Plum is one of the best fruits for canning. Its main advantage is the richness of taste and the ability to retain its shape well during heat treatment. You can find thousands of recipes for jam and compotes made from plums on the Internet, but this is unlikely to surprise anyone today. The same cannot be said about pickled prunes - a rather rare but tasty snack, which, moreover, is easy to prepare.
Cooking secrets
Not all varieties are suitable for pickling prunes.The “Hungarian” variety (another name is “Ugorka”) is considered optimal in terms of taste and properties. These plums are firm, with dense pulp, and retain their shape well during heat treatment.
To maintain the elasticity of the fruit, cognac is added to the marinade - in a symbolic amount (1-2 tablespoons per 1 kg of fruit). Cognac not only improves the properties of fruits. It also gives a refined spicy taste and aroma.
Most recipes contain vinegar. There are no clear recommendations regarding its type: you can use either ordinary table vinegar or apple or wine vinegar, whichever you prefer.
Preparing containers and products
When choosing fruits for pickling, give preference to ones that are firm, undamaged, and not fully ripe. This will save the dish from turning into a puree. Before cooking, the fruits are carefully sorted, discarding those that have a hint of defects, the cuttings are removed and washed well under running water.
Like any preservation, seaming pickled prunes requires sterilization of the jars. Sterilization can be carried out by any of the known methods:
- in a steam bath: boil water in a saucepan, then place a colander or sieve on it, and on it - jars with the neck down. Sterilization time – 10-15 minutes;
- in the oven: washed jars are placed in an oven preheated to 160 degrees and left there for 10 to 25 minutes, depending on the volume of the container;
- in a double boiler or microwave oven according to the operating instructions for the equipment.
How to pickle prunes in jars for the winter?
Pickling prunes for the winter is no more difficult than making jam or compote from them. In this case, you can roll it in jars in the usual way or pasteurize it.
Simple recipe
The easiest way to prepare prunes is to marinate them whole, right with the pit.
List of ingredients:
- plums – 1 kg;
- water – 0.75 l;
- sugar – 1 glass;
- citric acid – 2 tbsp. l.;
- anise - 1 pc.;
- black pepper – 3-5 peas;
- cloves – 3-5 pcs.;
- cinnamon – 0.5 sticks;
- bay leaf – 1-2 pcs.;
- cognac – 1 tbsp. l.
Select firm, semi-ripe plums without external defects, remove the cuttings and wash thoroughly. Then pack tightly into jars of the required size.
Boil water in a saucepan and pour it over the plums up to the necks. Let the fruit brew and cool.
Now pour the water back into the pan, add the remaining ingredients (except cognac) and cook after boiling over low heat for 10-15 minutes. Two minutes before removing from heat, add cognac to the marinade.
Pour the prepared spicy marinade back into the jars and seal them in the usual way: using a key or special screw caps. Your dish is ready!
No sterilization with spices
You will need:
- prunes – 1 kg;
- water – 1 l;
- salt – 1 tsp;
- sugar – 2 tbsp. l.;
- peppercorns – 12 pcs.;
- star anise – 4 pcs.;
- cloves – 6-8 pcs.;
- juniper berries – 3-4 pcs.;
- cinnamon – 2 sticks;
- table vinegar – 100 g;
- dill – 1-2 sprigs;
- horseradish - 1 leaf.
Prepare the fruit: wash thoroughly, remove stems, check for spoilage and hardness of the fruit. Cut the plums in half; no need to remove the pit.
In a saucepan with water, mix salt, sugar and spices: pepper, star anise, cloves, cinnamon, juniper - and place on high heat. As soon as it boils, remove the pan from the heat and pour in the vinegar. Dip the plums into the prepared marinade and let stand for a while.
Place horseradish leaves with dill in a liter jar and add prunes with marinade.Send the resulting workpiece to be pasteurized in a water bath for 10-15 minutes. The pickled prunes are ready, all you have to do is cool them in a cool, dark place.
With cloves
There are plenty of recipes for making pickled prunes with cloves. Cloves are present in almost all savory recipes. But if you are a lover of cloves as the dominant spice, this recipe is especially for you. You'll have to be patient because the cooking process is not fast, but it's worth it!
So, you will need:
- plums – 2 kg;
- cloves – 5 g;
- bay leaf – 7-8 g;
- vinegar – 200 ml;
- sugar – 600 g.
Sort and peel the plum cuttings and wash them. Add bay leaves and cloves to the fruit container and mix well.
In a small saucepan, combine sugar and vinegar and boil until sugar dissolves. Pour the resulting syrup over the plums and let them brew for 12 hours.
Don't worry about too little marinade. Each time its quantity will increase due to the plum's own juice.
After 12 hours, drain the marinade and boil it. Then pour it over the plums again and leave for 12 hours. Repeat these steps five times.
Before the last boil, distribute the spices evenly into jars, place plums in them and pour boiling marinade over them. Screw the lids on the jars and leave them in a cool place for a month.
Storage rules and periods
Like any other type of preservation, pickled prunes should be stored in a cool, dark place. A basement or storage room is ideal if it is not hot.
If the plums were pickled without pits, the preservation is stored for 3 years, maintaining freshness and taste.If the seeds are not removed during the cooking process, the shelf life is reduced to 1 year due to hydrocyanic acid, which gradually begins to penetrate from the seeds into the marinade.
If stored properly, pasteurized prunes retain their taste and quality for up to 1 year.
