The market for processed fruit and vegetables is growing due to covid-19. Aside from planting vegetables and root crops, people at home are stockpiling processed food.
Stockpiling canned and frozen fruits and vegetables is part of the new normal now. It has greatly affected consumer’s buying behavior The fear of scarcity prompted people to start buying processed food. Such new behavior in buying has positively affected the demand for processed goods, canned fruit and vegetables.
Fruit juice sales have also increased. The majority of small-scale food businesses are focusing on the production of calamansi juice with the popular squeeze as its main ingredient. Mindful eaters prefer fruits and vegetables either fresh, bottled or canned because they are nutritious and that it strengthens the immune system. For episode 25 of our ‘AgriStoryahay sa ATI’ webinar series, here are the fruit processing recipes with corresponding procedure shared by Ms. Phoebe L. Galeon of USTP’s Food Technology Department:
Bottled Rambutan Pulp (Seedless Rambutan in Light Syrup)
Ingredients:
1 kilo rambutan
¼ kilo white sugar
Purified water
Glass Bottles
Materials:
Weighing scale
Paring knife
Chopping board
Casserole
Steamer
Tongs and Ladles
Bowls
Stove for cooking
Procedure:
1. Sterilize glass bottles and set aside.
2. Wash thoroughly rambutan with dilute dishwashing soap.
3. Cut rambutan crosswise with paring knife and remove peel.
4. Slice rambutan lengthwise and slowly remove the seed.
5. Wash seedless rambutan pulp and drain.
6. Arrange seedless rambutan in sterilized bottles and set aside.
7. In a small casserole put 150 g white sugar and add 850 g purified water and allow to boil to dissolve sugar.
8. When water is boiled pour into bottles with seedless rambutan.
9. Half seal bottles and heat in steamer for 20 minutes.
10. When proper time is reached remove bottles from steamer and full seal.
10. Cool bottles and store in a cool, dry and dark place.
Between takes, Ms. Galeon recommended that the Maharlika variety of rambutan is the choice variety to bottle since its pulp can be easily removed. Rambutan’s aril (flesh) is nearly white, translucent, subacid, juicy, and with an oblong or ovoid seed. Although rambutan is categorized as an underutilized fruit, it is considered as one of the promising commercial crops.
Ready to Drink (RTD) Flavored Beverages with Pulpy Rambutan Bits
Ingredients:
½ kilo Rambutan
Any choice of trendy flavored powdered shake blends, such as milk tea, matcha or classic fruits flavors such as strawberry, mango and others.
Purified water
PET bottles for packaging
Materials:
Measuring cups
Paring knife
Chopping board
Tong/Turner
Casserole
Funnel
Stove for cooking
Procedure:
1. Wash thoroughly rambutan with dilute dishwashing soap.
2. Cut rambutan crosswise with paring knife and remove peel.
3. Slice rambutan lengthwise and slowly remove the seed.
4. Wash seedless rambutan pulp and drain.
5. Slice rambutan pulp into small bits and set aside.
5. Boil water and add rambutan bits turn off the heat. When water is cooled a bit add the desired amount of shake blend.
6. When temperature is around 60 C pour the mixture into PET bottles and after 3 minutes, seal the bottles.
7. Refrigerate the RTD beverages until cool and serve.
Meanwhile, marang or Johey Oak in English is closely related to breadfruit and jackfruit. When in season during ‘ber’ months, it is sold cheap and can even be bought at 50 pesos per piece. The finished product I happen to sample which is the Marang jam tastes sweet and much like the fresh counterpart sans the seeds. Having it in jam form was new to me since I am used to eating it fresh with its distinctive mild pungent aroma wafting after opening. The jam form however had a slight off-white in color and appearance perhaps due to oxidation and for having since heated.
Marang Jam
Ingredients:
5 pcs. large sized Marang fruit
¼ kilo white sugar
½ tsp. citric acid
Materials:
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Knife
Mixing bowl
Carajay and ladles
Tong
Steamer
Stove for cooking
Procedure:
1. Wash marang fruit with dilute liquid dishwashing soap.
2. Open marang fruit and remove the pulpy seeds.
3. Separate the pulp from the seeds.
4. In a mixing bowl mix 5 cups of marang pulp with 1 cup of white sugar and ½ teaspoon citric acid.
5. Cook until consistency is thick and heavy.
6. Hot fill into sterilized bottles.
7. Half seal bottles and steam for 15 minutes, after which remove bottles from steamer and full seal.
8. Store in a cool, dry and dark place.
Tomato may be popular as vegetable but it is technically a fruit since it belongs to the berry family. Still, some botanists consider it both as fruit and vegetable since tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cranberries, and kiwis come from a flower with one ovary, and so are other berries.
According to a colleague who is a licensed agriculturist, the term “fruit” is used to describe sweet and fleshy botanical fruits, and “vegetable” is used to indicate a wide variety of plant parts that are not so high in fructose. In most cultures and popular cuisines, vegetables tend to be served as part of the main dish or side, whereas fruits are typically served as desserts or snacks.
Tomato Jam
Ingredients:
3 kilos ripe tomatoes
½ cup sugar
½ tsp citric acid
Materials:
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Mixing bowl
Ladle
Carajay
Bottles
Steamer
Stove for cooking
Tong
Procedure:
1. Sterilize glass bottles and metal caps by steaming for 5 minutes then drain, cool and set aside.
2. Wash tomatoes in dilute liquid detergent and rinse properly.
3. Blanch tomatoes in hot water for 3 minutes and peel.
4. Slice open and remove seeds.
5. Blend tomato pulp thoroughly.
6. In a mixing bowl mix 5 cups tomato pulp, 2 cups sugar and ½ tsp. citric acid.
3. Transfer mixture into a carajay and cook until consistency is very thick and heavy.
4. Hot fill tomatoe jam mixture into sterilized bottles and half seal.
5. Steam filled bottles for at least 15 minutes then full seal.
6. Allow product to cool.