[HelenM]

We've just picked 12kg of mirabelles (small plums), theres several other plum and damson trees covered with fruit. There's tomatoes, figs and apples, pears to come. My freezers already full of redcurrrants and gooseberries.

Two years ago I made jams, jellies, chutneys and sauces. Last year most was left to rot.

I wondered whether the vinegar content in chutney and plum sauce would preserve the fruit if I substituted some of the sugar for splenda.

Any other suggestions?
PS I can't buy many 'specialist' products here even the Splenda has to come from the UK.

[Penny]

Hi Helen, When my plum and cherry trees had a bumper crop, and I knew I couldn't use it, I had the neighbors come pick what they wanted. One of the cutest snapshots I have is of my granddaughter and her 3 friends standing under the cherry tree, stuffing their mouths as fast as they could. One neighbor sent his apples from his trees to the local homeless shelter and food pantries, they were happy to have them. For myself, even the jellies and jams without added sugar mess with my BS.

[Mich]

A dehydrator! My kids used to love anything dried if I waited until it was nice and ripe before I put it in to dry, even bananas. You can also make fruit leather by whirling combinations up in the blender and drying them on plastic wrap. No sugar required, but I did add cinnamon to apples sometimes.
Mich

[HelenM]

Thankyou, I'm not sure where I'd get a dehydrator from although I suppose all those Agen prunes must have been dehydrated in something.
We managed to get rid of some of the mirabelles to a neighbour but most have lots of trees of their own . I've started making some jam for husband and visitors. I like the idea of giving surpless to the homeless have to investigate that.
Our neighbours answer was that we should make eau de vie de pruneau like they do. That's a: illegal unless you're an elderly farmer with a licence b:potentially lethal and c:In spite of all my research skills on the internet, I can't find out how to do it!

[Mich]

Helen, I have also dried fruit in the sun, draped with cheesecloth to keep the insects off. Another method is in the oven with the door propped slightly open at at 100 degrees. I used baking racks on cookie sheets to allow air circulation. I Both times I used very ripe pears off our trees, sliced about 1/4" thick

A google search for dehydrator will give you both internet sources for the appliances and also directions for drying things.

I once made wine with blackberries, using a recipe I got out of a winemaking book. It came out dry and tasty (it was a pretty small amount) and I shared it with friends at Christmastime.