…and The Old Freezer
Coulis is a smooth, sieved dessert sauce made from pureed fruit. You can serve coulis as a compliment to most desserts or fold it into whipped cream. Coulis is typically not cooked in order to highlight the flavour of fresh fruit. Only that seasonal fruits are not at their best during the winter, so it is worth your while to preserve them when they are at their best. Typically overripe fruit gives the most intense flavour. Apricots and peaches should be skinned. Lemon juice is added to preserve color, but I like to add citric acid as well, about a Tbsp of FruitFresh to each jar. Liqueurs can also be added to enhance the flavour and to thin out the puree if needed. Sugar serves as a sweetener as well as a preservative. Fine-tuning the sugar content is paramount, the coulis should not be sweet; it should remain on the tart side to preserve the fruit’s natural flavour. You can freeze the coulis or you can bottle it. Bottled coulis should be precooked and processed. However it lasts longer bottled than in the deepfreeze; I have kept bottled coulis for up to two years without discoloration.
As for the deepfreeze, a small container of coulis will easily drop down to the bottom only to be found when the freezer is cleaned. I don’t know about your freezer, but I always find a few containers of some unknown content that has to be tossed when the freezer is defrosted. I can’t entirely blame this on Jim’s reorganization frenzies either. And speaking of freezers – we keep ours in the storage room. When we were tiling and carpeting the basement, the storage room remained untouched. That’s because of the freezer. We were afraid to move it a few feet lest it stopped. Oh it’s an old one, a large one and a really cold one and I don’t know what I would do without it. I don’t even think they make them that big anymore. Certainly the new freezers are not as well made as this was. You could say we are emotionally attached to our freezer. We bought it in Prince Rupert back in 1969 from our friends, the Vinge’s for a mere 60 dollars. It was already ten years old then, so that makes it 44 years old! I suspect the Vinge’s then new freezer gave up the ghost a long time ago, while this big old beast just keeps on going and going and going…
PRESERVING FRUIT COULIS
1 pound fresh fruit
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp FruitFresh
• Sterilize the canning jars and set them aside.
• Wash the fruit.
• Peel any fruit with a peel, cut the fruit into chunks, and remove large seeds or pits.
• Puree the fruit in a blender or food processor until smooth and uniform.
• Transfer the fruit puree to a medium sized pot and stir in the sugar.
• Taste the puree and add more sugar if needed, but keep in mind the coulis should be on the tart side.
• On medium heat bring the puree to a slow simmer.
• Simmer for 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice.
• Place a large fine sieve over a suitable pot or bowl and pour in the coulis.
• Strain the fruit to remove fibrous bits and seeds.
• Repeat, it may seem like a useless exercise to strain the puree twice, but the second straining give a smoother texture to the coulis.
• Pack into prepared jars.
• Add 1 Tbsp of FruitFresh to each jar.
• Place on the lid and the screw cap and process in the oven for 2 hours at 225F. Or place in a canner and boil the jars for 15 minutes.
• Remove and let jars sit on the counter for 24 hours.
• Label, date and place jars in storage. Jars that failed to seal should be moved to the fridge and used up within 2 weeks.
