Cranberries are small red berries that are widely used in cooking and also in folk medicine. They are used to make compotes, juices, fruit drinks and jam. Eating berries raw is no less tasty and healthy. That is why cranberries are prepared for the winter by many housewives and lovers of folk remedies.
Cranberries are very rich in antioxidants - known “protectors” of the human body from harmful free radicals. This means that regular consumption of berries reduces the risk of many cardiovascular diseases and cancer. The antioxidant effect of berries prolongs youth and prevents premature aging of the body.
How to freeze cranberries without sugar
This is the easiest and fastest way to preserve berries. Cranberries should be thoroughly sorted to remove debris and damaged fruits and rinsed in ice water. If there are few berries, then leave them in a colander for 15 minutes until all the water has drained; if there are a lot, then it is better to lay them out on a towel or any fabric.
When the berries are dry, distribute them into plastic containers or freezer bags and place them in the freezer. Frozen cranberries retain all their beneficial properties.
It can be stored in the freezer for up to two years. If the berry has been thawed, it must be consumed within two hours; it cannot be re-frozen.
What are the benefits of cranberries - vitamins
As you may have guessed, cranberries contain a fairly large amount of ascorbic acid, which, in fact, helps prevent colds. And this happens by strengthening the immune system, which can weaken greatly during the fall.
In addition, it also contains the following useful substances:
Cranberries are known specifically for their high content of vitamin C, the concentration of which is equal to the amount of ascorbic acid in lemon.
It’s unlikely that you can eat the whole lemon at once, but the same amount of cranberries will be eaten in a matter of minutes.
The fact is that cranberries contain a small percentage of sucrose, which is precisely a “softener” of that very useful acid.
Lemon, in turn, does not contain sucrose, which is why sometimes it is so difficult for us to eat it with a straight face.
In addition, cranberries are quite gentle on the stomach, so the acidity level will not be disturbed.
Some time ago, cranberries were used exclusively in the form of fresh fruit drink or traditional jam.
But today this berry is considered the heart of any vegetable salad, and is even used as an addition to baked duck.
What can we say about conservation? Surely, here too there have been some changes that will help us prepare the preservation so that all the beneficial substances of the berries are preserved. By the way, in order to preserve the freshness of cranberries for a long time, it is not necessary to start canning right away.
Recipe for soaked cranberries for the winter
The grandmothers filled the barrels with berries, poured them with ice-cold spring water, and pressed them down with a wooden lid. Such barrels were stored in the cellar or in the coldest part of the house. What should city residents do? There are two options:
1. The first method is without sugar, the cranberries remain sour and as fresh as possible. Sort the fruits well, rinse with cold water, transfer to sterile jars, fill the containers with water to the very top, close with a lid, and put in the refrigerator.
2. The second method is with added sugar, then the cranberries and water will not be so sour.
You will need:
- 1 kg. – ripe fruits
- 1 tbsp. spoon – granulated sugar
- 2 glasses – clean water
- A pinch of salt
- Cloves, cinnamon, allspice - to taste
How to cook:
1. Sort the raw materials, rinse, and place in sterilized jars.
2. Boil syrup from water and sugar with the addition of the above spices (optional), when the syrup has cooled, pour it over the cranberries, close the jars with lids, and place in a cool place.
Bon appetit!
Useful properties of berries
Cranberries can be stored for a long time in a cold place without preservation due to the high content of benzoic acid in them, which gives them antibacterial properties.
It can be stored and used fresh, but it is much more convenient to use winter preparations. At any time, you can open a jar of juice, jelly, compote, jam, berries in sugar and use them as a remedy, while simultaneously enjoying the treatment. And also easy to use in everyday nutrition - drink juices, and jelly and jam can be used with porridge, cottage cheese, in various fillings with pancakes, pies, buns, ice cream, for decorating cakes, you can prepare berry sauces for meat dishes.
Cranberry, thanks to its sour taste, stimulates the appetite, improves the functioning of the stomach and pancreas, however, it is necessary to take into account the contraindications outlined in the previous article; everything is good in moderation.
Cranberry juice is recommended for metabolic disorders, rheumatism, acute infectious, gynecological, skin diseases, allergies.
Cranberry helps cleanse the body, removes waste and toxins, and relieves inflammatory processes. Eating berries prevents the development of atherosclerosis, stimulates pancreatic secretion, protects the genitourinary system, and is indicated for cystitis.
From winter preparations you can always prepare pleasant, refreshing, tonic drinks that help improve the functioning of the whole body, or prepare healing hot cranberry tea.
Recipe for grated cranberries with sugar for the winter
This is how “raw” jam is prepared. Sort the raw materials, rinse in cold water and dry on towels. Next, grind in a blender or through a meat grinder.
Add granulated sugar to the resulting mass (take 1.2 kg of sugar per 1 kg of raw materials), mix everything, leave for 1-2 hours so that the sugar dissolves. Place the cranberry puree in clean, dry jars and store in the refrigerator.
You can put it in plastic jars and freeze. To freeze granulated sugar, you can use a little less.
Frozen cranberry jelly
Ingredients:
- 1.5 stack. frozen berries;
- about a glass of sugar;
- 2 liters of water;
- 4 tbsp starch.
Kissel can be prepared from frozen berries.
Defrost the cranberries and grind them in a blender. Place the resulting mass in cheesecloth and squeeze the juice out of it. Do not throw away the leftovers. Boil water, add the cake, boil for five minutes, remove from heat and filter. Return the broth to the stove and at the moment of boiling, add sugar along with cranberry juice.
Reduce the heat level, carefully add starch, which must be diluted with a small amount of water in advance. Boil for two to three minutes, then remove from heat and cool. Close the jelly to prevent a film from appearing. You can drink it both hot and chilled.
All of the above cranberry winter preparations will be needed to fight ARVI and create a wide variety of goodies. Sugared cranberries are a wonderful base for tonic drinks, fruit drinks, and also a filling for baked goods. The easiest way to store cranberries is frozen or soaked. But regardless of the storage method, the result will please everyone in the household and the housewife herself.
Cranberries in their own juice
For such preparation you need very ripe fruits, preferably “caught” by the first frosts. These cranberries are well suited for making fruit drinks, various cocktails, mousses or jellies.
There are two cooking options:
1. Sort the fruits well, wash with cold water, separate small from large. Mash small berries, for example, with a masher, and squeeze out the juice through cheesecloth. Dry large specimens, place them in a large saucepan, and pour in the juice.
Approximately 10 glasses of large cranberries require 5 glasses of juice. Now we warm up our berry mass, but do not boil. Pour into sterilized jars, cover with boiled lids.
Sterilize jars (half liter jars - 10 minutes, liter jars - 15 minutes). Next, roll up the cans, hide them under a “fur coat,” and send them for storage within a day.
2. Sort out good ripe berries, rinse in cold water, and dry on towels. Next, transfer to a saucepan and simmer at minimum power until the juice releases (you can use a water bath).
Gradually, the fruits will decrease and the amount of juice will increase. When this process stops, you need to distribute the berry mass with juice into clean and dry jars, cover with boiled lids, sterilize the containers for 10-15 minutes and roll up.
This procedure can be carried out immediately in banks. To do this, fill the containers tightly with raw materials and place them in a water bath. The level of berries will gradually decrease, then fill the rest from one jar. When this boiling process stops, simmer for another 10 minutes and roll up.
Dried cranberries
Recipe for dried cranberries
You will need:
- 0.5 kg. – cranberries
- 1 cup of sugar
- 0.5 cups – water
How to cook:
1. Sort the berries well and rinse in cold water.
2. Boil sweet syrup from granulated sugar and water, add berries, bring to a boil and immediately turn off the stove, leave for 10-15 minutes to soak.
3. We spread the raw materials on a baking sheet in an even layer, send them to a preheated oven at t = 60 degrees for 6-8 hours. It all depends on the degree of juiciness of the berries. The oven door can be opened slightly. It is advisable to stir the raw materials every 30-40 minutes.
4. Turn off the oven, let the fruits cool, and place them in glass jars or cotton or linen bags.
Note to the hostess! You can dry cranberries in an electric dryer or microwave. For an electric dryer, follow the included instructions.
And in the microwave, you need to dry the berries at maximum power for 3 minutes, about 4-5 times until completely dry. After each warm-up, open the microwave door for 2-3 minutes.
Bon appetit!
More recipes:
Cranberry jam for the winter - 12 most delicious recipes
Cranberry candies
Jam with cranberries and apples
This option for preparing cranberries for the winter is suitable for those with a sweet tooth; it retains much less beneficial properties than in previous recipes.
- 1 kg cranberries,
- 500 grams of apples,
- 1.5 kg sugar,
- 2.5 glasses of water,
- 2 g vanillin,
- cinnamon to taste.
We peel and core the apples and blanch them in boiling water for 2-3 minutes; we also soak the cranberries for 2-3 minutes in boiling water.
We make syrup from water and sugar and transfer the apples and cranberries there, cook until ready in one step. Before the end of cooking, add vanillin and cinnamon for 5 minutes and pour into sterile jars. Roll up or cover with nylon lids.
Sweets “Cranberry in sugar”
They turn out even better than store bought ones, the kids will love them.
You will need:
- 1 kg. – ripe berries
- 1 kg. – granulated sugar
- 2 liters – water
- 200 gr. – powdered sugar
How to cook:
1. Prepare the sugar syrup in advance and cool it at room temperature.
2. Wash the fruits, sort them, pierce each piece with a toothpick.
3. Pour sweet syrup over all prepared raw materials and place in a cool place (can be in the refrigerator) for 10-12 hours.
4. Remove the berries from the syrup, drain, roll in powdered sugar, arrange in an even layer on plates, and allow to dry thoroughly.
5. Transfer the finished candies into small jars or plastic containers. Keep refrigerated.
Bon appetit!
Sugar Free Cranberry Juice Recipe
You will need:
- 2 kg. – selected berries
- 300 ml. - water
How to cook:
1. Wash the raw materials for the juice, sort them, and grind them through a meat grinder.
2. Heat the resulting berry mass in an enamel pan to t = 70 degrees (as soon as the first bubbles appear, turn it off immediately), add water.
3. Berry puree needs to be rubbed through a sieve or colander with small holes, or squeezed through cheesecloth.
4. Bring the resulting juice to a boil, heat over low heat for another 2 minutes, pour into sterile jars and roll up.
Bon appetit!
Cranberry syrup
Cranberry Syrup Recipe
This syrup is well suited for soaking cake layers and can be added to tea or berry compotes.
You will need:
- 2 cups – raw materials
- 3 cups granulated sugar
How to cook:
1. Extract the juice from the prepared raw materials, preferably using a juicer.
2. Pour into a large saucepan, add sugar, bring the juice to a boil, cook for another 2-3 minutes on low power.
3. Pour into sterile jars and seal with boiled lids.
Bon appetit!
Let's cook cranberry compote without worries
To prepare aromatic cranberry compote, you will need a saucepan and water. Culinary experts advise not to use large amounts of sugar. Perhaps a drink without sugar, or with a small amount of it, will seem more refreshing and tonic to you. How to properly cook cranberry compote?
To improve the taste, you can add berries and fruits to cranberry compote.
- Boil water with sugar added to taste.
- Dip the cranberries into the syrup, wait for it to boil again and immediately turn off the drink. The compote is ready.
- Before storing cranberries for the winter, boil them for 5-10 minutes. and rolled into pre-prepared sterile cylinders.
Advice. To add a spicy note before the drink is ready, you can add cloves, vanilla or cinnamon.
Cranberry compotes will amaze with their original taste if you add any berries and fruits to them. Apples, currants, raspberries, cherries, rose hips, sea buckthorn, raisins, dried apricots are suitable.
