How to maintain the beneficial properties of lingonberries

This children's riddle about the queen of the northern forests - lingonberries, not only describes her, but also answers the question of how to store lingonberries in winter. Most city dwellers know this berry in the “supermarket” ice cream. But if you are lucky - you were able to get out into the forests where lingonberries grow, pick it up with baskets and harvest it for the winter.

It is difficult to find a more tasty and healthy product that supports immunity, gives strength, normalizes the work of many body systems and raises the general tone. To maintain maximum benefits, follow the recommendations for storing miracle berries at home.

Where to find and how to save

Lingonberry grows in coniferous, mixed forests, in peat bogs, in mountainous terrain. It can be found both in the central strip of Russia, and in Siberia, the Caucasus, Karelia, and the Far East. Ripening time varies by region. Berries can be harvested from late August-early September and up to mid-late October.

Bright ripe lingonberries can be stored in various ways:

• to freeze;
• soak;
• Sugar
• cook;
• to dry.

As they say, how many ways to store lingonberries, so many ways to use it. That is, choosing a storage method, they are guided, as a rule, by the dishes in which it is supposed to be used. Ice cream and soaked lingonberries can be used as you like: for making fruit drinks, compotes, toppings for pies, in main dishes and in sauces. Boiled with sugar berries are prepared in the form of jam or jelly. It is served as an addition to desserts, pancakes, pancakes or stuffed with pies, as well as simply candied. Dried berry is an excellent base for jelly, stewed fruit and a spicy addition to tea.

The collected "Queen of the Forests" must be sorted out:

• remove garbage, leaves, stalk;
• assess the degree of maturity and appearance - crushed, rotten, unripe and overripe berries should be separated.

The final moment of preparation can be called washing in clean running water. If freezing is planned, then the berries should be thoroughly dried. To do this, they are laid out on a towel that absorbs moisture well, and from time to time they are shuffled. Now the lingonberry is ready for further processing.

The easiest option for storing lingonberries is urination. However, with this method, it should be used within 2-3 months. When freezing, cooking and drying, the shelf life is extended to one year, and when sugaring - up to six months.

Dry and freeze

To freeze the prepared lingonberry, it is laid out on a substrate in one layer and placed in the freezer. If there is a “quick freeze” function, it's time to turn it on. Then the berry will immediately seize and better retain its shape and useful content. When the lingonberry freezes (it takes 2-3 hours) and becomes stone to the touch, it can be transferred from the substrate to a bag for freezing or in a plastic container, and pour a new batch of berries on the substrate. Frozen food must not be thawed and re-frozen!

Lingonberries can be dried using a special dryer for berries, fruits and herbs or in the oven. Drying in the dryer takes a lot of time, but gives 100% result without constant supervision and turning over. Prepared berries should be placed on a special tray in 1 or 2 (if there are many berries) layers, set the temperature in accordance with the instructions and turn on the dryer. From time to time, checking the readiness of lingonberries, you can shuffle it.

To dry lingonberries in the oven, it is necessary to heat it to t = 55-60 ° C. Berries should be poured with a thin layer on a baking sheet covered with parchment and placed in the oven.It is better to leave the door ajar so that the berries do not ripen. With this drying method, lingonberries need to be monitored and mixed as many times as needed until it is dry.

Tip: it is not enough to prepare lingonberries for storage, it is important to choose the right container and place. It is stored like this:

• ice cream - in a plastic container or plastic bag, in the freezer;
• dried - in glass under a tightly closed lid or in a linen bag, in a dark, dry place;
• jam - in glass under metal covers for rolling, in a cool dark place;
• candied - in glass under plastic or screw caps, under an impromptu paper cover, in the refrigerator;
• soaked - in glass in a cool place in the refrigerator.

Soak, cook, sugar

Lingonberries can be soaked in water or in their own juice. To soak lingonberries in water, it is necessary to fill the prepared berry in a jar and pour cool boiled water. Water is taken 2 times more than berries. The jar is closed with a lid and cleaned in the refrigerator. Sometimes sugar and salt are used as natural preservatives, which also affect the taste. 2 tbsp. l sugar and 2 pinches of salt are dissolved in water (counting on 1 liter) and pour cranberries into it. Value is not only a berry, but also lingonberry water - an excellent remedy for a hangover and for normalizing digestion.

Saving in your own juice is done like this. In a glass jar lay lingonberry 1/4. They crumple it with a wooden pusher to make the juice stand out. Then report the berry to half and crumple again. This continues until the bank is completely full.

To make jam, it is necessary to put the prepared berry in an enameled bowl and fill it with sugar (1: 1 by weight), pour in 1 glass of water (counting on 1 kg of berries). The jam is boiled until boiling, and then another half hour. Many experiment with the taste of jam, adding pears, apples, lemon zest or cinnamon to it at will.

Tip: to beat off the bitterness inherent in lingonberry, it is scalded before sugaring and cooking jam.

Lingonberries can be stored without heat treatment. To do this, the prepared berries are crushed in a blender, using a meat grinder or grind through a sieve. Then it is covered with sugar or powdered sugar (1: 1 by weight). All mix well and leave for a while until the sugar dissolves. Sugar can be helped by occasionally stirring the mass with a wooden spoon. Due to its structure, powdered sugar dissolves much faster. After the sugar is completely dissolved, the berry mass is transferred to jars for subsequent storage in the refrigerator.

Lingonberry is an indispensable natural assistant for the human body. And everything else is also very tasty. Due to the simplicity of storage and a variety of procurement methods, everyone will find it convenient and acceptable. You should not be too lazy once a year and give 1 day of autumn to the collection and its preparation, and you can enjoy jam, drink fruit drinks and compotes with lingonberries all winter.