How and how many cranberries are stored at home, choose a place
In winter, when there is a lack of vitamin C, the use of cranberries saves the body from vitamin deficiencies, strengthens the immune system and diversifies the diet. Cranberry juice is a drug with an antipyretic effect. The berries are harvested at the end of autumn. At this time, you can make a reserve for the entire cold period. How to store cranberries so that they do not lose their valuable qualities, do not deteriorate?
How to choose an array for long term storage
In order for the lingonberries to keep for several months, they choose berries from the autumn harvest, not affected by severe frosts. In addition to removing debris, the cranberries must be sorted and sorted by size and maturity. For long-term storage, dense, large, dark pink or light red berries are suitable. Crumpled overripe berries are used for fruit drinks.
Basic conditions and storage methods
Prepared cranberries store well due to their dense skin and the benzoic acid content of the juice. The natural preservative is harmless to humans, inhibits the development of putrefying bacteria in the berries. The cranberry flavor becomes richer over time, more acidic.
Outside
Cranberries can be stored on the balcony/loggia in an enamel container (bucket or saucepan) under a lid. A barrel, a wooden box, a ceramic container, glass jars are also suitable for berries. The main conditions are that the cranberries should be dry, sunlight should not fall on the container, a draft is necessary.
Underground
Berries can be stored in a cellar if there is good ventilation and no humidity. Storage capacities and conditions are similar to those placed on the balcony.
soaked berries
Soaked cranberries retain all the qualities of fresh in terms of vitamin composition, and surpass them in terms of taste. The berry is saturated with water and becomes sweeter, and the water acquires a berry flavor. To get the product you will need chilled boiled water.
Washed cranberries are poured into a glass/enamel container and filled with water so that they cover the berries by 3-5 centimeters. The container is closed with a lid and placed in a cool place for 2-3 weeks, after which the product is ready for consumption. You can store soaked cranberries in the refrigerator, apartment, cellar, on the balcony.
With sugar
Cranberries with sugar are prepared in two ways: sprinkle the whole berries with sugar, put them in a glass jar and shake well. The fruit to sugar ratio is 1:1. Over time, cranberry juice will appear. The jar should be shaken occasionally so that the sugar and juice evenly cover the berries.
Very ripe and crumpled berries are sprinkled with sugar in a ratio of 1: 2 and chopped.To preserve the vitamins, it is supposed to grind the cranberries through a hair sieve, since vitamin C is destroyed on contact with metal, then add sugar. Allow time to dissolve, transfer to glass jars and chill.
To speed up the process, cranberries are ground with sugar in a blender. Allow time for the sugar to dissolve evenly into the cranberry puree. They put them in jars, put them in the refrigerator, on the balcony, in the cellar.
Drying
Drying cranberries without pretreatment will not work. The dense skin will prevent the juice from evaporating. Sorted berries are washed under running water. Sorted by size and degree of ripeness. The riper the cranberries, the healthier and tastier the dried berries will be.
Before drying, the cranberries are immersed for 2-3 seconds in a boiling soda solution (5 grams per 1 liter of water). Rinse thoroughly under running cold water. Thanks to soda, many small pores open in the skin through which moisture will evaporate.
Let the berries dry. Place on a baking sheet on parchment paper in a single layer and tumble dry. The drying temperature should be adjusted: at the beginning of the process, the thermostat is set at 45-50 degrees, in the middle - at 55-60 degrees, at the end they return to 45 degrees. Drying time - from 2 to 4 hours, depending on the size and ripeness of the berries.
Drying is stopped when the berries become dry, elastic and do not emit juice when squeezed. To equalize the moisture content, the finished product is laid out in an open container and kept for two days. Packed in a sealed, air-permeable container and stored in a cool, dry place.
Storage for the winter
Cranberries can be made into preserves, marmalades and compotes.
Jam
Ripe berries are suitable for jam. Greens, wrinkles are sorted. After removing the debris, stems and ovaries, the raw material is washed and the water can flow out.
For 1 kilogram of berries you will need:
- sugar - 1.7 kilograms;
- water - 360 milliliters;
- apples - 200 grams;
- nuts - 50 grams.
First, flavoring agents are prepared. Apples, peeled from the seeds and cut into slices, blanch for 15-20 seconds. Nuts are boiled in water for 20 minutes.
Water is poured into an enamel bowl, 1200 grams of sugar are added and brought to a boil. Pour berries, apples, nuts into syrup and cook over low heat, stirring and removing foam. When the berries are soaked in syrup, add another 500 grams of sugar and cook until the syrup is ready. Cooking ends when a drop of jam does not spread on a cold saucer.
The finished product is poured into prepared jars, covered with lids, cooled without turning over.
Compote
For the preparation of compote, you can use not only whole, ripe, but also damaged berries. Initially, cranberry and mint compote is brewed. The drink obtained is filtered. Prepared raw materials (without stems, ovaries, moss, leaves and twigs) are placed in jars and poured with boiling compote.
Banks are covered with lids and sterilized: 0.5 liters - from 7 to 9 minutes; 1 liter - 9-10 minutes. After capping, the jars are not inverted.
Jam
For jam, you need ripe, undamaged cranberries. The berries are peeled and sorted. You can prepare a sweet preparation in 2 ways.
1 recipe. Compound:
- cranberries - 1 kilogram;
- sugar - 1.5 kilograms;
- water - 500 milliliters.
Water is poured into enameled dishes, cranberries and half the sugar norm are added. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly. When the volume of the jam is reduced by 1/3, add the rest of the sugar and cook until tender. The cooled drop of the finished product should retain its shape without spreading.
2 recipe. Compound:
- cranberries - 0.6 kilograms;
- apples - 400 grams;
- sugar - 1.5 kilograms;
- water - 500 milliliters.
Apples are washed, seeded, peeled, cut into slices. Water is poured into an enamel saucepan, apples are added, brought to a boil and stewed for 7 minutes. The cooked fruits are passed through a sieve. Water from apples is poured into the container, applesauce, cranberries and sugar are put. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until tender.
The finished product is placed in dry, heated jars, covered with a lid, cooled without turning.
In the fridge
The bottom shelf of the refrigerator, where the temperature, depending on the brand of the device, can vary from +10 to +3 degrees, is a place to put a glass jar with berries. Dry, without defects and debris, cranberries are poured into a container covered with a plastic lid and put in the refrigerator.
In the freezer
For storage in the freezer, the washed and sorted berries are distributed in plastic bins. The thickness of the layer and the weight of the cranberries should correspond to the temperature regime in the chamber so that the freezing is uniform.
For ripening
Picked cranberries ripen during storage. The ripening process is completed within 2 months.Dense pink berry is stored in a cool, ventilated place in a spacious container.
Apartment storage tips
At home, cranberries are stored in a spacious container in a dark, cool place. Storage can be: an enamel bucket, a wooden box or a thick cardboard box lined with plastic film.
Places where berries should not be kept for a long time are the bathroom (due to high humidity), the pantry (due to lack of air circulation), next to heating appliances.