Cowberry is a shrub plant of the heather family, whose fruits and leaves have medicinal properties, and therefore are widely used not only in cooking, but also in folk medicine for a wide range of purposes. Red bilberry berries contain many valuable substances, vitamins, microelements, phenoglycosides and flavonoids, as well as darbutin, tannins and folic and ursolic acids. Wild and cultural forms are known (the yield of the latter is much higher).
Berries are consumed in fresh, dried, pickled, wet, marinated and candied form, as well as for cooking jams, marinades, cranberry mors and various sauces and fillings for confectionery products. Unfortunately, in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine (where for cranberries is the most that there is a suitable climate), the cultivation of this crop is not yet developed very well.
Nevertheless, cranberries are traditionally harvested for the winter, as berries cranberries are used not only for medicinal purposes and they have a pleasant taste. Such vitamin preparations very much diversify our table in a cold season, the useful substances contained in them, promote strengthening and maintenance of immunity.
How to prepare lingonberries for the winter?
To begin with, you need to choose the cranberries of the characteristic red (less often pink) color. They are harvested in almost ripe form. Berries can accumulate radioactive substances, so before buying it is worth inquiring about the origin of berries, ask for a certificate (or check with a dosimeter). Buy should be whole, dry, soft berries.
Recipes for bilberry harvest for the winter
Of course, from berryberries can be harvested for the winter banal compote, but we must take into account that during the heat treatment, most of the useful substances (especially vitamin C, which is so rich in cowberry) are destroyed.
Therefore, we suggest acting differently and choosing more "useful" ways:
- due to the presence of benzene acid in berries (which stops decay processes), they can be stored fresh for up to several months;
- frozen lingonberries can be stored in the freezer until the next harvest;
- You can also dry the cowberry in the oven.
We spread the berries on a dry, clean pan in one layer and place it in the oven. Dry the cranberries on the smallest fire (it is possible with the door ajar) in several receptions. The berries should stop sticking together, after which they should be stored in a container with air access in a cool dry place.
It is possible and in another way. To conserve cranberries in the simplest way, lay clean rinsed berries in a jar and pour boiling water. Cool in a natural way at room temperature and place in a closed form on the shelf of the refrigerator for 3 days, after which drain the water and close tightly.
Such blanks can be stored for up to a year.
Cowberry recipe with sugar for the winter
Ingredients:
- cranberries - 1 kg;
- sugar of domestic production - from 1 to 2 kg (cranberries are perfectly preserved at all without sugar, so in this matter be guided solely by your own taste).
Preparation
Berries cranberries sorted, put in a colander and washed. Let the water run off. We transfer the berries to the towel to dry even better.
Pour a clean, dry berry into a suitable container and add sugar. Using a submerged blender, wipe cranberries with sugar. It is not terrible, if a part of the berries remains intact, the quality of the preparation from this will not suffer.
The resulting mass is thoroughly mixed with a wooden spoon to better dissolve the sugar. We put the mass in clean glass jars, we seal them and put them in a cool place.
It will be even better to replace sugar with natural flower honey. The cost of such procurement, of course, increases at times, but it's worth it.
Cowberry recipe with apples for the winter
Some offer to cook jam from cowberry and apples. But with thermal treatment up to 50% of useful substances will be destroyed. Therefore, we will act differently and prepare for marinated pickled cowberry with apples - this way is more sparing.
Ingredients:
- berries cranberries - about 1 kg;
- apples - about 500 g.
- ingredients for marinade:
- water - 600-750 ml;
- table vinegar 6-9% - 100-125 ml;
- sugar-sand - 200-250 g;
- salt - 0,5 tsp.
- cinnamon, cloves and peppercorns - to taste.
Preparation
We rinse and pick berries of red bilberry. Cut the apples into slices and beat them with boiling water. We put both in banks. Cook marinade: mix all the ingredients in boiling water. Cool to a temperature of 85 degrees C and pour marinade into the jars. We close the cans and sterilize them, putting them in a basin of water, at a temperature of 85 degrees Celsius. Half-liter cans are sterilized for 10-12 minutes, liter - for 15.