Comments on: In Praise of Bruised Fruit

By: Chemistry Blog » Blog Archive » Fruit Ripening: How Does It Work?

Chemistry Blog » Blog Archive » Fruit Ripening: How Does It Work? — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 20:19:15 +0000

[...] Don’t buy fruit that’s bruised or where the skin has been cut (unless you're going to use it right away). Wounding a fruit will increase ethylene production and cause the fruit to ripen faster. Then [...]

By: Helen

Helen — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 03:46:35 +0000

I remember when my daughters were small we stopped at a farmers market to buy a few items,, tomatos, corn on the cob,,, the farmer ask me if i wanted 5 crates of strawberries,, he said they were bruised and noone would buy them because they didnt look perfect,, he gave these to me and my girls free of charge,, we went home, cut away any really bad areas,,, we had the best sweetest strawberries for shortcake we had ever had and i froze the rest so we were able to enjoy this treat long past the normal in season time period…….. so now when i shop for strawberries,, i look for the older less the perfect looking berries,, its ture the darker the berry the sweeter they taste,,,,, God bless that kind old farmer from 20 years ago!!!

By: Kerri

Kerri — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 15:12:26 +0000

I am so glad I read this post! This will be my very first year canning and I am determined to do so in a money-saving way. So, if the fruit doesn’t come from my garden, I wanted to be able to buy imperfect, discounted fruit from local orchards (like windfalls). But, when I read from most sources that you should not can damaged fruit, I was nervous. You seem to do so successfully, however, so I am hopeful again. Can you please tell me which types of recipes stand up to using damaged or slightly overripe fruit and which do not? For instance, should I only use these for fruit butters or chutneys? Your advice is greatly appreciated…thanks so much!

By: Dianne

Dianne — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:23:41 +0000

Fantastic post — very well said. I particularly like the idea of rescuing the rest of the fruit and allowing it to fulfill its delicious destiny. Wonderful!

Meanwhile, canning is one of the most frugal acts I know. There is a reason your grandmother and great-grandmother put up food. And it wasn’t because it was trendy!

By: Fran's Mom

Fran's Mom — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:22:50 +0000

Gone are the days when I could spend a few hours in my mother-in-law’s raspberry patch on a hot day in July, reaching into the center and down low in the shady spots to pick the jewels of summer — quarts of them! For free! My husband always secured a couple of quarts for pie (with chocolate cookie crust and whipped cream), but my bliss was making jam. The color! The fragrance! The anticipation of incredible flavor!
Making jam had nothing to do with saving money — it was capturing the essence of hot, sunny day to savor (on popovers) on cold winter mornings, especially Christmas. Now, I have to buy my berries if I can find them, far afield from the city — and they don’t taste as good as my mother-in-law’s used to — but I’m still hooked on making jam.

By: Julie Parr

Julie Parr — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:15:00 +0000

Another point about bruised fruit: being willing to buy it helps the conditions of migrant farmworkers.

By: Hanna S

Hanna S — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:57:05 +0000

Hmmm…I’ve never added up the cost of canning. I suppose I’m lucky to live in a small town where old ladies either give me jars or sell them very cheap because they just don’t can anymore. And while fruit can be a bit expensive, it’s also often free when a co-worker has too many pears or there’s a wild orchard at the end of the lane.

That said, maybe I’m not just lucky, there’s lot of reasons why I don’t live in the city anymore.

By: Libby

Libby — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 04:27:11 +0000

Hello. I agree that canning doesn’t have to be a luxury.

A question, though, about bruised fruit. With peaches like those in the picture above, how deep do you pare them when cutting them up to make jam? When do you consider something a lost cause? Sometimes I wonder if I throw away too much when I’m cutting up imperfect fruit.

By: michelle

michelle — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:51:51 +0000

I love Leigh’s cost analysis!!! It is great. I figure my jars are even cheaper. I can subtract out other costs such as movies, six flags, etc because my kids are excited to stay home and have a “cooking class with mom”. It cuts down on the McDonald’s requests because it is more fun to eat what we cooked. And I won’t be investing in a big scrapbook hobby because every time we open a jar, we are reliving the experience! I consider it a moment in time that is an investment in my kids’ futures- hopefully they will grow up to can and cook and pass it on to their kids! And we even swap jars with a friend who cans so we can taste new things. I have to admit that even “store bought” can be a learning experience- we buy our quince jam (my 6yo’s favorite???) at the local ethic market where the owner’s wife and mother-in-law make the jam..I wouldn’t know a quince if it hit me in the face, but we know about quinces, different cheeses, pastries and herbs from talking to this family!

By: Tim M

Tim M — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 13:45:44 +0000

Also, I’d like to make a request. Blueberries are in season right now, so do you have any good recipes for canning them?