One of the best things to do during a cold, harsh winter is to go to your freezer and pull out some of the apricots that you froze last season. It is not hard to learn how to freeze apricots. There are several methods that can be used for freezing apricots and all of them are easy.
Apricots are considered a low acid fruit. Because low acid fruits tend to discolor when they are cut, if they will be frozen raw, they should be treated to prevent this discoloration. In addition, treating them is easy. Pick up some ascorbic acid in the canning section of your supermarket. Thoroughly wash and dry the apricots, cut them and pit them. Mix a solution of 1.5 teaspoons of the ascorbic acid with 2 pints of very cold water. Place the pieces of fruit into the solution and let soak for about 5 minutes. Drain and then use any of the methods listed below for freezing.
Freezing apricots can be done using a dry method, a sugar method or in a sugar syrup. For the dry fruit method, take the pieces of apricot that you have treated with the ascorbic acid solution and simply place them into sturdy plastic bags. Lay the bags on the counter so the fruit is flat, in a single layer. Use a vacuum pump to remove the area and then seal the bag. On the other hand, seal the bag almost all of the way, insert a straw into the small remaining opening and suck out the air. Seal the bag, label and date it. To use, thaw the fruit in the refrigerator or use straight from the freezer if cooking with it.
With the raw sugar method, mix 2 to 3 oz of sugar with 1 lb of fruit. You can put the fruit into plastic bags and seal according to the instructions above. On the other hand, you can use plastic containers that have tight fitting lids. Seal the container and label it, date it and freeze the fruit. To use, allow to thaw in the refrigerator.
If you want, you can freeze the apricots in sugar syrup. Add one cup of sugar to 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Boil until the sugar dissolves and then allow to fully cool. Add the sugar to your treated apricots and allow to stand for five minutes. Package the fruit and syrup in plastic containers that have tight fitting lids. Be sure to leave some head room, as the liquid will expand as it freezes.
No matter what method you use, be sure to start with quality fruit. The fruit should be undamaged, ripe and ready to eat. By starting with great tasting fresh apricots, you will have great tasting apricots when you remove that package from the freezer. Freezing apricots is easy, just follow our advice on how to freeze apricots above.
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