Refreezing thawed frozen plums?

[shootingstar]

We thawed a largish container of frozen plums that were pitted and cut in half. We had to ..in order to use half of the frozen fruit.

Have you refrozen fruit that had been thawed? No preservatives were used to freeze plums in first round at all.

[ny biker]

I think they would be very mushy when you thaw them again. IIRC, freezing something in a home freezer is relatively slow (compared to commercially frozen foods), and that leads to larger ice crystals, which makes the fruit mushier.

If you do refreeze them, spread them out on a metal pan, like a cookie sheet, and put that flat in the freezer. That speeds up the freezing process. After they're frozen you can can transfer them to a more convenient container, like a zip-top plastic bag. (I learned this from Good Eats on the Food Network -- this is how Alton Brown freezes blueberries.)

[smilingcat]

If you want to flash freeze fruit:

supplies needed:
everclear (higher the proof better) or equivalent but always drinking kind. NEVER rubbing alcohol. Freeze it first. It should not freeze rock hard.
crushed dry ice
thick styrofoam cooler (small one)
thick gloves preferably for the extreme cold
big slotted metal spoon and freeze it first (plastic will not do)

what to do:
make sure the styrofoam container is clean inside, drop in the crushed dry ice then pour everclear over it. and make a slurry of sort. DO NOT put your bare finger/hand in it as the mixture will probably cool down to about -70C (-158F) then individually drop in the ice cold fruit one at a time, stir it around to make sure the inside of the plum is frozen, then use slotted spoon to scoop out the frozen fruit. you'll have a thin coating of alcohol but if rolled in clean paper towel, you'll get most of it off. put them in a baggie and put it in the freezer. Do this with your winter glove on.

and yes ny biker is correct. and yes we use a cookie sheet lined with non-stick bakers sheet (silpat equivalent) and put only only layer of fruit and freeze...

[shootingstar]

So to refreeze, previously frozen whole fruit, is to separately freeze on sheets??

[smilingcat]

Yes it will re-freeze faster. Next time if you are freezing fresh fruit, separate the fruit from one another on a plate or sheet and freeze. Less time spent going from raw/unfrozen state to frozen state, better it will be for the fruit. And fruit will thaw out with less loss of juice.