Strawberry recipes for the winter at home. TOP-4 popular blanks for future use: freezing, drying, compote, jam. The correct choice of berries and cooking secrets. Video recipes.
Fragrant, tasty, juicy, healthy and beautiful strawberries are the world's favorite of gourmets. Its season does not last long, but I want to feast on the berry all year round. For this, it has been harvested for the winter for a long time. At the same time, berries were previously kept at home only in the only way - canning. But today the fruits are frozen, knocked down, dried, insisted and simply twisted with sugar. Strawberries, harvested for future use, retain their aroma and healing properties necessary for health. From goal to year, the hostesses exchange tips and time-tested step-by-step recipes on how to preserve a natural delicacy. Consider the most popular harvesting methods that allow you to preserve the maximum useful properties.
How to properly wash strawberries for harvesting
Before harvesting strawberries for the winter, sort out the fruits, removing the spoiled and rotten ones. For freezing and drying, it is advisable not to wash it, but this can be done with fruits plucked only from your own garden. Pour the market strawberries into a sieve in a bowl of cool water and rinse gently. Rinse in small portions to avoid damaging the pulp. Let all the water drain and lay the berries to dry on a cotton towel in one layer so that they dry well and no moisture remains. Do not wash the berries under running water, otherwise they will deform.
You can determine whether strawberries were processed by chemistry as follows. Dip it in a bowl of warm water. If greasy stains appear on the surface, it means that the berries were treated with definol for better preservation and a beautiful appearance.
How to sterilize preservation jars
Wash jars with lids with baking soda before sterilization. Dishwashing detergent and other chemicals are not allowed. Then sterilize the container over steam. To do this, put water in a saucepan and boil. Place a special lid on the pot for sterilizing jars with a hole. If not, use a rack from the oven. Place the jars upside down on a wire rack and leave to sterilize for 15 minutes until all the drops formed on the walls drain down.
You can sterilize jars in the oven. Send them to a cold oven, turn on 140-150 ° C and after heating the brazier, sterilize the container for 10-15 minutes. Screw-on tin lids can be sterilized in the oven, while rubber lids can only be boiled.
How to freeze strawberries for the winter - a choice of berries, dishes and 3 ways of harvesting
Strawberry is a capricious and tender berry, so it is difficult to freeze. However, this is the fastest and most convenient way of harvesting for long-term storage. In addition, frozen berries will retain 90% of their vitamins, provided they are properly prepared. To do this, take into account some secrets, and then in winter you will regale yourself with fruits that are no different from a fresh product. Strawberries are frozen in 3 ways: whole berries, grated with sugar and in the form of mashed potatoes. For each type of freezing, the optimum temperature is -18 ° C and below. In such conditions, the berry can be stored from 8 to 12 months.
How to choose strawberries to freeze
Small strawberries are best frozen. It is more preferable to harvest it only plucked from the bush. But not everyone has the opportunity to collect fresh berries from the site. When buying, pay attention to the fruits, which must be dry, without visible damage and defects. Good quality strawberries are firm but ripe, not overripe. The pulp is dark and dry. Another parameter of freshness is stickiness. The joined two berries should not stick to each other. Store the purchased berries in the refrigerator for no more than 2 days.
Freezer dishes
Plastic dishes are best for freezing. For example, disposable store containers, ice cream trays, cut plastic bottles. Special plastic bags with clasps will do. For freezing in small volumes, silicone molds for muffins and sweets, containers for ice are used. It is not advisable to use glassware, because after being removed from the freezer, it may crack due to the sudden temperature drop. Since the berries are not re-frozen, it is better to immediately divide them in small portions at a time.
Freezing whole strawberries
Whole and beautiful frozen berries, after defrosting, will not lose their shape and taste. Therefore, such strawberries can be used to decorate confectionery. To freeze whole berries, do not remove the stalks, otherwise, without them, the strawberries will release juice and stick.
Put the prepared berries on a plate wrapped in a plastic bag in 1 layer at a short distance from each other and freeze well in the freezer for 3-4 hours. Then pour the frozen fruits into a convenient container and put them in the freezer for further storage. Some housewives immediately put the strawberries in a plastic bag and send them to the freezer, but then they will stick together into one big lump.
Freezing strawberries with sugar
Strawberries with sugar will give some juice during the freezing process. But after defrosting, the taste and shape of the berries will remain the same. To harvest strawberries in this way, prepare them as described above. After the berries are completely dry, remove the sepals. Put strawberries (1 kg) in a deep bowl, sprinkling each layer with sugar (300 g). If the sugar is coarse, grind it into powder first. Send the berries to the refrigerator for 2-3 hours and wait until they give juice. Then transfer the fruits to a container, fill with the released juice and send to the freezer.
Frozen strawberry puree
This freezing method works well for soft and overripe strawberries. For this preparation option, take the same proportion of strawberries and sugar as in the previous recipe with the photo. After combining the food in one bowl, grind the strawberries to a puree consistency, for example, this can be done quickly with a blender. Pour the mixture into a plastic container and place in the freezer. Strawberry puree can be frozen without added sugar if desired.
Strawberry jam - step by step recipe, selection of berries
One of the favorite delicacies from childhood is strawberry jam, there are a huge number of recipes for the preparation of which. But most of all, the berry will retain useful substances if it is cooked for a minimum amount of time. Therefore, many housewives choose the "Pyatiminutka" recipe.
How to choose strawberries for jam
Only whole and strong strawberries are suitable for harvesting, otherwise during the heat treatment it will creep, spoil the appearance and taste of the finished product. Therefore, pick the berries from the bush in the morning and process them immediately. When picking them, set aside whole and overripe strawberries separately from each other. Spoiled berries will definitely not go, because they secrete juice, from which they infect other fruits. For jam, take medium-sized, firm, not overripe and not watery berries. Slightly unripe, no damage is ideal. Overripe strawberries will give juice, making the jam watery.
Strawberry jam "Pyatiminutka"
In "Pyatiminutka" jam, strawberries completely retain their color, aroma and do not lose their original shape. The main thing for harvesting is to use whole berries, without defects and damage. Store ready-made treats in a cool place, such as in the cellar or refrigerator. Use strawberry jam as a morning sandwich, pie filling, porridge addition.
- Servings - 1 kg 400 g
- Cooking time - 5 minutes for boiling, plus time for preparing berries
