Overloaded on fruit & veg

ELLA

My friend works for a fruit and veg company and knowing that I'm struggling with money at the moment decided to get me some bits to help out..
There is LOADS of it, I have the biggest box of baking potatoes, 4 boxs of strawberrys, pinapples, salad items, apples, pears, oranges.......it goes on and on

As you can see......

I have a juicer so can juice the fruit if it's starts to go bad but with two children who eat a lot of fruit I Don' think it will be too much of a problem. I could also make soup but Just don't want to live on soup for the next few weeks. I love cooking but know I'm faced with more fruit and veg I could shake a stick at I've gone blank I would hate to end up throwing things away.
Any ideas of what things I can do with it all??

tiff

I cant see the pic. You can blanch and freeze some of the veg. Put the potatoes in the shed or somewhere cool and dark. Wish I had a friend like that!

Butterfly_Brain

Lucky You!
I would freeze a lot of it, or make jam with the fruit, you could make pies or tarts and freeze them or you could make your own dried fruit.
The veggies can be frozen in meal sized portions, the mushrooms will freeze really well and can be added to any meal that you are preparing.

ELLA

Oh great I never knew you could freeze mushrooms, can you defrost them to chop up or would they go slimey? I would LOVE to make jam but worried it's going to be over my head trying to attempt that.

angelavdavis

How lovely!!!

Baking potatoes can be peeled, boiled and mashed and put into cartons for later use in topping shepherds pie or fish pie, etc.

Mushrooms can be chopped, blanched, drained and bagged up for adding to bolognaise or chilli con carne.

Strawberries can be sliced and cooked lightly with a little water to make a syrup and frozen. It can then be used to add to smoothies or topping ice-cream. Alternatively, make jam.

Oranges - make marmalade or juice.

Pineapple - Take off outer skin and cut into chunks, put in liquidiser and mash up to add as a cake ingredient or making delicious lollies. You can also use it with kiwi fruit to make a jam or it can be juiced.

Apples - use for a tart tartin (easy version - Rollout ready made puff pastry, cut into a circle slightly larger than a pie dish. Decore, peel and slice apples, lay out in a pie dish, and then sprinkle with brown sugar. Top with the puff pastry, tucking it down the sides of the apple. Add a hole or two on the top and bake in a hot oven for 10-15 minutes until brown. Leave for a few minutes to cool slightly. Turn out onto a plate and serve with hot custard. Alternatively, stew the apples and freeze for a later date.

Pears - same tartin as above. Alternatively stew the pears and freeze for a later date.

blueberrypie

You could send it to me - what you've got in that photo would get used here in four or five days ;-)

Alternatively - I'd figure out what needed used quickly (like strawbs), and what would keep well (like potatoes), and base my plans around that. I'd freeze what was freeze-able, then look at what I had left. Then I'd try to make large quantities of things which could be frozen in portions - vegetable soups, for example.

tessie_bear

chiil is a good recipe for using up all veg known to man....cut it up small and u can get all sorts past your kids....mine ate a parsnip in a chilli the other day and noone even asked what it was....if u blanch veg for a few mins u could freeze in meal size amounts....like carrots and then use with meals...good luck with it all...it looks lovely

oystercatcher

I second the freezing and preserving. Also wondered if there's anything you might be able to barter with friends and family. Looks like there's a few lettuces which won't freeze or preserve , maybe someone would swap a tin of something for some fresh stuff.

Lovely friend to have

Oystercatcher

ELLA

Wow thanks for all of your suggestions, looks like I will have a lot of food prep to do this weekend... I'm slowly going through all the boxs and there is so much more hidden under other things, Ive found more melons , 2 bags of grape's and kiwi fruits plus parsnips - thank god as I love parsnip in any shape of form. I'm pretty sure the salad items I will share out with the in-laws as they have it EVERY night as there side dish with there dinner???

moggylover

I think you have had great advice on how to use this - but I just wanted to say what a lovely friend you have. Quite restores my faith in human nature sometimes:D .

RAS

Apples. oranges and potatoes will keep a few weeks if you keep them cool and dark.

Apples can actaully go in the bottom of the fridge and will keep a monthor two.

if the pears are hard, they can be treated the same but will ripen faster. You could poach some and freeze them for deserts later.

Some lettuce keep a couple of days but the cos and semi cos ones will be OK for a week.

Think about a few partly cooked idhes as well; slice potatoes thin with some onion and apple, cover with stock and bake. You can vary add celariac or parsnip if you have either, and use water or a bit of cider or apple juice.

Strawberries do not keep and do not freeze brilliantly but would be OK in syrup or just mushed with some sugar to use as a topping for deserts. But pig out on a box or two first.