TOP 4 recipes for how to cook prunes for the winter at home
Delicious prunes are sold in markets and in almost every grocery store. This is a useful product from which you can prepare various dishes. How can you make prunes at home? The demanded preparation methods will allow you to create delicious desserts.
Features of cooking prunes
To create a dessert, it is better to choose large berries. It is advisable to use fruits that have dark skin and weigh 35-40 g.
If the plums are large, then the seeds should be removed. But even in small and medium-sized fruits, it is advisable to eliminate them. If you cook the fruits on a baking sheet, then it is advisable to spread them with the cut up.
Although a lot of time is spent on the creation of prunes, the result is still justified. After all, there will be no chemistry in this product, therefore it is absolutely safe for humans.
Preparation of the main ingredient
To create a healthy treat, the berries should be sorted out. It is important that the fruits are not soft and overripe. Before drying, the berries are washed, the tails are removed.
Blanching is required. The berries are placed in a colander, then in boiling water with the addition of soda (1 spoon per 1 liter of water). This removes wax deposits. Then they need to be washed in cold water and scattered on a towel to dry.
How to cook prunes at home?
There are various recipes for creating a delicious treat. Whichever cooking method is chosen, a healthy dessert is obtained. The nuances of cooking, depending on the method, differ slightly.
Sugar free natural drying
Plums can be prepared naturally. They are divided into halves, removing the bones. Then the fruits must be spread out on a flat surface. The slices should "look" up. Drying is carried out under the sun for 4-5 days.
In the evening, the fruits must be removed indoors, and taken out again in the morning. They are regularly turned over to dry evenly. After that, the fruit should be left in the shade for 3-4 days.
Determining whether a product is ready is easy. When pressed, no juice should flow out of it. Prunes are firm and firm.
How to dry prunes in the oven?
Preparing the product is easy in the oven. Plums need to be blanched, washed in cold water and left to dry on a towel. If the fruits are divided into halves, then this procedure is not performed. Drying in the oven includes the following steps:
- The oven is heated to 50 degrees. A baking sheet with fruits is placed in it for 5 hours. The plums should cool down the same time.
- Then the berries are turned over and dried for 5 hours at temperatures up to 70 degrees.
- At the end, the oven is heated to 75 degrees.
In order for the prune to acquire a glossy surface, it is not necessary to process it with something additional. If, a couple of minutes before the fruits are ready, the temperature is raised to 120 degrees, then the formed sugar caramelizes the fruits, which will become shiny.
Sweet prunes
Even if you do not close the fruits in jars in the form of a dessert, you can always make a delicious treat from them. Sweet prunes are made like this:
- Plums should not be halved. You just need to remove the bones.
- Fruits should be covered with granulated sugar in an amount of 3: 1. This is left for a day. It is important to stir the plum regularly.
- When the syrup is formed, the dessert is brought to a boil. After boiling, the stove is turned off. The dessert is stirred so that all the fruits are covered with syrup.
- Then the composition cools down - the fruits are better saturated with the sugar composition. When the mass has cooled, it is thrown into a colander, and let the liquid drain. The halves are transferred to parchment and placed in the oven. Drying is carried out for 3-4 hours. The increased temperature speeds up the process.
- Then the cream should dry at room conditions.
- Sugar syrup should not be removed. It is suitable for liqueurs, compotes.
- The resulting prunes should be elastic.
The fruits are suitable as a dessert or for filling pies. Also, prunes are added to marinades for meat - the dish will have a pleasant taste and aroma.
Drying in an electric dryer
The fruits can not only be rolled up in jars, but also prunes can be made. Place the berries on a pallet. The slices should be at the top. Drying is easy:
- For 3-4 hours - at 45-55 degrees.
- The next 6 hours the fruits are cooked at 60 degrees.
- The last 6 hours, the temperature should be 75-80 degrees.
After an hour, the pallets must be replaced in order for the fruits to be of high quality. A break of many hours is required after each stage.
What can be made from prunes for the winter?
Desserts are prepared not only from fresh products for the winter. Dried berries are also good for this. This product is used by housewives to prepare the following desserts.
To make jam, you will need:
- prunes - 1 kg;
- granulated sugar - 200-300 g;
- vanilla sugar - 2 tsp
The fruits are laid out in a saucepan, a few tablespoons of water are poured. Everything is prepared until the plum softens. Then sugar is added and everything is cooked for 10 minutes. Dessert can be removed from the stove and vanilla sugar added. The jam is poured into jars and covered with lids. The containers are turned over and left to cool.
The berries also make a delicious compote. For filling you need:
- water - 1 l;
- granulated sugar - 300-350 g.
The berries need to be dipped in boiling water for 10 seconds and then in cold water. After they are placed in banks, fill is added.
Prunes also make an excellent syrup. Required:
- prune juice - 1 liter;
- granulated sugar - 1.5 kg;
- citric acid - 10 g.
The berries are crushed and left for 1-2 days. Squeeze the juice, strain. Then sugar, citric acid is added. It should be heated to 85 degrees. The syrup needs to be poured into jars.
Many other dishes are prepared on the basis of dried plums. If self-made fruits are used for this, then the desserts turn out to be especially tasty, which is why adults and children love them so much.
