Q: How can I safely preserve cranberries? After Christmas, they are often very inexpensive, and I’d like to stock up, but I don’t know what to do with them.
I can’t pass up a good bargain, either. Several years ago, I found cranberries for 29 cents a bag the week after Christmas. I promptly bought about 20 bags and threw them into my deep freezer. Then I had to figure out what to do with 20 bags of whole cranberries.
Of course, they can stay in the freezer since that is a safe preservation method. They can be baked into muffins or bread. I’ve tried dehydrating them with limited success since they are unbearably tart and need a considerable amount of sugar to make them palatable.
Cranberry jam, sauce, or jelly is good year-round. Only use recipes that have been tested and approved from reputable sources (Ball or Bernardin, any cooperative extension, National Center for Home Food Preservation, or the “Healthy Canning” website).
You may have seen internet posts about making cranberry juice by soaking cranberries in jars of water. This is not a safe method of preservation, even if the jars are processed in a hot water canner. There is no way of knowing how acidic this mixture is, and there is no tested recipe for cranberry juice made in this manner. Remember – just because a canning idea or recipe is posted online, it doesn’t mean it is a safe recipe.
Q: Can I grow loquat trees in Riverside? Is the fruit any good?
Loquat trees grow exceptionally well in most of Southern California. They tolerate any well-drained soil but prefer neutral or acid soil over alkaline soil. They are a subtropical species and grow readily in frost-free areas.
For those unfamiliar with loquats – they are a smallish tree or shrub that has large, oval, dark-green leathery leaves. They bear oval fruit that is 1-2 inches long that turns dark yellow or light orange when ripe. The fruit is edible and delicious. They have a sweet, floral, but tangy flavor and the flesh is somewhat firmer than a ripe peach. It contains several large, round, dark brown seeds that are slightly bigger than a lima bean. The skin is edible, but many prefer to remove it since it can be a little tough and is slightly fuzzy like an apricot.
These are a favorite backyard tree in Los Angeles since they require little attention once established. They have a sprawling growth habit, but a little pruning can keep them within bounds. They are remarkably pest- and disease-resistant.
If you are interested in fruit quality, I recommend purchasing a grafted tree of a known variety such as Champagne, Gold Nugget, or Big Jim.
Los Angeles County
mglosangeleshelpline@ucdavis.edu; 626-586-1988; http://celosangeles.ucanr.edu/UC_Master_Gardener_Program/
Orange County
ucceocmghotline@ucanr.edu; http://mgorange.ucanr.edu/
Riverside County
anrmgriverside@ucanr.edu; 951-955-0170; https://ucanr.edu/sites/RiversideMG/
San Bernardino County
mgsanbern@ucanr.edu; 909-387-2182; http://mgsb.ucanr.edu