Pineapple can become a real decoration of a festive table, an original ingredient in salads and desserts. Expensive exotic fruits are often stocked up ahead of time, and it is very offensive if signs of spoilage are found before the feast. You can save the pineapple until the New Year or another holiday, as well as not let the leftover fruit go to waste. To do this, you need to follow certain rules.
Storing a whole pineapple
You can store pineapple at home at room temperature for several days, a slightly unripe fruit will become softer and juicier. In this case, it is recommended to keep the fruit in a dark place, without packing, while it should be turned from time to time. Otherwise, the juice will drain into one place and cause rotting.
If you need to store pineapple for a longer period, you cannot do without a refrigerator. The fruit must be packed in a paper bag or plastic, but ventilated - with holes. After that, place in the refrigerator compartment, the temperature in which should not drop below 7 ° C and exceed 8 ° C, and the humidity should not be higher than 90%.
The ideal place is the fruit compartment. The exotic fruit will lie there for 11-12 days. If you keep pineapple in the refrigerator for a long time, it will become less tasty and aromatic, but sometimes this is the only way out.
Storing pineapple leftovers
Most likely, you will be able to keep the pineapple at home and it will even become the centerpiece of the festive table. However, the fruit may not be eaten to the end, especially if more than one fruit has been purchased. In this case, its leftovers should be stored for 10-12 days, like a whole pineapple: in paper or perforated polyethylene in the fruit compartment of the refrigerator.
Is it possible to freeze pineapple? Yes, this is acceptable if you peel the fruit, chop it and put it on a cutting board, then in a bag and place it in the freezer. When the tasty fruit slices have hardened, pack them in a special freezer bag. Pineapples will stay in the freezer in a hermetically sealed package for 2-3 months.
Finally, you can stock up on an exotic pineapple dessert for the winter and even store pineapples at home for a year! In the first case, the fruits must be preserved, in the second, they must be dried.
Canned pineapples
Peel the pineapple peel, cut the fruit pulp into small slices and place in an enamel pot. Boil sugar syrup at the rate of 1 liter of water and 250 g of sugar and pour over the sliced pineapple. Let everything stand in the room for 12-14 hours, then the mixture must be boiled over medium heat for 15 minutes, poured into sterile jars and rolled up.
Dried pineapples
Peel the hard peel from the fruit, remove the eyes, cut the pineapple into rings and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 66 ° C, place a baking sheet in it and dry the pineapples for 24-36 hours, until the fruit circles are firm. It is advisable to store such dried fruits for no more than six months.
Candied pineapple
Boil the sugar syrup. For 1 kg of pineapple slices, you will need 3 cups of water and 4 cups of granulated sugar. Boil slices of fruit with the peel for 1 hour in syrup, then turn off the heat and keep at room temperature for 48 hours. When the candied fruits are well saturated with sugar, move the saucepan with the syrup and pineapple to medium heat and let the liquid evaporate with constant stirring. Dry candied fruit on parchment on a cutting board or baking sheet in a warm place (such as a hot radiator).
Interesting facts about pineapple
- Biologists count more than 80 varieties of this exotic fruit, while some of the fruits weigh up to 4 kg.
- A thorny herbaceous plant, the fruit of which is pineapple - a native of Brazil. In their homeland, some of its specimens are found in the wild, the diameters of old trunks sometimes reach 4 m.
- Pineapple is a storehouse of vitamin C (100 g - daily dose!); iodine, potassium, zinc, copper, calcium. Periodic consumption of the fruit improves digestion, makes the blood less viscous and brings blood pressure back to normal. Eating pineapple is considered a good prevention of atherosclerosis.
- It is known that wealthy Russian families have long used pineapples, which were a sign of luxury. So, at the court of Catherine the Great, pineapples with hazel grouses were served. In the count's estates, exotic fruits, peeled from the skin, were fermented in oak barrels, stewed and served with game, added to the cabbage soup.
- A cut-off pineapple planted in moist soil can take root and become an original home plant. Experienced growers manage to grow even small fruits on the windowsills.
- In Mexico, pineapple peel is used - pour in sweet water and let it ferment in the warmth for several days. They drink a refreshing drink strained and chilled.
