North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Melissa Kacalanos <mijwiz@yahoo.com>]

I'm gradually reading and responding to old emails now
that there's snow on the ground.

Regarding browning in thawed frozen fruit: This is
probably caused by enzymes that are free to run around
causing havoc once the cell membranes that used to
restrain them have been broken by ice crystals. There
are two ways to avoid this: destroy the enzymes with
heat by cooking the fruit first, or freeze it very
cold and then eat it immediately after thawing so the
enzymes don't have time to work. Enzymes work only at
a certain pH, so adding acid could also work, but that
changes the taste.

I freeze raw, chopped fruit with no sugar in single
servings. To eat, I take it out of the freezer until
it's soft enough to be edible. (Like, thaw as I start
eating dinner, and it's ready to be dessert.) The
occasional ice crystal is just pleasant crunch. Or,
cook it straight out of the freezer, thawing in the
microwave first if necessary depending on your recipe.
Or throw it into a blender while still frozen solid to
make smoothies, and drink immediately.

Melissa

--- "William C. Garthright" <billg@inebraska.com>
wrote:

> I froze a small amount of peaches (chopped up and
> mixed with sugar) this 
> year, just to test it. It was only about a pint or
> so. I've been 
> freezing other fruit (strawberries, raspberries,
> etc.) to put on my 
> oatmeal in the morning, but that stuff is dry enough
> that I can keep it 
> frozen until use, and then just break off what I
> need.
> 
> With the peaches, though, I put the bag in the
> refrigerator to thaw 
> first (since I couldn't separate them otherwise).
> OK, that worked,... 
> except that the whole thing turned the most putrid
> brown color! I mean, 
> it really looked disgusting.
> 
> So how do I avoid that? I've seen a product that's
> supposed to keep 
> apples from browning (I can't remember the name of
> it right now). Will 
> that work with peaches, too? Or can I just add some
> lemon juice? It's 
> not a big deal, since it's only me eating the
> stuff,... but even I'd 
> feel better if it looked a little more appetizing. 
> :-)
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Bill
> Lincoln, NE (Zone 5)
>