Lingonberry is a shrubby plant with branched upright stems and a creeping rhizome from the heather family. It grows in deciduous and coniferous forests, on peat bogs. Cultural forms are also known, unfortunately, this agrarian culture is not yet widespread in the post-Soviet space. Meanwhile, lingonberries are not just a find for herbal medicine, since it contains a lot of substances useful for the human body. In addition, lingonberry is not only useful, but also a very delicious berry. Usually cranberries ripen by September-October, the berries darken from pink to ruby-red. The taste of the bilberry berry specific, sour-sweet-bitter, slightly astringent. Many people gladly collect the fruits of cranberries and harvest them for the winter in various forms.
How best to store lingonberries?
Cowberry berries are perfectly preserved even in fresh form, without any treatment due to the benzoic acid contained in them (which is an effective preservative in itself). Another cow can be rubbed with sugar, prepare compotes, syrups, jelly and jam. You can prepare wet bilberry or stewed (steam) in the oven or in the oven - these recipes are the oldest.
Buy (or collect) berries in proven places. Since cowberry easily absorbs radionuclides, when buying, ask for a certificate of compliance.
Recipe for steamed bilberries in the oven
Let's figure out how to steaming bilberries in the oven. We cook parsley cranberries according to an old Russian recipe. The dried berries, washed and dried naturally fall asleep in a saucepan, which we place in an oven or a heated, but already cooling Russian oven for 2-3 hours (you can slightly open the oven door). In a cooling furnace you can keep up to 5 hours.
Then we put the cranberries in sterilized jars and cover them with plastic covers. Cold for storage of parsley cranberries is an optional but desirable condition. In the cold season of the harvested parsley cranberries can be cooked delicious vitamin cowberry fruit with the addition of a small amount of sugar.
Tomlen Cowberry
Cowberry we sorted and thoroughly washed, after which we lay out to dry on the linen. Purely washed jars are sterilized by steam from the nozzle of a boiling kettle. We fill the jars with berries to the top, we cover with metal or glass lids. Part of the berries should be ready to fill the cans to the top, because in the process of languishing their contents will settle.
In a basin (or a large pan) we put a towel or a rag, we expose banks and pour water on the "shoulders" to the banks. Gently put the pelvis on the fire.
When the water in the saucepan boils slowly, the berries in the cans decrease in volume, (they begin to languish, that is, heat, give juice and settle). Well, I remind you, you need to close them with glass or metal removable covers. When the berries have settled, add fresh ones. This procedure is repeated until more berries can not fit. Berries should be completely covered with juice, but bring to a boil
Usually this process lasts no more than 40 minutes. Much depends on the plate, capacity and size of the cans (most suitable cans from 0.25 to 1.0 liters).
When cranberries are sufficiently protomilas, remove the cans from the pelvis and cover with capron lids and cool. The berries will settle a little more - this is normal.
In the winter-spring periods, such billet blanks seriously diversify your table, maintain immunity at the desired level.