Keep fruit fresh looking with ascorbic acid.
When storing fruit, it is important to preserve it someprevent the fruit from darkening and loosing its freshness. This is especially true for fruits like pears or apricots ascorbic acid is a safe, natural way to prevent discoloration and add nutrition to your fruit as well. While fruit cannot be preserved solely through the use of ascorbic acid, it is a useful ingredient in making your preserves taste fresh and look more appealing.
Instructions
1. Wash and sort the fruit you plan on preserving. If some of the fruit looks like it has already started to rot, you should separate it from the rest of the batch and discard this fruit. This will prevent the potential transfer of fungus that may have already started to grow.
2. Place the fruit into the plastic container. Do not attempt to stuff more fruit into the container than it can comfortably hold as this will create bruising. Leave at least 1/2 inch of space between the fruit and the container's lid.
3. Dissolve 1 tsp. of powdered ascorbic acid in 2 cups of water and soak your fruit in the mixture for three to five minutes. After the fruit has been soaked, drain the water from the container. Repeat this process for the best results.
4. Sprinkle sugar over the fruit and mix gently until the juice is drawn out and the sugar dissolved if you are storing soft fruits, such as peaches, strawberries or figs. Allow the sugar to interact with the fruits juices and dissolve for 15 minutes. If you are storing fruits such as blueberries, cranberries or raspberries, sugaring the fruit is important and does not need to be done. This step is to preserve texture and flavor.
5. Seal the container so it is airtight and place it in your freezer.
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