MSU Extension Michigan Fresh

Food Safety and Storage

• Pick or purchase fruits that are not bruised or damaged.
• Wash hands before and after handling fresh produce.
• Wash plums under cool running Do not use soap.
• Keep away from raw meat and meat juices to prevent cross-contamination.
• For best quality and to preserve nutrients, preserve no more than your family can consume in one year. 

Yield 

(1)  This amount is also adequate for a 4-quart load. (2) Many fruits that are typically packed in heavy syrup are excellent and tasteful products when packed in lighter syrups. The USDA recommends that lighter syrups be tried, since they contain fewer calories from added sugar.

This table is adapted from “Table 1. Preparing and Using Syrups” from Selecting, Preparing and Canning Fruit on the National Center for Home Food Preservation website at https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_02/syrups.html. That table was adapted from the USDA’s Complete Guide to Home Canning (Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539). Revised 2015.

How to Preserve

Canning

Quality: Select deep-colored, mature fruit of ideal quality for eating fresh or cooking. Plums may be packed in water or syrup.

Stem and wash plums. To can whole, prick skins on two sides of plums with a fork to prevent splitting. Freestone varieties may be halved and pitted. If you use syrup, prepare very light, light or medium syrup according to the “Preparing and Using Syrups” table.

Hot pack – Add plums to water or hot syrup and boil 2 minutes. Cover saucepan and let stand 20 to 30 minutes. Fill jars with hot plums and cooking liquid or syrup, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.

Raw pack – Fill jars with raw plums, packing firmly. Add hot water or syrup, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.

Remove air bubbles, wipe rims, adjust lids and process. Processing directions for canning plums in a boiling-water bath or a dial- or weighted-gauge pressure canner are given in Table 1, Table 2 and Table 3.

Let jars stand undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours, remove rings, wash jars, label, date and store. Food in jars that do not seal must be reprocessed in a clean jar with a new lid within 24 hours, refrigerated or frozen.

Freezing

Preparation – Select firm, ripe fruit soft enough to yield to slight pressure. Sort and wash. Leave whole or cut in halves or quarters, and pit.

Syrup pack – Use cold 40-50 percent syrup, depending on tartness of fruit. For a better quality product, add ½ teaspoon (1500 mg) ascorbic acid per quart of syrup. To make the syrup, dissolve sugar in lukewarm water, mixing until the solution is clear. Chill syrup before using.

Use just enough cold syrup to cover the prepared fruit after it has been placed in the container (about ½ to ⅔ cup of syrup per pint).

Put plums directly into cold syrup in container, starting with ½ cup syrup to a pint container. Press fruit down and add syrup to cover. Leave ½- to 1½-inch headspace dependent on container type. To keep fruit under the syrup, place a small piece of crumpled parchment paper or other water-resistant wrapping material on top, and press fruit down into the syrup before sealing the container.

Seal, label, date and freeze.

Plum sauce – Boil well-ripened clingstone plums without water until soft; then remove pits and skins. Continue cooking the pulp and juice until it thickens to your desired consistency. Add 1 part sugar (with spices, if desired) to 4 parts plums.

Cool and package, leave ½- to 1½-inch headspace dependent on container type. Seal, label, date and freeze. 

*Approximate

**In general, up to one-fourth of the sugar may be replaced by corn syrup or mild-flavored honey. A larger proportion of corn syrup may be used if a very bland, light-colored type is selected.

References

• Andress, E., & Harrison, J. A. (2014). So easy to preserve (Bulletin 989). (6th ed.). University of Georgia Cooperative Extension.
• Complete guide to home canning. (2015). United States Department of Agriculture.
• National Center for Home Food Preservation. http://nchfp.uga.edu/

More information

• Michigan Fresh
• Michigan Fresh - Fruits