Originally (when refrigerators and controlled atmosphere cells did not yet exist), fruit in syrup (such as jams and marmalades) had the function of preserving seasonal fruit to make it available in the late autumn, winter and early spring months.
Unlike jams and marmalades, fruit in syrup requires the use of whole fruit, preferably without bruises or abrasions, which tend to be low or medium ripening; fruit in syrup can be preserved whole, dividing the fruit in half or cutting it into On the contrary, jams and marmalades effectively play the role of "recycling" the defective fruit, very ripe, bruised and always in excess, in which case the fruit is cut, cooked, and eventually passed.
fruit, syrup and jars; the chemical one, on the other hand, exploits the increase in the concentrations of sucrose (granulated table sugar) which - by significantly reducing the free water - has a good bacteriostatic function.Specifically, the fruit in syrup is washed, possibly peeled, cut, possibly punctured, placed in the jars together with the syrup, cooked indirectly and sealed.
But is it really that simple?
FIRST, it is necessary to understand "how" and "how long" the fruit in syrup should be cooked.
How should it be cooked? First of all, the fruit in syrup must be cooked inside the special jars, filled with syrup and placed in a pan with water to be boiled. NB. These pots must be protected from each other with tea towels or old newspapers. Carrying out the same operation directly in the pan, outside the jars, the fruit would be exposed to excessive heat and it would be necessary to turn it often breaking it up and thus obtaining an "incomplete jam".
How long to cook? It will already be known to readers that the effectiveness of heat recovery depends on the weather and from temperature of the treatment; in canned fruit, the temperature is around 100 ° C, which is why the only variable to intervene on is time. It is therefore necessary to understand IF the heat treatment to be applied is at least SUFFICIENT for storage, since poor cooking is NOT it would achieve healing, while overcooking would tend to undo the fruit or pieces of fruit. Once it has boiled, the time required is almost the same for each type of fruit, since the heat always has the main function of destroying bacteria and molds (just over 5 minutes are enough, in this regard). In this regard, the most prepared readers might object: "cooking by boiling is ALSO necessary for the enzymatic denaturation of the pulp! If these catalysts are not blocked, the" browning of the fruit in syrup could occur even without the "intervention of microorganisms". First of all, congratulations for the preparation ... but unfortunately, in this case, this is NOT the case! The time it takes the water from the pan, and then the syrup from the jars, to reach the temperature is ALWAYS sufficient to let the heat penetrate the center of the pulp, deactivating the enzymes responsible for the hypothetical adverse reactions. For this reason it is sufficient to concentrate on the problem opposite, that the fruit is not destroyed by overcooking; for this purpose, a very intense heat source would be useful that allows it to quickly reach 100 ° C. ATTENTION! I do not recommend immersing jars of fruit in syrup in "GIA water" boiling, as the thermal shock could cause the glass to break ... therefore a real disaster!
Another problem in the preparation of fruit in syrup is undoubtedly constituted by the calculation of the CONCENTRATION of the syrup, therefore by the control of the "osmosis". If, in relation to the fruit used, the syrup is too low in sugar, the fruit tends to SWELL excessively; on the contrary, if the syrup is excessively concentrated, the fruit tends to DRY in an evident way. It is known that the syrup, by definition, should have a concentration of 66.5% of sucrose / glucose and 33.5% of water; unfortunately, the "strength" of the syrup is not a constant but a variable (a syrup such would completely ruin our fruit).
Peaches in Syrup - Recipe to Prepare Them Safely
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Calculation of the strength of the syrup. The strength of the syrup should be around 20 ° Baumé, which correspond to 145-145 / S (S = specific mass of sugar), or Brix (or Balling), which represent the proportion of sugar by mass. This is not a fixed value, but a "variable equation based on the osmotic power of the pulp (which varies with the degree of ripeness and depends on the levels of sugar contained in the plant cells).
Nutritional composition of the fruit cocktail in syrup - Reference values of the INRAN Food Composition Tables
Nutritional values (per 100 g of edible portion)
The riper the fruit, the stronger (or concentrated) the syrup must be. Obviously, these are concepts that are difficult to apply to most readers; however, there is a rather simple method of obtaining the 20 ° strength of the syrup. From a practical point of view, in fact, by immersing it, the fruit to be syruped should NOT FLOAT or sink quickly into the liquid.
To obtain the right syrup it is therefore sufficient to prepare the fruit (possibly with unique ripening characteristics, whether whole, in half or in pieces) and, separately, a VERY concentrated syrup. By dropping the fruit into the syrup, it should float (indicating excessive force); at this point, it will be sufficient to add a little water at a time until the fruit will tend to sink slightly. THAT is the right strength of the fruit syrup.
and unsuitable for frequent consumption and / or in large portions. These are products to be classified among sweet or dessert foods, despite the fact that the percentage of water is higher than most of the foods that make up the group.Fruit in syrup is NOT fresh fruit; it is cooked and preserved. This determines a considerable loss of the content in thermolabile vitamins (eg vit. C) and antioxidants (eg phenolic substances); moreover, the suspension of the pulp in the syrup, by osmosis, determines the release (dispersion) of many mineral salts such as potassium and the parallel increase of the glucose and fructose contained in the syrup.
The quantity of fibers, lipids and proteins is the same as the fresh fruit of origin.
Fruit in syrup is a food not recommended both in case of diabetes mellitus and in case of overweight or obesity; on the other hand, wanting to contextualize it in a normal-calorie regime, it can brilliantly replace cakes, pastries, puddings and creams, but absolutely NOT fresh fruit. Remember that, due to the high percentage of simple sugars, fruit in syrup is potentially capable of increasing the risk of tooth decay.
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