to the ethylene that the fruits will release, they will ripen.

There is no need to put unripe berries in the refrigerator - they will become tasteless. It’s better to let them ripen indoors and then transfer them to the refrigerator.

When properly ripened, plums will become soft and sweet. These fruits will be stored for a long time. Overripe plums must be consumed immediately, otherwise they will spoil due to the large amount of juice.

Advantages and disadvantages of this method

Drying is a very popular way to store and prepare supplies on your own for the winter. However, this method has both positive aspects and disadvantages.

pros

• long-term storage of fruits;
• saving space when storing the finished product;
• for the most part, preservation of the beneficial properties and vitamins of the fruit;
• simplified harvesting process, compared to salting or seaming;
• possibility of long-term storage of dry vegetables and fruits (in comparison with canned ones);
• ease of use of dried products, preservation of their taste and nutrients;
• the ability to dry those fruits that are not suitable for pickling.

Minuses

The disadvantages of this process are:

• significant loss of weight and volume of the finished fruit - they lose up to 90% of their weight;
• some loss of vitamins and beneficial properties of the product - the fruit loses up to 30% of its minerals and vitamin C;
• due to loss of moisture, the fruits become dry, sometimes hard, which complicates the process of cooking them in the future;
• the drying process is not suitable for all vegetable fruits;
• Preserving dried products is problematic - mold often spoils the fruit.

Did you know? Scientists date the invention of this storage method as drying back to the Neolithic era - about 9000 BC. e. Due to global cooling, the ancient inhabitants had to stock up on food for future use, which is why they were forced to dry roots, herbs and some vegetables in reserve.

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Storing plums on the balcony or in the cellar

Berries and fruits can be stored in this way, just follow the following conditions:

Important! Do not store plums in plastic bags, as mold and mildew will appear. The fruits will begin to rot.

To store plums you need a ventilated container.

Large plums can be placed in a cardboard egg box, but it must be disinfected with antiseptics. This way the plum will remain fresh for about three weeks.

On loggias, plums are stored only in wooden boxes; the fruits are laid out in no more than two layers.

You can also keep plums in the cellar, only with a humidity of about 80 - 90% and a temperature of +3/+5 degrees. If the humidity is high, the fruits will begin to rot; if the humidity is low, they will become dry.

If you follow all the parameters, then the plum will stay fresh for up to 4 weeks. But it all depends on the variety. Some varieties can withstand no more than 14 days.

How to store plums at home, the best ways to prepare them for the winter

Growing plum trees is a popular activity among gardeners. It is difficult to imagine an orchard without these crops. But growing a crop of fragrant fruits is not enough; it is important to organize a storage system for the collected plums. It is necessary to take into account the nuances of harvesting, choose the right variety and choose the container. It is important to prevent the development of fungal diseases, fruit rot and wilting.

What types of plums can be stored?

The shelf life of ripened fruits mainly depends on the type of plum tree and the chemical composition of the berries. Harvested fruits must remain firm, have a strong fruit shell and strong immunity to fungal diseases. Through the efforts of breeders, varieties suitable for long-term storage were obtained:

• El Dorado;
• Chachakskaya;
• Empress;
• Grand Duke;
• Haganta;
• Victoria;
• Hungarian;
• Anna Shpet.

The shelf life of collected fruits without loss of presentation can be 1.5-2 months. When choosing a tree variety, pay attention to recommendations for caring for the plant, as well as the declared varietal advantages.

Collection rules

In order for plums to be stored longer, it is necessary to properly harvest. Collection nuances:

• Do not collect plums after rain, dew or watering.
• The fruits should be elastic, without soft barrels.
• The berries ripen at different times, so harvesting is carried out in several stages.
• Fruits that have fallen to the ground are not suitable for storage.
• They don't shake the fruits off the trees.
• It is necessary to preserve the wax coating.

It is recommended to remove fruits selected for storage from the tree along with the stalks. You can stack fruits on top of each other in two or three layers, no more.

Timing and signs of fruit ripening

Early-ripening varieties begin to ripen in mid-July, late-ripening varieties in September. The main signs of maturity include:

• The color of the fruit becomes bright and uniform, and a waxy coating appears.
• Some fruits begin to fall from the tree.
• The ripening time of plums has arrived, depending on the variety.
• A pronounced plum aroma appears.
• The fruits become slightly soft to the touch.

As soon as the gardener has noticed all the above signs, it is necessary to begin harvesting and organize storage correctly. Overripe fruits are not suitable for storage; they quickly release juice, the skin bursts, and a rotting process may begin, which spreads to neighboring fruits.

Is it possible to collect green fruits?

It is possible to collect plums ahead of schedule; gardeners often practice this method. Collected fruits from the tree can ripen indoors. Green fruits are collected if the fruits have to be transported for a long time.

Green fruits can ripen after being picked at home. To ensure ripening occurs in a short time, the following activities are carried out:

• The collected berries are placed in a paper bag, the fruit begins to release ethylene, which accelerates the ripening process.
• Unripe plums should not be placed in the refrigerator.
• Often the collected plums are laid out on the table and left in room light for a day.
• Fruits should not be placed on the windowsill; they quickly become soft and produce juice.

As soon as a waxy coating appears on the collected fruits, the fruits can immediately be moved for long-term storage.

How to collect cream?

The fruits are saturated with juice, so when picking, it is not recommended to crush the fruits or shake them onto the ground; dents quickly form on the fruits and the process of rotting begins.

The crop is harvested gradually, in several stages. Collection begins from the lower branches, gradually moving to the top of the tree. Ladders and stepladders can be used.

Tree branches are quite fragile, care must be taken.

Processing and preparation for storage

Preparing plums for storage begins with choosing a location and selecting containers. Shallow boxes with good ventilation are ideal.

Important! It is strictly forbidden to store plums in plastic bags; the fruits will spoil and quickly produce juice.

The boxes are placed in a dark, dry place. Fruits are stacked in layers, the number of which should not be more than three. It is not recommended to specially treat fruits when storing them after harvesting. Berries cannot be washed.

How to preserve at home?

To keep aromatic fruits fresh for as long as possible, the following rules apply:

• You cannot store plums in the refrigerator for more than a month.
• The fruits can be dried, frozen, candied or pickled.
• Avoid multi-layer storage of fresh fruits.
• Do not wash the collected plums and choose the right containers.

At home, fresh plums can be stored for up to two months. Pay attention to the variety when purchasing seedlings for growing in the country.

The correct choice of variety will greatly simplify further care and solve the problem of harvesting and storing the crop.

Tara

As a rule, fruit boxes are used as containers for storing plums, with paper placed at the bottom. There is no need to lay layers of fruit with paper.

You cannot store fruits in plastic bags or buckets.

Storage conditions

The harvested crop is stored in a dark, dry room at the right temperature. Excess humidity during storage stimulates the growth of bacteria and fungi, which cause rotting processes.

It is not recommended to allow sudden temperature changes, and the room must be ventilated periodically. Plums can be stored in the refrigerator.

Dried, pickled, candied specimens are stored for a long time. Before storing, the dried crop is blanched in a low concentration baking soda solution. It is best to keep canned plums in a basement or cellar.

The shelf life of fresh plums varies from 3 weeks to 2 months, depending on the variety and compliance with the rules.

What to do

The drawers may harbor insects or mold. During storage, fresh plums are periodically inspected, rotten specimens are removed, and the room is ventilated.

If there is a midge

Vegetable midges on the harvested crop are an unpleasant sight; they multiply quickly, feeding on the juices of fruits, on which they lay eggs and leave traces of their vital activity. You can get rid of uninvited guests using special adhesive tape traps that need to be hung in the room. From folk recipes, camphor smoke is used.

Mold damage

Diseased fruits must be promptly removed and the room ventilated. The appearance of mold indicates non-compliance with storage conditions. In case of severe infection, the crop is completely sorted and transferred to other containers.

Methods of preparing for the winter

To keep plums for a long time, they are frozen, dried or canned. If the harvesting technology is followed, the fruits retain all their beneficial properties and taste.

Freezing

The collected fruits are frozen and stored in the refrigerator. It is important that freezing is carried out only once; when drained again, it loses its taste characteristics and nutrients. The seeds can be removed by first washing and drying the fruit.

Dried plums

The collected material for drying is washed and pitted, blanched and sent to the oven, where the fruit spends several hours at a temperature of 40-50 0C. Dried fruits are stored in wooden boxes with holes or fabric bags.

Pickled plums

A delicious aromatic appetizer suitable for meat dishes. You can preserve fruits with or without pits. Ingredients:

• cognac;
• 9% vinegar or citric acid;
• water;
• plums;
• sugar and salt;
• seasonings: cinnamon, anise, black pepper.

The fruits are placed in jars, after being washed, and poured with boiling water. When the water has cooled, pour it into a saucepan from jars and prepare the marinade. Add salt, sugar, vinegar, seasonings to a pan of water and cook for 10 minutes. At the end of cooking, add cognac. Pour the hot marinade into the jars and roll up the lids.

Plum in its own juice

After sorting, the berries are washed and placed in a colander. The plums are blanched with boiling water and transferred to sterilized jars. You can add a sprig of mint. The fruits are poured with boiling water and the jars are rolled up. The plum is ready for winter storage.

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Freezing plums

Frozen plums can last up to a year. It is better not to freeze unripe berries, because they will be tasteless. They need to be allowed to ripen and then put in the freezer.

To freeze you need:

• Wash and dry the ripened fruits.
• Divide into halves, remove seeds.
• Place on flat plates and place in the freezer.

After freezing, collect and store in bags.

Important! Repeated freezing/thawing should not be done. Therefore, you need to prepare small portions for freezing so that the batch is enough for one time.

Step-by-step recipe for pickled plums

Imagine: You, in a velvet robe and slippers, with a white collar, smoke a hookah on the balcony, admiring the trees and wild dogs. On a mahogany table inlaid with ivory, there is a silver tray with a crystal glass of ice-cold vodka, and on a Chinese porcelain saucer lies a pickled plum, impaled on a gold two-pronged fork... Well?

In Japan, pickled (salted) plums "umeboshi" (Japanese: 梅干) are a seasoning used in Japanese cuisine. It is a small pink salted plum. Japanese scientists have found a substance in pickled plums (umeboshi) that can stop the growth of the H1N1 virus. In Vietnam, a very similar seasoning is called xí muội or ô mai. In South Asian countries it is called "emblik" and is prepared from Indian gooseberries. In Mexico, the product is known as chamoy, usually made from apricot or tamarind with salt and dry chili. In the Caucasus, tkemali and tklapi sauces are prepared from plums - an essential component of proper kharcho soup (pork soup). Cherry plum, in fact, is a type of plum, and even a direct ancestor, so “tkemali” sauces are not necessarily wild plums, but often ordinary plums. Plums do not have enough of their own fruit acid to pickle in their “own juice.” Therefore, to pickle plums you need vinegar. The best one is grape. The acidity of the finished marinade should be about 2% to stop the development of microorganisms. But all the same, it is better to subject the finished product either to sterilization, or to heat it at a temperature of 75-80 degrees - pasteurize.

It is better to marinate plums, which we used to call “Hungarian” - not the most ripe ones. It is better if the plums are not overripe and slightly hard. Then during the marinating process they will not turn into puree.

Be sure to sort through the plums and remove spoiled ones - this is important (!). Tear off the ponytails

And, of course, wash it, trying to remove the bluish coating. Place the plums in a pickling container. It is very important that the container is made of a material that is not subject to oxidation - plastic, porcelain, glass. The coolest thing is the oak barrel. But at home, a large plastic basin is quite suitable. The installation method is to simply pour out the plums. Fill the bottom of the container with plums and place bay leaves and cloves on top. Add another layer of plums and again bay leaves and cloves on top. And so on. The last layer should be plums.

By the way, at first glance it may seem that the amount of bay leaf and cloves is excessive. It's a delusion. At the end I even regretted not adding more. But the taste and color, as they say... Bring vinegar to a boil in a saucepan. Pour sugar into boiling vinegar, preferably in portions, 1-2 cups each. Stir until dissolved. From a physics point of view, it is impossible to dissolve 3 kg of sugar in 0.5 liters of liquid. The result is a thick liquid - syrup, with sugar particles. Again, don't let this scare you. Very soon the plums will add liquid, and everything will be as it should!

Pour the boiling marinade syrup over the plums. At first, the marinade won't even cover the plums. That's how it should be.

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Next, you will have a simple but extremely exciting activity for 5 days.

So: Twice a day, morning and evening, you need to pour all the liquid from the container in which the plums are pickled into a large saucepan. Gently mix the plums using a large spoon, or better yet, just with your hand. Bring the drained liquid to a boil and pour it over the plums. On the 2nd, or maximum on the 3rd day, there will be enough liquid so that the plums are completely in the marinade.

It is better to cover the container with plums with a bag or film. Firstly, to prevent debris from flying in. Secondly, to prevent insects from getting in, especially wasps (!). Thirdly, so that plums do not “catch” homemade plums. Pickled plums are edible on the first day and very tasty. So, by the time of conservation, there may be nothing left to preserve.

At the end of the fifth day, pour all the marinade into a saucepan. Boil.

Place the pickled plums in sterilized jars, be sure to add bay leaves and cloves.

Using a cup, pour boiling marinade into each jar of pickled plums. Up to the neck! Cover with a lid and seal tightly.

Turn the pickled plums into jars and place them on the lid. Wrap all the jars in a woolen or cotton blanket and keep it there until it cools completely.

It is better to store pickled plums in jars in a cool place. And only periodically remove one jar at a time, open and snack.

Pickled plums - an appetizer and just a treat

Snacks and sauces, Step-by-step recipe for pickled plums, How to cook pickled plums Snacks and sauces

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