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Canned Fruits It used to be difficult to find canned fruits packed in anything but heavy syrup. The large amount of sugar in the canned fruit preserved it longer, and covered up any metallic flavors from the can itself. This made fruits canned in heavy syrup cheaper to store, ship and keep on a long term basis. In modern times, things have changed. Consumer demand for unsweetened products has made it easy to find fruit canned in in fruit juice. There are so many to choose from in fact, that it takes a little thought to find the biggest bargains among the dizzying array of products. Peaches, Pears, Pineapple, Mixed Fruit or Fruit Cocktail, and Applesauce are the most widely available and least expensive of the unsweetened canned fruits. Peaches, Pears and Fruit Cocktail are readily available in 15-ounce cans. My local supercenter carries their own store brand of unsweetened fruits, which are very tasty. At about $1 a can, they are much less expensive than the national brands which are often a $1.50 or more for same size product. When I can find larger 28-ounce cans of unsweetened fruit, I prefer them because my family prefers large servings of canned fruit and they usually cost less per ounce than 15-ounce cans. Pineapple can usually be found in 20 ounce cans. Generally crushed, chunks and rings are all priced the same. They are canned in pineapple juice, and are a bargain at about $1 a can. Store-brand unsweetened applesauce can be found in large jars for very little per serving. Canned Mandarin Oranges, packed in light syrup is usually inexpensive too, although it's not sugar-free. I usually find the smallest unit price on 11-ounce cans of mandarin oranges, but sometimes 15 ounce or even 28-ounce cans are less per ounce. You have to compare prices to be sure. Flavor Burst: Folks on diabetic diets will sometimes add a couple of packets of artificial sweetener and a small spoonful of lemon juice to canned fruit syrup. Then let the fruit chill in the syrup for a few hours. Something happens in the fridge, allowing a surprisingly fresh flavor to bloom out of the humble canned fruit. If you choose not to consume artificial sweeteners, then add a teaspoon of sugar or drizzle of honey with the lemon juice instead. Both methods produce subtle, yet refreshing results. Fruit Syrup: After all of the fruit has been eaten, there is usually syrup or juice left over and using it up can be challenging. With a little creativity however, easy and inexpensive solutions can be found. If I am reconstituting frozen juice concentrate, such as orange juice or apple juice, I will add the leftover fruit juice to the juice pitcher, in place of an equal amount of water. If you are making lemonade with bottled lemon juice, you can achieve many exotic flavors by adding leftover juice from canned fruit. The juices from peaches and fruit cocktail are especially good in lemonade. Other uses include adding it to fruit smoothie blender drinks, using it to make gelatin, or even using it to stew dry fruit, like prunes or apricots. This adds an exotic flavor to normal stewed fruit, sometimes producing quite spectacular results. Pineapple juice is good to reconstitute prunes and apricots both. Fruit & Cheese or Yogurt or Vanilla Pudding: Canned fruit is just lovely served with a scoop of cottage cheese or pudding, or plain yogurt (homemade or store-bought). My personal favorite is peaches and yogurt, with a little vanilla extract added to the yogurt for flavor. Another popular combination is pineapple and cottage cheese, My mother is very fond of this twosome. Or for a totally different taste sensation, combine equal parts of applesauce and yogurt, and, if desired, sweeten to taste. This is very good served over pancakes or waffles, or simply eaten as a dish by itself. Pear halves are very pretty served with a small dollop of cottage cheese or neufchatel cream cheese in their hollowed out centers. This makes a nice breakfast, or it may be packed in a lunch box for school kids. Kids who don't usually care for plain vanilla pudding, will sometimes enjoy it when it transforms into Polynesian pudding, by adding well drained mixed fruit, and a sprinkle of coconut. A fancy kid favorite is created by mixing equal parts of cottage cheese and drained fruit cocktail or crushed pineapple. Scoop the mixture into ice cream cones and serve as an after school snack, or even as a dessert. Fruit Salad: Canned fruit cocktail makes a quick and easy fruit salad just the way it comes in the can. You can mix any fresh fruit you have with the canned fruit, if you like. Apples, bananas, grapes and oranges all combine well in fruit salads. A sprinkle of shredded coconut adds an exotic island flavor. You could also mix together several different cans of fruit,and add some fresh fruit too, to make a large salad good for potlucks, or for Sunday Supper when the house is full. Some people put dressing on their salads,but I never bother. I like the fruit just the way it is, maybe with a little lemon juice added if it lacks zing. Dried fruit can also be added to fruit salad and allowed to rehydrate in the syrup over night. Raisins turn into purple grapes when soaked until they fully rehydrate. People never recognize them as raisins when they have soaked in the salad long enough. Fruit Salad makes an excellent addition to any meal which has lots of hot vegetables, especially when you want something cold and refreshing to serve along side them. Cereal & Fruit: Probably everyone has already thought of this one, but it is so good it bears repeating. Hot and cold cereal both marry up nicely with all types of drained canned fruit. Applesauce can be stirred into any type of hot cooked cereal, especially oatmeal. Sliced peaches are good with farina (cream of wheat). Pears take on gastronomic dignity when chopped, dusted with a little nutmeg and added to hot wheat cereal or cooked millet. Pineapple chunks are nice with hot rice. Well drained fruit cocktail can go just about anywhere, on hot or cold cereal. Most commonly eaten at breakfast time, fruit and cereal also makes a Jim dandy after school snack. Hot cereal especially, fills up all those empty places in youthful bellies. Serving Canned Fruit: Or, how to make it pretty. Small bowls work best for fruit served as a side dish to breakfast or lunch. Cereal bowls hold about a cup and a half to two cups, making an average serving of fruit look very meager inside the big bowl. Every now and then very small plastic bowls go on sale at dollar stores for a quarter a piece at the end of summer. Whenever you see them, snatch up a couple dollars worth, and you will be set with fruit bowls for the rest of your life, or until the dog drags them outside and buries them in the yard. Scoop the fruit into the serving bowls and place one at each place setting at the table. When the family comes to breakfast or lunch they will look at the enchanting bowl of fruit and ask why they are having company food today. Given half a chance, they will become quite accustomed to a healthy, nutritious bowl of fruit waiting on them at mealtime. Half a cup of fruit, or two fruit halves per serving is traditional. Small children may prefer 1/4 to 1/3 cup, or one fruit half per serving. Some people enjoy their fruit chilled, but I like it at room temperature. To chill it, just place the unopened can straight into the fridge, keeping it nice and cold until serving time. The flavor of canned fruit is sometimes improved with a bit of lemon juice, stirred gently into the can, if you like. Store any leftovers in a glass canning jar, or plastic storage container in the fridge. Leftovers make great snacks and lunch box treats. Gelatin: Flavored Gelatin works miracles with leftover canned fruit. Leftover juice or syrup can be used in place of the tap water called for on the box. Be sure to stir well enough to completely dissolve the gelatin. Green and Orange and Lemon flavors are the most versatile, when using up canned fruit. These three flavors combine well with almost any combination of fruits. Fresh bananas or chopped apples may be added too if desired. Canned fruit sinks to the bottom of the gelatin mold, and fresh fruit floats on top, so you can achieve some interesting designs with this little trick of physics. Use about 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of well drained fruit for each 4-serving box of flavored gelatin. Yogurt can also be added to flavored gelatin along with the fruit. Replace 1/2 cup of cold tap water in the recipe with a full cup of plain yogurt. This makes the dish smooth, and creamy which some kids (and adults) really like. Blender Drinks & Popsicles: Smoothies are custom made to use up small bits of leftover fruit and the juice leftover from canned fruit. I like to use yogurt, fruit juice and whatever fruit is laying about the house or lurking in the fridge, waiting to be grasped from gastronomic ignominy and cast into the sparkling spotlight healthy goodness. One of our family favorite smoothies is a 15-ounce can of peaches and 2-cups yogurt or soymilk. Simply blend until smooth and serve. Easy, nutritious and delicious! Any smoothie mixture can be frozen in popsicle molds to make really yummy homemade pops. Or you can just puree a can of fruit in the blender and pour that into popsicle molds. If desired, add a banana too for extra flavor. Peach and also Pear are especially good. Applesauce mixed with yogurt makes tasty pops too. Your imagination can really go to town with both smoothies and frozen popsicles. Just put your thinking cap on, or ask the kids what kinds of combination they would like. They'll probably suggest something weird, but give it a try anyway, they're bound to eat it since they suggested it, and it gets them actively involved in healthy eating.
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Proverbs 30:8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me. |
