How to store feijoa at home

Heat-loving and unusual feijoa berry pleases us with a pleasant taste with acidity and a high content of nutrients. Many people like to treat themselves to fruit puree as an additive to porridge or fresh desserts, but they don’t know how to store an unusual berry. Keep in mind a few important tips to enjoy healthy sweets for longer.

Feijoa Features

Feijoa - a very whimsical plant. For the growth and ripening of fruits, it needs a tropical climate and moderate humidity. Feijoa fruits are harvested in late autumn - from mid-October. Only mature fruits that have already fallen from the tree are selected. When the fruits ripen, they fall naturally, the same ones that still hang on the branches - green. But collecting fruits from the soil, it is necessary to ensure that they are dense, whole and have no bruises.

Given these features, it can be understood that the period when the plant is suitable for food is very short. When the fruit hits the ground, its internal structure is disrupted, and due to the high sugar content, fermentation can begin. That is why fruits must be quickly collected and sent for processing or to stores.

How long feijoa is stored

If the fruits are green and tight, they need to be ripened. To do this, they are left at room temperature for 4-8 days. For optimal ripening, the fruits should be laid out on thick paper in a ventilated room with an air temperature of about 22 degrees. When the starch in the berries turns into sugar, the fruits will become softer. During this period, fruits should immediately be cleaned in the refrigerator.

Do not keep fresh berries raw for a long time - delicate fruits quickly lose their beneficial properties and can cause intestinal upset.

How to extend the shelf life of green berries

With such strict restrictions, every experienced landlord and gardener asks the question: how to preserve the harvest and get the maximum benefit from the tropical feijoa fruits. A convenient way is to make jam.

There are two options: for those who like to preserve the naturalness of taste and vitamins - “live jam” - without heat treatment, as well as classic jam, which can be rolled up in jars for the winter. The “living” mousse will be stored in the refrigerator for about three months, and sterilized hermetically sealed jam - like other canned fruit - for up to several years.

It does not make sense to freeze feijoa, as well as dry the fruits. They will lose their beneficial properties and taste good. Compotes from these berries do not. For a change, you can try adding berries to marmalades or jellies with other components rich in pectin for good thickening.

Feijoa Jam Recipe

Tasty preservation should be moderately sweet, but at the same time reliably “fixed” with sugar. Therefore, berries and granulated sugar are taken for feijoa jam in a ratio of one to one, and water is also added to make syrup. 0.25 liters are taken per 1 kg of fruit (plus 1 kg of sugar).

Washed and peeled fruits are crushed into pulp using a blender or meat grinder.Sugar syrup is brewed in advance: hot water is mixed with sugar, the crystals are allowed to dissolve, brought to a boil and boiled for 1 minute. In this case, the fruit mixture will have a caramel flavor. The fruit mass is poured with syrup and cooked over low heat for 10-15 minutes, after which it is poured into clean cans steamed and rolled up properly.

Store the jam in the pantry or basement - away from drafts, in the dark and cool. An open jar should be kept in the refrigerator for no more than a month. Otherwise, the jam will cease to be fragrant.

How to make fresh feijoa jam

To preserve more vitamins and extend the “life” of feijoa fruits, they canned sugar without cooking. To do this, you need to thoroughly wash the berries with warm water, grind in a blender or in a meat grinder in mashed potatoes and sprinkle with sugar.

Choose the degree of sweetness to your taste. The peculiarity of this preparation is that sugar interrupts the characteristic acidity of the fruit, so for lovers of sweet and sour fruit mixtures, a ratio of 0.75 kg of sugar per 1 kg of fruit can be recommended. Sweet tooth may prefer a densely sweet dessert - 1.5 kg of sugar per 1 kg of fruit. Try for the first time to make an acidic mixture with the minimum recommended sugar content - and add sweetness to taste before freezing.

Feijoa “living” jam can be used as a filling for desserts, served with tea, added to cereals and protein bars for raw foodists and vegans. Keep the mixture in the refrigerator all winter.

How to choose good feijoa fruits

There should be no slippery or sticky coating on the surface of the fruit. The fruits should be resilient, without softened areas and darkening, that is, signs of fermentation or decay. Choose whole fruits of bright green color, carrying brown fragments and inclusions. Do not take the berry with the stalks - the fruits fall off, breaking away from them, and the presence of the petiole indicates that the fruit was not ripe.

Feijoa fruits ripened on a tree gain more vitamins than those that matured “lying down” - they will have a more saturated and rich aroma.

Video: what is feijoa berry useful for?