Features of harvesting cranberries for the winter. TOP 9 best recipes with and without cooking: jam, jam, jelly, syrup, compote and others. Video recipes.
Cranberries for the winter are a very tasty and incredibly healthy preparation that will help you improve immunity and cope with winter vitamin deficiency. The uniqueness of this berry lies in the fact that it can be harvested without boiling, which allows you to preserve all the vitamins and minerals inherent in it. You can grind it with sugar, prepare compote, jam, jelly, syrup, fruit drink from it. When cooked for the winter, cranberries are perfectly combined with apples, citrus fruits, honey and various spices. You can make liqueurs and sauces from it. Next, we will consider the main features of harvesting cranberries for the winter and some of the simplest and most popular recipes.
Features of harvesting cranberries for the winter
Cranberries are low, creeping shrubs found in swamps in the Northern Hemisphere. It has silvery green leaves and small ruby-red berries that appear from late summer to mid-autumn. The fruits contain a huge supply of nutrients, including organic acids, sugars, glucosides, pectins and a whole storehouse of vitamins - C, PP, K and group B.
Due to this unique composition, cranberries are widely used in medical and dietary nutrition. Doctors recommend using it to improve the protective properties of the body, prevent vitamin deficiency and vascular sclerosis. It helps to cleanse the body of harmful substances and significantly heals it. The berry is best consumed fresh, but knowing how to cook cranberries for the winter, you can significantly enrich your diet with useful elements in the autumn-winter season with its help.
So that the berries do not lose their unique healing properties, they should be harvested correctly. Storing cranberries for the winter in a cool dry place was practiced by our ancestors before the invention of conservation. The berries were simply laid out in a thin layer in a cool room and stored due to the benzoic acid contained in them. Periodically they were sorted out, removing dried and withered ones. But for apartments, such a technique is hardly suitable, since it is impossible to provide the appropriate conditions, namely dry and cool air.
The quickest and easiest way to preserve cranberries is to freeze them. So you can harvest berries that have suffered from the first frost. First, you need to sort out the fruits, throw away the spoiled and wilted ones. The remaining berries are washed in plenty of water and dried thoroughly. Soft fruits are laid out in plastic containers, thicker ones are packed in cellophane, from which briquettes are formed. Packaged cranberries are placed in the freezer. In this form, it can be stored for up to 2 years without losing its beneficial properties. But thawed raw materials must be used immediately.
Even before the invention of refrigerators, harvesting cranberries for the winter without sugar consisted of soaking the fruit in spring water and storing it in oak tubs. A heavy wooden lid was placed on top of them, and such a blank was stored in the cellar or in the cold part of the house. In modern conditions, you can sort out the berries, rinse them, put them in sterile jars and pour cool drinking water above the level of cranberries. Full jars are closed with nylon lids and stored in a cool place. To slightly sweeten the workpiece, the berries can be poured not with water, but with cranberry syrup.
You can prepare cranberries for the winter without sugar or with the addition of granulated sugar. In the first case, on the basis of such a blank, at any time, you can cook compote, fruit drink, jelly or jam, as well as make a sauce for meat, fish dishes or an original salad dressing.
Cranberry recipes for the winter with granulated sugar will be a delicious addition to family tea. These curls are ready-to-eat and do not need to add any other ingredients. It is enough to open the jar, and you can enjoy healthy jam, fruit drink, compote and other delicacies.
TOP 9 cranberry recipes for the winter
To prepare blanks from cranberries, you can use whole berries, grind them into gruel or squeeze juice out of them. You can add sugar to the fruit or make treats without sweetener. The following are the most popular ways to save cranberries for the winter.
Mashed cranberries with sugar
This is the simplest preparation, which is best done during the berry picking period, and a very tasty medicine for colds and SARS. For winter, grated cranberries can be simply added to tea, used for making fruit drinks, as a filling for baking or as a sauce for pancakes and cupcakes.
- Caloric content per 100 g - 212 kcal.
- Servings - 4
- Cooking time - 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- Cranberries - 400 g
- Sugar - 250 g
Step by step preparation of mashed cranberries with sugar:
- Rinse the berries, spread on a towel and dry. Remove rotten and withered fruits, stems and leaves.
- If you are cooking cranberries for the winter in a blender, place the berries in a bowl or deep bowl and mash them. If you don't have a blender or food processor at hand, you can twist the berries through a manual meat grinder.
- Pour the mashed potatoes into a heavy-bottomed saucepan, saucepan or cauldron.
- Pour the mashed potatoes with sugar, put the pan on a low heat, without increasing it, bring the mass to a boil and turn off the burner.
- Pour the cooked workpiece into hot sterile jars and roll it up with a wrench.
Cranberries for the winter, mashed with sugar, will be an excellent treat for tea, they are delicious to eat with cookies or any other baked goods. Such a blank is stored for 2-3 months.
Cranberry jam without cooking
This is a very simple recipe for cranberry jam for the winter without cooking. Due to the absence of heat treatment, all the beneficial properties of this delicious berry are preserved. The billet turns out to be slightly sour, with a slight tart aftertaste. Prepares quickly, which every housewife can handle.
Ingredients:
- Cranberries - 1 kg
- Sugar - 1 kg
Step by step preparation of cranberry jam without cooking:
- Sort the berries, peel off the branches, rinse and dry.
- Mix the whole fruit with half the sugar in a deep bowl.
- Grind the berries with a pusher so that they are evenly mixed with the sugar. You can use a blender, food processor, or meat grinder to do this.
- Pour the finished puree into sterile jars over the hangers.
- Fill each jar to the top with the remaining sugar.
- Roll up the jars with a key and store in a closet or other cool place. If you close them with nylon lids, then you will have to keep the workpiece in the refrigerator.
Cranberries with sugar are closed for the winter in order to prevent mold and spoilage of the jam. If you do not like too sweet, you can simply remove the sugar crust before use.
Cranberry syrup for the winter
In winter, cranberry syrup can be added to drinks, milkshakes, poured over pancakes, cheesecakes, fruit drinks and compotes. It will give any drink a bright ruby hue and a slightly sour-tart aftertaste.
Ingredients:
- Cranberry juice - 1 tbsp
- Sugar - 1, 5 tbsp.
Step-by-step preparation of cranberry syrup for the winter:
- Rinse the berries, remove debris, branches, leaves.
- Use a juicer to squeeze the juice out of the cranberries. The cake can be divided into bags and sent to the freezer. Cook jelly or fruit drink from it in winter.
- Pour the juice into a saucepan, add sugar to it.
- Boil the syrup until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Once the sugar has dissolved, pour the syrup into sterile jars and roll up.
When harvesting cranberries in jars for the winter, it should be remembered that, like any other marsh berry, it practically does not rot, so it is not necessary to store it in the refrigerator. Cranberry syrup can stand in a pantry or cellar for a long time. Over time, it will become transparent and take on a rich ruby hue.
Cranberry with honey
Cranberries rolled up for the winter with honey will become a natural immunostimulant for the whole family. It is best to use flower honey. In the autumn-winter period, such a preparation will not only be an excellent addition to tea, but also a means of preventing colds and SARS.
Ingredients:
- Cranberries - 300 g
- Honey - 100 g
Step by step preparation of cranberries with honey:
- Put the berries in a deep container, fill with running water.
- Peel the fruit of stems, debris and leaves, rinse thoroughly and pour on a dry towel to dry.
- Pour the dried cranberries into the bowl of a blender or food processor, chop in mashed potatoes.
- Pour the berry mass into a deep bowl, add honey to it, mix everything thoroughly.
- Pour the homogeneous honey-berry mixture into glass jars or containers, close with tight lids and refrigerate.
The workpiece is stored in a cold place for no more than a month. It can be eaten with tea, coffee and other drinks. It should be used with caution by people prone to allergic reactions to bee products. A delicious and healthy breakfast for the whole family will be toasted toast, greased with butter and berry-honey jam.
Cranberry compote
Cranberry compote turns out unsweetened, with a slight sourness. It is a great thirst quencher. It can be eaten fresh or rolled up in three-liter jars for the winter. This is a very light piece, which takes a maximum of 30 minutes.
Ingredients:
- Cranberries - 600 g
- Syrup - 400 g
Step by step preparation of cranberry compote:
- Wash and dry the berries, remove debris, leaves and branches from them.
- Sterilize the jars, spread the cranberries in all prepared containers.
- Prepare a syrup, for this, dissolve granulated sugar in water in a 1: 1 ratio and heat slightly over low heat with constant stirring.
- Pour the prepared syrup over the berries in the jars.
- Cover the jars with lids, but do not roll up yet, sterilize liter jars at 100 ° C for 15 minutes, 0.5 liters - 10 minutes. Roll up.
Delicious and aromatic cranberry compote will not only quench your thirst, but also enrich your body with a lot of useful vitamins and minerals.
Cranberry jelly for the winter
Unlike regular jelly, which you serve immediately after hardening, no gelling additives are used in the cranberry jelly prepared for the winter. That is, it does not need gelatin or agar-agar. The jelly hardens thanks to the pectin substances contained in the berries.
Ingredients:
- Cranberries - 450 g
- Sugar - 450 g
- Water - 340 g
Step-by-step preparation of cranberry jelly for the winter:
- Prepare sugar. Grind it in a coffee grinder to a powder state, or use ready-made powdered sugar in the same amount. It will mix faster with the berries.
- Rinse the fruits, sort out, pour into a saucepan with a thick bottom and fill in with clean drinking water.
- Boil the berries until softened.
- Grind the resulting berry mass through a sieve. Squeeze the pulp with seeds. Pour the juice into a separate container and mix with sugar.
- Put the juice with sugar on the stove, cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes.
- Pour the jelly into sterile jars, roll them up, cover them with a warm blanket, wait until they cool completely, and move the jars to a permanent storage location.
Cranberry jelly can be served with toast for breakfast, or used as a grated pie filling. To improve your immunity, you can simply eat it with a spoon straight from the jar.
Soaked cranberries with apples
It is best to harvest cranberries according to this recipe in the fall, when they are more saturated with vitamins and have a pronounced sour taste. Soaked berries can be added to salads, used as a side dish or made into sauces for meat dishes and game. A deep glass or enamel bowl is required for soaking. You can take apples of any kind, but Antonov apples are best suited.
Ingredients:
- Cranberries - 5 kg
- Apples - 1 kg
- Water - 2.5 l
- Sugar - 5 tablespoons
- Salt - 1 tablespoon
Step by step preparation of soaked cranberries with apples:
- Sort the berries carefully, rinse in running water, pour into a deep container and shake.
- Wash the apples, add them to the berries.
- Heat water, dilute sugar and salt in it. Chill the syrup, pour the prepared fruits with it.
- To give the soaked berries a distinct aroma, you can add allspice or cinnamon to them.
Keep cranberries and apples soaked for the winter in a cool place. A few hours before serving, the berries should be sprinkled with sugar.
Cranberry jam with lemon
Fragrant cranberry jam with lemon is not only a great dessert, but also a natural immunostimulant containing an enormous supply of vitamin C. Apples are an additional ingredient in the preparation. The pectin they contain will make the jam thicker. Apples can be replaced with pears or Vengerka plums. Only this variety contains a sufficient amount of pectin.
Ingredients:
- Cranberries - 400 g
- Sugar - 150 g
- Apple - 1 pc.
- Lemon - 1/4
Step by step preparation of cranberry jam with lemon:
- Rinse the cranberries, remove debris, branches and leaves.
- Pour the berries into a blender bowl and mash them.
- Pour the mass into a saucepan, add sugar, stir.
- Wash the apple, remove the seeds and skin, cut the pulp into slices. Remove the skin from the lemon, cut it into thin slices.
- Throw apple and lemon slices to the berries, mix. Place the saucepan on the stove.
- Cook the mass over low heat until the apples are soft.
- Beat the finished mixture with a blender until smooth, place on the stove, bring to a boil.
- Pour the jam into sterile jars, roll up and, after complete cooling, place in a dark, cold place.
Having prepared cranberry jam with lemon for the winter, you will forget about seasonal colds and ARVI. It goes well with sweet and savory pastries, biscuits, toasted toast and croutons.
Live cranberry jam with oranges
This recipe does not provide for heat treatment, so all ingredients fully retain their useful qualities. Oranges can be substituted with lemons if desired.
Ingredients:
- Cranberries (fresh or frozen) - 150 g
- Oranges - 150 g
- Sugar - 300 g
Step by step preparation of live cranberry jam with oranges:
- Pour boiling water over citrus to remove bitterness, dry, cut off the seals from the side of the stalk.
- Cut each fruit into quarters, remove seeds if available. Finely chop each slice together with the zest.
- Defrost frozen berries. Rinse, clean from debris.
- Grind the citrus in a meat grinder or blender until mushy.
- Pour the berries into the orange mass and chop everything again.
- Add sugar to citrus-berry puree, stir everything thoroughly.
- Pour the finished live jam into jars and store in the refrigerator.
Cranberries with oranges rolled up for the winter will protect your family from colds and will be an excellent treat for any tea party.
