Description, chemical composition and calorie content of blueberries, useful properties and harm. Detailed recipes for delicious desserts and drinks with blueberries. What you need to know about this berry. This berry is a natural antioxidant, it rejuvenates from the inside, improves immunity, gives vitality, improves memory. It is very important to eat it for elderly people prone to atherosclerosis and heart attacks. Infusions based on it are recommended as an antipyretic and anti-febrile remedy. They reduce body temperature, are effective in vitamin deficiency and metabolic disorders in the body.
Important! This product is 100% absorbed by the body, light enough for the stomach and can be added to children's meals.
Harm and contraindications of blueberry berries
Almost everyone can use this tasty and healthy berry. It is undesirable to give it to children under 2 years old, since their digestive system is still very weak, diathesis can be caused. This product should be treated with caution in case of indigestion, severe bloating, heartburn. In this case, only compote or jelly is allowed, raw berries cannot be eaten.
Despite all its beneficial properties, in order to nullify the harm of blueberries, you should not abuse them. You can consume no more than 200 g per day, otherwise colic may occur and blood sugar levels rise sharply.
It is excluded from the diet with increased acidity of the stomach, taking medications with vitamin K and allergy to this berry. It is also not recommended during pregnancy and nursing mothers.
If long-term storage is required, it is kept in birch bark boxes at temperatures below -15 ° C. It does not lose its beneficial properties even after freezing.
Blueberry recipes
This berry turns out to be very tasty in its pure form, with sugar. Cheesecakes, compotes, jelly, jam, pies, muffins with its addition are quite popular. It gives the dish a delicate taste and pleasant aroma. It can be easily combined with ice cream, cocktails and any other desserts. In terms of preparation, this berry is rather picky - it does not require prolonged heat treatment, does not lose its beneficial properties under the influence of high temperatures and can be stored in the refrigerator for a long time.
Here are some interesting recipes:
- Cheesecake … To prepare it, you will need to grind 200 g of biscuit biscuits into crumbs, melt 100 g of butter and combine these ingredients. Now beat 2 eggs, which must first be filled with 50 g of sugar. Next, add 5 tbsp to the mass. l. blueberry jam, stir and place in a greased baking dish or skillet. It is placed in the oven for 30-40 minutes, the temperature should be from 150 to 250 degrees. The finished sweet treat can be poured with condensed milk and sprinkled with the remaining cookies.
- Kissel … It can be drunk both without anything and with flour products. For this drink, you need to prepare 1.5 liters of clean water, still, 300 g of berries, 3 g of citric acid, 20 g of potato starch and 60 g of sugar. Mix all these ingredients and put on low heat for 30 minutes, then cool the jelly and pour into glasses.
- Jam … It can be either spread on bread or added to pies, pies and any other baked goods. Here is the blueberry recipe itself: first, wash the berries well (3 kg), fill them with warm boiled water and leave for 3 hours. Then drain the liquid, add 0.5 kg of sugar and let the mixture stand for another 2 hours. At this time, prepare 0, 5-liter glass jars that need to be washed and sterilized, you will need about 6 of them. Next, put the mixture on high heat, and when it boils, reduce it and keep the jam on the stove for about 2 hours. Remember to stir it every 15-20 minutes to keep it from burning. The best way to do this is to use an enamel pot. After the jam is ready, pour it into the jars, roll them up, put them in a dark, warm place for 3 days and wrap them with a towel. After this time, transfer the conservation to the basement.
- Cocktail … To prepare it, combine 250 g of the best vanilla ice cream, it should not contain any additives, with homemade milk (200 ml). Beat the mass with a blender, then add honey (50 ml) and 50 g blueberries to it, in the form of jam or raw. Repeat the same and arrange the finished dish into ice cream cups.
- Parfait … This dish is originally from France and belongs to cold desserts. Prepare it this way: fill a tall glass with whipped cream to 1/3, make the next layer from homemade yogurt, then use ice cream with vanilla flavor, banana and blueberries. The final touch is to top the dish with caramelized flakes. You yourself can choose the right amount of ingredients to your liking. Dessert is served chilled!
- Smoothie … This is the simplest recipe there is. To enjoy this drink, you only need to grind 200 g of the main ingredient and 2 ripe bananas. A little vanilla or honey can be added to enhance the taste. And here's how to eat blueberries as a smoothie - insert a straw into it and drink like a cocktail.
- Infusion … It is prepared from fresh leaves of a plant, which need about 100 g per 1 liter of boiling water. The composition should stand in the refrigerator for a day, after which it is filtered - the pulp is thrown away, and the infusion is taken orally, 50 ml twice a day. It is advisable to do this before meals, and in the morning on an empty stomach.
- Pie in a slow cooker … In a bowl, combine the following dry ingredients - baking powder (2 tablespoons), a pinch of salt, half a cup of sugar. Now beat the egg (2 pcs), butter (50 g) and yogurt (50 g). Add all this to the main mass and then mash the berries (100 g) with a fork. Mix all ingredients, add enough flour to make a thin gruel, and place in a baking dish. Put it in the oven for 40 minutes and leave at 150 degrees. As a result, the cake should be covered with a golden crust.
- Juice … Wash and dry 1 kg of ripe berries, and then place them under a press. After an hour, strain the pulp and repeat the procedure again. After 60 minutes, separate the liquid with cheesecloth and heat it over low heat. Add 200 ml of water and 150 g of sugar to it, then stir the composition. After half an hour, turn it off and pour it into clean, warm jars. If caping juice for the winter, use sterilized lids.
Note! For skin care, use the juice of berries or a decoction of the leaves of the plant. To get the latter, pour boiling water (250 ml) into a glass of leaves and boil them for 15 minutes. When it cools down, soak a cotton pad in it and walk it over the problem areas.
Interesting facts about blueberries
It is generally accepted that the most powerful plant antioxidant is grapes. In fact, it is blueberries that confidently hold the lead because of the high percentage of ascorbic acid, potassium and magnesium. This symbiosis reliably protects cells from premature aging and rejuvenates. Just 100 g of consumed berries per day can replace 5 apples, 2 carrots and a head of broccoli. And this despite the fact that the calorie content of blueberries is minimal!
This berry tends to color the dough, so before using it should be rolled in flour. This applies to both frozen blueberries and fresh ones.
There is confirmed information that during the Second World War, British Army pilots ate 100 g of jam from this product every day, thanks to which they had very keen eyesight.
Blueberries are much more effective against colds than black currants or raspberries, but this is a little-known fact, since the berry is poorly distributed in Eastern Europe.
If there is a white coating on it, you should not buy it - this indicates the staleness of the product. Of course, you will not be able to poison yourself with it, but a digestive disorder will definitely be guaranteed to you.
Wine lovers should know that blueberries make excellent wine. It is prepared according to the same principle as grape. In Russia, it was this drink that was in demand and competed with mead, it acted on a person no less intoxicating.
Remember that only ripe, but not overripe fruits are needed for jam, otherwise it may ferment even before entering the jars. They are harvested from about August to the end of September. In order not to damage the berry, it should be scrolled several times before tearing off. For the winter, you can fill the product with sugar and store it in plastic containers under a lid. What to cook with blueberries - watch the video:
As you can see, blueberries are always used for medicinal and culinary purposes. It is really tasty and healthy in any form, easily combined with a variety of ingredients. The difficulty lies only in where to buy it, in the market and in stores this berry is not often found, unlike blueberries, blackberries, currants and raspberries. In supermarkets, it can sometimes be seen frozen. But before you include such a product in the menu, read again about whether you have any contraindications to the use of blueberries and how you can cook them deliciously.
