What can be made from blueberries for the winter. Blueberry harvesting methods: what can be made from healthy berries for the winter. Uncooked blueberry jam

Cherries, strawberries, raspberries, currants, honeysuckle - these tasty and healthy berries grow in the garden of almost every summer resident. Their properties have long been known to everyone. But there are berries that are no less tasty and healthy, but they can only be found in the wild. These include blueberries - a storehouse of vitamins. And so that vitamins enter the body all year round, there are many ways to prepare blueberries for the winter.

Blueberries: beneficial properties

Blueberries are a small dark blue berry, a relative of lingonberries and cranberries (just not so sour). It is considered one of the healthiest berries in existence due to its high content of micro and macro elements. So, in terms of the amount of manganese, blueberries are in first place. It contains a lot of fiber, various vitamins of groups E, K, B and C.

It is this berry that contains anthocyanoside, a rare plant pigment that is a natural antioxidant. It is not found in other berries. And blueberries also contain potassium, iron, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium ... This is a low-calorie product, 100 grams of berries contain only 56 kilocalories.

What is the use of blueberries? First and foremost (and perhaps the most well-known), it has a beneficial effect on vision. The substances contained in the berry are useful for blood vessels, including the retina of the eye. In addition, bilberry extract is used in the treatment of retinopathy (retinal damage), glaucoma, and cataracts.

The use of blueberries helps to strengthen the immune system, it reduces cholesterol, and normalizes blood sugar levels. Blueberries are recommended for those who have problems with the nervous system or heart; its use has been shown to prevent cancer and Alzheimer's disease.

For diarrhea, urinary tract infections, circulatory disorders, blueberries are also used. It relieves pain and swelling of the legs, is an antidepressant. And nutritionists advise everyone who wants to lose weight to eat this berry!

Contraindications

Blueberries are prohibited for those suffering from poor blood clotting as they can cause bleeding due to the anthocyanosides they contain. You can not include the berry in the diet with exacerbations of urolithiasis, chronic constipation, diseases of the pancreas, as well as with personal intolerance to any components.

It is recommended to use blueberries with caution (after consulting a doctor) for diabetics, pregnant and lactating women.

Blueberry blanks for the winter

There are many ways to prepare blueberries for future use so that you can indulge in this seasonal delicacy in the cold season. However, it is worth remembering that the most useful is nevertheless extremely fresh berry - with any processing (even just with the addition of sugar), it loses some of its beneficial properties. Therefore, it is important to know which methods of bilberry preparations are more optimal in terms of preserving vitamins.

It is believed that there are three such methods. This is freezing, drying and grinding with sugar. Among other things, many different drinks are made from blueberries - wine, liqueurs, juices and compotes. Jams and preserves are made from berries, jelly is made, used as an additive in various dishes ... But - first things first.

Frozen blueberries

Important advice: before the process, you should carefully consider the berries, if they are not dirty, you do not need to wash them - being exposed to moisture once again, when defrosting, they will become tough and not very tasty. But it is necessary to sort out the blueberries - to clear them of leaves, branches and other debris. In addition, it is worth throwing away spoiled, crumpled, rotten fruits.

It is also good to freeze blueberries because the berries can be used to prepare any dishes at any time - you just need to get them out of the freezer.

So, if the dimensions allow, the sorted blueberries should be laid out evenly, in one layer, on a baking sheet and placed in the chamber. In case the freezer is not too large, several flat saucers can be used.

After a few hours, the berries need to be taken out and poured into a bag, controlling the absence of air in it - otherwise the blueberries will turn frosty. Close the bag tightly and store it again. These two stages are necessary so that the berries do not stick together.

Important: blueberries should be kept separately from fish and meat products.

It is better to defrost blueberries without using any technique, including a microwave oven. You can leave the berries in the refrigerator overnight or just at room temperature for a few hours.

Dried blueberries

But there is a difference - the blueberries need to be washed. This must be done very carefully, because the berry loses a lot of juice when washed. Then you need to thoroughly dry each fruit, and after that you can start the drying process itself. There are two options here.

If you live in a private house, it is permissible to leave the blueberries in the open air. The place needs to be chosen shaded, ventilated, it is also desirable that a small air humidity remains. From above, you need to cover the berry with any thin material, ordinary gauze will do. Periodically you need to check the fruits - shake them. This drying takes approximately three to four days. At night, the berries are recommended to be brought indoors.

Another way to dry blueberries is to use an oven or electric dryer. In the first case, you need to put the prepared berries on a baking sheet and leave in the oven for 7-8 hours. The temperature should be at a minimum and the door should be opened. The berries also need to be checked and shaken. Working with a dryer is even easier - put the blueberries on trays, turn on the machine and wait. Opening hours - about six hours.

Blueberries, grated with sugar

And finally, the third way to preserve a large number of blueberry vitamins. There is nothing complicated about it. The berry needs to be disassembled, washed, dried, chopped in any convenient way, after mixing with sugar (the proportions are 1 to 1, however, it is believed that the more sugar, the longer the workpiece will stand - especially in the refrigerator). Arrange in jars and put away - either in the refrigerator or in the freezer.

Other methods and recipes for preparation

What about other ways to preserve blueberries for the winter? They may be less useful than the above three, but this does not make them less tasty!

Blueberries in their own juice without sugar

It is important to remember that blueberries are boiled down one and a half times. In this recipe, this berry is the only ingredient.

1. You need to sterilize the cans in advance (in the oven - ten minutes).
2. Arrange the washed, selected blueberries in containers, close the lids (they must also be sterilized) and place the jars in a water bath.
3. The water in the pot (or basin, or any other container where the "bath" is made) should be "shoulder-length" banks.
4. As the berries are boiled, you can add them.
5. The blueberries will be ready in about an hour, when the juice they produce reaches the neck of the jars.
6. Roll up the containers and let the blueberries cool.

Blueberry jam with lemon

The disadvantage of blueberry jam is that vitamin C is lost with this method of preparation. Nevertheless, it retains B vitamins, carotene, manganese, iron and, most importantly, anthocyanins are also present in it. Therefore, we cannot say that jam is useless, on the contrary, it is often used in the treatment of colds.

It must be remembered, however, that half of the content of the jam is sugar, and, as you know, you should not abuse it. The calorie content of blueberry jam is much higher than that of fresh berries - 214 kilocalories per 100 grams of delicacy.

So how to cook?

1. You need to take fresh, not "stale" berries.
2. Before the process, it is recommended to wash it (however, there are those who claim that blueberries cannot be washed for cooking; it is worth looking at how dirty the berries are).
3. Be sure to remove the debris, sort out the fruits.
4. Sugar will be needed as much as berries, but to make the jam sweeter, its amount can be increased.
5. Jam can be made with only blueberries and sugar, but adding additional ingredients to it will add an interesting flavor to the food. For example, lemon gives a subtle sourness, and the color of the jam becomes lighter.
6. The prepared berry must be blanched for five minutes, then discarded in a colander.
7. Boil the blueberry broth with sugar until it is completely dissolved.
8. Pour blueberries with broth, let it boil, boil for five minutes.
9. After cooling, repeat the process, add the juice of one lemon to the boiled mass, cook for another ten minutes.
10. Pour into hot jars, wrap up, let cool at room temperature.

Blueberry wine

Homemade blueberry wine has a tart taste. It is much healthier for the body than purchased white or red, because it retains the healing properties of blueberries.

Various spices can be added to the drink, which will give a unique aroma - cinnamon, cloves, cardamom. They also put lemon or honey in wine. As a rule, homemade blueberry wine tastes like red, blueberry itself is not very noticeable in it.

First you need to prepare the leaven. A glass of unwashed berries must be crushed (a wooden pestle is best suited), covered with half a glass of sugar and filled with the same amount of water. Cover the container with the mass with a ventilated material and leave in a warm place. The appearance of foam, fruit flies and a sour odor will signal that you can start making wine.

The amount of water (extremely pure!) For the drink should be equal to the amount of berries. Sugar should be taken a couple of kilograms less.

1. Add sugar to crushed blueberries, pour water and sourdough over the mass.
2. Leave the container with the future wine in a room with a temperature of 18 to 28 degrees above zero, previously covered with a ventilated material. From time to time, you need to shake it, control the absence of mold.
3. When a sediment appears at the bottom (usually after a few days), the wort must be thoroughly filtered.
4. Then a rubber medical glove is placed on the neck of the container, in which small holes must first be made for the release of carbon dioxide.
5. Then you just have to wait until fermentation lasts. This usually takes several months. It is impossible to skip the end of it: the wort will become lighter, carbon dioxide will not be released.
6. After that, it is necessary to drain the wine from the sediment and leave for another week. If the precipitate reappears, repeat the procedure. Sugar can be added if desired.
7. When the sediment no longer falls out, the wine is poured, tightly closed and kept for another two to three weeks before use.

How to properly store blueberries and blueberries

• Fresh berries can be stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of ten days. You do not need to wash it before storage!
• Frozen berries can stay in the freezer for up to 8 months without losing their properties.
• Dried blueberries should be placed in linen or cotton bags where they will be comfortable throughout the year. It is important not to put such berries in jars - instant mold is guaranteed.
• Jam in jars must be kept in a cool place - cellar, refrigerator or on the balcony. In this case, it will stand up to three years.
• Blueberry jelly is stored for no more than a day in the refrigerator at temperatures up to 14 degrees. The same time is allotted for compotes and juices, if they are not canned.

Whatever recipe for harvesting blueberries for the winter is chosen, the main thing is that this unique berry will somehow be present in the diet. This means that the body will receive its share of vitamins and even more!

Frozen blueberry jam is the easiest

Ingredients:

• 1 kg frozen blueberries
• 800 grams of granulated sugar;
• citric acid on the tip of a knife.

Preparation:

Pour the thawed and washed berries into a saucepan (if the blueberries are from bags, you do not need to wash them, since they have already been sorted out and washed). Sprinkle the blueberries with sugar, mix well so that the berries let the juice flow, put on a low heat, cook until boiling, stirring occasionally. Remove the foam from the boiled brew, turn off the stove, and let the blueberry jam cool. When cool, bring to a boil again, simmer over medium heat for 7-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add citric acid to the tip of a knife. Pour hot blueberry jam into sterilized jars and roll up. Can be covered with nylon caps.

Uncooked frozen blueberry jam

I will not tell you about the blueberries grated with sugar. I cook frozen blueberry jam without cooking according to a completely different recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg of blueberries;
• 700 grams of sugar.

Preparation:

Rinse the blueberries and sort through them, then cover with sugar, mix thoroughly, leave for half an hour. In the meantime, wash the jars, fill them first with hot water, then boiling water. Heat the berries with sugar to a temperature of 70-80 degrees, immediately remove from heat. After 5 minutes, drain the boiling water from the jars and put the blueberries with sugar in a glass container. Put the jars in the oven, turn on the oven at 100 degrees and simmer the jars with berries for 20 minutes. Do not be afraid, with gradual heating the glass is not in danger. Use oven mitts to remove the cans from the oven to avoid scalding your hands. Close with capron lids, store in the refrigerator. Such jam retains more vitamins than traditional jam.

Frozen blueberry jam 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 kg frozen blueberries
• 800 grams of granulated sugar.

Preparation:

Defrost the berry and sprinkle it with sugar as it should. You can even lightly press down with a spoon while stirring to get the blueberries to juice faster. Once you have enough juice, start boiling. Bring the berry mass to a boil and cook for exactly 5 minutes. Cool, and while the jam is infused, process the jars (sterilization process). Stir for five minutes again, bring to a boil and pour into jars after 5 minutes. Screw or close with nylon caps.

Frozen blueberry jam in a slow cooker

Ingredients:

• 1 kg frozen blueberries;
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 900 grams of sugar.

Preparation:

Sprinkle the defrosted berries with sugar in a large enamel bowl. After half an hour, stir, add lemon juice, transfer the berry mass to the multicooker bowl and cook for 45 minutes in the "Stew" mode. The jam turns out to be very tasty, but a little watery. It can be rolled up or closed with regular lids and stored in the refrigerator.

Frozen blueberry jam in a frying pan

An express way to make jam, which requires a deep non-stick frying pan.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg of frozen blueberries;
• 1 kg of sugar.

Preparation:

Place the blueberries from the bags in a large bowl. Cover the berry with sugar without thawing. After an hour, stir and place in a deep frying pan. Boil the future jam over low heat, stirring it constantly. When it boils, remove the foam and heat in a skillet for another 15 minutes. Reduce heat to low to avoid boiling. After boiling for 20 minutes, transfer the jam to sterile jars and roll up.

Frozen blueberry jam in the microwave

And this recipe was sent to me by Galina Bolotova from the Tver region. “I collect a lot of blueberries,” she writes. And you don't always have time to tinker with it right away. And I freeze the berries, and then I cook the jam in the microwave. "

Ingredients:

• 1 kg of blueberries;
• 2 cups sugar

Preparation:

Since the berries were sorted out during freezing, we do not do anything special with them - we put them out of bags into heat-resistant glass dishes and sprinkle with sugar. Mix well. We put a pot of water on the stove, on it - a grate for sterilizing cans and lids. Wash the cans under the tap with detergent, rinse first with warm water, then cold. We put on a wire rack and with gradual heating of water we sterilize with steam. Attention: do not put cold cans over boiling water. Install the grates and jars first, and then turn on the stove. Put the berries in a bowl in the microwave and cook for 10 minutes at maximum power. We transfer to a processed container and close with lids. Here is such a simple recipe that everyone, without exception, likes.

Frozen blueberry and raspberry jam

I used to do like everyone else - I just cooked berries with sugar. But one day I found an amazing recipe in some magazine.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg of frozen raspberries;
• 1 kg frozen blueberries
• 50 grams of dried raspberry leaf;
• 1.5 kg of sugar;
• 2 glasses of water.

Preparation:

Remove the frozen berries from the freezer, leave them in a bowl for half an hour, then sprinkle with four glasses of sugar. Make an infusion of dry raspberry leaves and two glasses of boiling water, strain it after half an hour, add the remaining granulated sugar and boil a strong syrup. Pour the berries over them, stir, put the pan on the stove and wait until it boils. Boil for 10 minutes, then cool. Prepare jars and lids (steam, for example). Bring the jam to a boil again, remove the foam, if it forms, pour the boiling jam into the jars 15 minutes after boiling again.

Frozen blueberry and black currant jam

For a change, prepare it from blended berries.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg of black currant;
• 1 kg of blueberries;
• 2 kg of sugar;
• a third of a teaspoon of citric acid.

Preparation:

Defrost the berries completely, while you can mix them. Grind with a blender into a homogeneous mass, add sugar, mix well. Cook over low heat for half an hour. If cooking takes place in a special non-stick cookware, then you don't need to stir. Add citric acid, mix well again, wait until it boils again and pour the jam into prepared jars. Close the lids.

Frozen blueberry and blackberry jam

Ingredients:

• 1 kg frozen blueberries
• a pound of frozen blackberries;
• 2 kg of sugar;
• some candied ginger (optional).

Preparation:

Remove the berries from the freezer, sprinkle with sugar, leave for 2 hours. Then start cooking: over medium heat, heat to a boil, remove the foam, cook for 5 minutes and cool. Steam the cans along with the lids. Heat the jam to a boil again. Add candied ginger if you have one. For the specified amount of berries - no more than 50 grams. Leave the blueberry and blackberry jam to infuse for 4-5 hours, cover it with a clean cloth. Then stir, bring to a boil and pour into prepared jars. Tighten the lids - the jam is ready.

Frozen blueberry jam with lemon

Ingredients:

• 1 kg blueberries from the freezer;
• 1 glass of water;
• 2 lemons;
• 1 kg of sugar.

Preparation:

Remove the berries from the freezer, transfer to a saucepan and leave for half an hour. Then add a glass of boiling water to this container and quickly heat it on the stove to a boil. Place the berries on a sieve. Do not pour the broth, but pour it into a ladle, squeeze the juice of two lemons into it and add 2 cups of sugar. Pour the remaining granulated sugar in the berry in a cooking pot. Cook blueberry syrup with lemon juice for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Then pour it into a saucepan with berries, put the container on low heat and cook for 15 minutes, removing the foam. The billet should thicken before our eyes during the cooking process, so do not forget to stir it. Place the boiling jam in sterile jars and tighten the lids. It turns out a real storehouse of vitamins - you can take 1-2 tablespoons a day as a medicine and a natural source of substances useful for the body.

Frozen blueberry jam with orange

Not just juice, as one might think, will go into business. Whole oranges are used.

Ingredients:

• 2 kg of blueberries;
• 2 large oranges;
• 2 kg of sugar.

Preparation:

Put the frozen blueberries in a cooking container and leave for half an hour. Then add sugar and stir. From oranges, previously washed, remove the zest with a grater. Cut the pulp into cubes and mix with the berry mass. Top with the zest. Leave it all while processing the cans. When the container and lids are prepared, put the saucepan with berries, oranges and sugar on the fire. Stir well, heat to a boil, cook over low heat for half an hour, removing the foam. Then put in jars and twist.

Blueberry, apple and zucchini jam

To make jam, we need blueberries, young zucchini, apples, sugar. I cook it in one go, after chopping the berries and zucchini with apples.

Ingredients:

• 500 grams of blueberries;
• 2 young zucchini;
• 2 large apples;
• 700 grams of sugar;
• juice of half a lemon.

Preparation:

Peel the zucchini and apples, and of course wash them first. Grate, pour with lemon juice, cover with sugar. Defrost blueberries at room temperature in advance, chop with a blender. Add the berry puree to the grated fruit, stir, leave this whole mass for half an hour. Then set to simmer, stirring occasionally. Treat cans and lids at the same time. Pour the thickened hot jam into the prepared storage container and tighten the lids.

If you need not only different ways of making delicious homemade jam from, but also others, follow the link or watch this wonderful video. You can do both :)

Berries can not only be ground or mixed with sugar without kneading, but also frozen, canned in their own juice. "Cold" jam in winter is eaten as a bite with pancakes, pancakes, added to cottage cheese, porridge, used as a filling for pies.

The benefits of "raw" jam

It is not for nothing that the mashed berry is called a "rejuvenating" treat and a natural antibiotic. "Raw" dessert helps prevent the development of cancer, normalizes metabolism and digestion. With regular use, the blueberry mixture improves visual acuity, relieves eye fatigue.

"Cold" jam can be added to the menu even for stomach upset, inflammation and colitis. Also, the delicacy helps to eliminate toxins, helps to normalize blood sugar levels.

Preparatory stage

In order for the berry to be preserved for the winter without cooking, not fermenting and not becoming moldy, it is necessary to take into account a few simple recommendations.

• Freshness of berries. Having collected a rich harvest in the forest, you do not need to keep it in the heat for a long time. Blueberries should be immediately sorted out, washed several times, dried, processed.
• Cleanliness of dishes. When cooking, it is necessary to monitor the sterility of the container, use only clean bowls, spoons, tools and household appliances.
• Suitable saucepan. It is forbidden to keep crops in aluminum containers. Better to take ceramic, glass containers, stainless steel pots.
• The amount of sugar. There is no need to regret the product on which the safety of the workpiece depends. It must be added no less than indicated in the recipe. You can increase the dosage to your liking.
• Sterilization of containers. Glass containers must be treated with boiling water or steam, calcined in an oven or microwave. It is advisable to rinse containers with baking soda, dry with steam over a saucepan or kettle.
• Storage. Keep the workpieces in the refrigerator or in a cool place. The frozen product must be placed in the freezer, defrosting as needed.

The easiest recipes

The absence of heat treatment in all recipes, except for "Five Minute", will allow you to preserve vitamins and nutrients for the winter with virtually no loss. In addition, it is easy to prepare such a delicacy, you do not need to stand at the stove for hours, stirring the burning mass.

Rubbed

Features. Even a child can grind fresh blueberries with sugar, so you can safely take the smallest family members as assistants, giving each one a crush. It is better to sterilize cans on your own, carefully monitoring the cleanliness and integrity of the containers.

What to prepare:

• fresh berries - 2 kg;
• sugar - 2.6-3 kg.

How to do

1. Pour blueberries into a plastic colander, rinse, let the water drops drain.
2. Pour into a basin, knead with a wooden crush. If you have a blender at home, you can grind the mass until smooth.
3. Pour in half the granulated sugar, stir.
4. Leave for 40 minutes for the juice to stand out.
5. Add the rest of the sand, mix, let stand for another half hour.
6. Arrange in dry jars, cork.

The dessert is thick, aromatic and very sweet. The blank is convenient to use as a filling for pies.

In its own juice

Features. It is convenient to harvest berries not only in the form of puree, but also with whole ones. Granulated sugar can not even be added, if such is the desire of the hostess. Such a blank will be stored no worse if it is immediately removed to a cool place.

What to prepare:

• ripe berries - 2.5 kg;
• sugar - 1 kg.

How to do

1. Wash the berries, mash about 500 g with a crush.
2. Transfer the mass to a saucepan, add the remaining ingredients.
3. Heat the mixture to about 80-90 ° C without boiling.
4. Stir immediately and place in steamed jars.

If you decide to cook blueberries in your own sugar-free juice, then be guided by the parameters of the "Five Minute" recipe. Part of the berries should be mash, squeeze out the juice. Transfer the rest to a basin, pour over the juice, heat on the stove for five minutes after boiling. Immediately spread the mass into sterile jars, roll up.

Frozen

Features. Such a berry will be stored in the freezer even until the next harvest, without losing its beneficial properties. It is better to purchase new containers or tight bags, plastic jars with screw caps for preparation.

What to prepare:

• berries - 1 kg;
• sugar - 1 kg.

How to do

1. Rinse the berries, dry by sprinkling on a towel.
2. If you need puree, grind with a blender. Whole berries will first have to be sprinkled on a tray, held in the freezer for three hours.
3. Combine the blueberry puree with the sand and stir. Or sprinkle with layers.
4. Pack in containers, bags with locks. Close tightly.

They use the delicacy after defrosting with sour cream, yogurt, bite with white bread. It is also recommended to add the mass to cereals, compotes, homemade desserts.

Original options

You can prepare "cold" jam according to original recipes. Variations with gelatin, honey and nuts are especially popular with housewives.

With gelatin

What to prepare:

• berries - 600 g;
• water - 700 ml;
• gin or vermouth - three tablespoons;
• gelatin - three tablespoons;
• granulated sugar - 300 g.

How to do

1. Rinse the berries under running water, placing them in a colander. Dry.
2. Scroll through a meat grinder or grind with a blender. In the absence of kitchen "helpers" - just crush in a bowl.
3. Sprinkle the mixture with half granulated sugar, set aside for half an hour.
4. Boil water, cool, add gelatin.
5. Wait for the crystals to swell. Mix.
6. Pour vermouth or gin into the gelatinous mass, in the absence - strong cognac. Add sand.
7. Add berry puree, mix everything.
8. Put in the refrigerator to set.
9. Divide into clean containers, cork.

With honey and nuts

What to prepare:

• blueberries - two glasses;
• honey - three tablespoons;
• water - 100 ml;
• peeled walnuts - half a glass;
• sugar - half a glass.

How to do

1. Grind the sorted and washed berries with a blender.
2. Fry the nuts in a dry frying pan.
3. Heat honey in a water bath. Do not boil.
4. Dissolve sugar in warm water, add honey.
5. Combine the syrup with the rest of the ingredients.
6. Stir, leave for a couple of hours.
7. Arrange in sterile jars, roll up.

To add a nut-blueberry mixture of aroma and acidity, it is advised to add half a teaspoon of lemon zest, minced ginger or cardamom of your choice to the mass.

Blueberries are famous not so much for their taste as for their healing properties. Therefore, the main task when harvesting blueberries for the winter is to preserve vitamins and other nutrients. We will describe in detail the simplest and most popular methods in the article.

This valuable berry grows mainly in coniferous and mixed forests, as well as in the tundra and highlands. Prefers flat, semi-shady places with high humidity, often near swamps. Blueberries are harvested and harvested in many regions of Russia (in Siberia and the Non-Black Earth Region, the Urals and the Caucasus), Ukraine and Belarus. People often call it black, blue or dew berry, blackberry, blueberry or blackberry.

Beneficial features

For medicinal purposes, not only blueberries are used, but also the leaves, which are harvested during the flowering period (May - June), dried and added in winter to teas, infusions or decoctions. The greatest value in berries is complex of biologically active substances:

In addition, the composition contains flavonoids, fatty acids, pectin substances, macro- and microelements.

The content of vitamin C in blueberry leaves is much higher than in berries - up to 250 mg%, and tannins - up to 20%.

Thanks to the tannins, blueberries have astringent, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. Anthocyanins - natural antioxidants - improve visual acuity and reduce eye fatigue. In addition, blueberries have an insulin-like (sugar-lowering) and tonic effect, therefore they are widely used in folk medicine and are part of many commercial preparations - dietary supplements.

Ways to harvest blueberries for the winter

To maximize the beneficial properties of blueberries, berries are recommended not to be heat treated, not chopped or even washed.

Freezing

The fastest and easiest way to harvest is freezing. If you picked blueberries yourself in an environmentally friendly place, then you can do without washing. It is better to rinse berries purchased on the market with running water, removing all the debris, and then dry thoroughly, spreading them in one layer on a towel.

For freezing, take small containers or plastic bags, in which it is convenient to decompose the berries in portions so that they are then defrosted in the required amount. After thawing, blueberries remain tasty and practically do not "float", that is, they retain their shape, texture, color and aroma.

Drying

Another traditional way of harvesting, which allows you to preserve the usefulness of berries, is drying. Before drying, the harvested ripe fruits are reviewed, cleaned from litter, without washing or soaking.

At home, the easiest way to dry blueberries is in a special dryer or oven, especially if there is convection. The berries are laid out in one layer on a baking sheet and first dried for 2-3 days in air in a well-ventilated room or 2-3 hours in the oven at a temperature of 35-40 ℃, and then dried at 50-60 ℃. It takes quite a lot of drying time - 6-12 hours, depending on the size and juiciness of the berries. At the same time, keep the oven door slightly ajar or open it constantly and wipe off the accumulated condensation. Dried berries, if squeezed in the palm of your hand, should not clump together and stain the skin of your hands.

As one of the drying options, you can prepare blueberries with sugar for the winter without cooking in the form of a marshmallow.

Many housewives prefer not to dry the whole berries, but to prepare a natural delicacy from them - marshmallow. Blueberries are often mixed with various fruits (apples, pears, apricots) or with vegetables that have a neutral taste, such as zucchini. In this case, the composition of the marshmallow, the proportions of the ingredients, the need to add sugar are determined individually.

Ingredients:

• fresh blueberries - 1 kg;
• sugar - 1-2 tbsp. l. (taste).

Cooking technology:

1. Knock whole, clean dry berries (and other fruit and vegetable ingredients) into a homogeneous mass - puree in a blender, scroll through a meat grinder or steam and squeeze through a sieve. Sugar to taste.
2. Distribute the resulting puree on a baking sheet covered with parchment in a thin layer (3-4 mm) for even drying.
3. Dry in the oven at low temperature (+ 45 ... 50 ℃) for 4-6 hours or in a well-ventilated warm room for 4-5 days.
4. Cut the finished pastille into strips and roll up. Place in a dry container, close the lid tightly and store in a cool, dark place.

Correctly dried pastille ceases to stick to the hands and can be easily removed from the parchment, remaining sufficiently elastic and unbreakable when folded.

An experienced housewife tells about various ways of harvesting blueberries, including making pastilles, in the following video:

Homemade recipes

The choice of the preparation method depends primarily on the storage possibilities and further culinary purposes. If you do not have room for stocks of berries in the freezer, but there is a large enough refrigerator, then prepare blueberries with sugar for the winter without cooking. And for those who want to do without unnecessary preservatives and plan to keep the workpiece at room temperature, we recommend rolling up a few jars of blueberries in their own juice.

Preparing blueberries mashed with sugar for the winter is elementary and quick. According to this recipe, many "cultivated" berries are harvested - raspberries, black currants. Store them in tightly closed jars in the refrigerator or other cold place.

Servings / Volume: 1-1.5 l

Ingredients:

• blueberries (fresh) - 1 kg;
• sugar - 0.5-2 kg.

The amount of sugar, on the one hand, reduces the usefulness of the finished product and clogs the natural berry flavor, but on the other hand, it affects the storage time of the workpiece (from 1-2 months to 1 year).

Cooking technology:

1. Sort fresh berries, rinse and dry on a towel.
2. Pass the blueberries through a meat grinder or grind in a blender (preferably in a bowl closed with a lid so that splashes do not scatter).
3. Mix the berry mass with sugar and let it dissolve completely.
4. Sterilize and dry the jars.
5. Spread the finished mixture in jars, sprinkle a few more tablespoons of sugar on top with a thin layer, close with tight lids and put in the refrigerator.

Berry puree with sugar is convenient to use for making hot drinks, mousses, creams, sauces; add to porridge, serve with pancakes or pancakes. It can also be packaged in small containers and placed in the freezer for a homemade version of the classic sorbet dessert.

To cook blueberries in their own juice for the winter, you don't need anything other than the berries themselves.

Servings / Volume: 1.5-2 l

Ingredients:

• blueberries (fresh) - 3 kg.

Preparation:

1. Sort the berries, rejecting all spoiled ones, put them in a large bowl and pour cold water over them. Remove the debris that has floated to the surface, rinse the berries, put them in a colander or sieve to drain the water. Then sprinkle them on a towel or old sheet in one layer and let dry.
2. Sterilize jars and lids.
3. Prepare a large pot or basin for a water bath. Place a wire rack on the bottom or cover with a cloth.
4. Place 2/3 of the berries in dry jars and place them in a saucepan. Fill it with cold water so that the shoulders of the jars are covered. Put on fire. Boil.
5. During sterilization over low heat, the berries will secrete juice, evaporate and decrease in volume. As it settles, add the remaining blueberries to the jars.
6. When all the berries are covered with juice and stop settling, cover the jars with lids and hold them in boiling water for another 5-7 minutes.
7. Seal the cans tightly by screwing the lids, turn over, wrap with a blanket and leave to cool.

To speed up the cooking process, you can report not fresh berries, but already steamed ones, freeing one of the jars. We suggest you watch all the technology in the video:

This recipe assumes minimal heat treatment and a small amount of sugar, which will undoubtedly appeal to all lovers of natural berry taste. Adding cinnamon or lemon will help make it even more interesting and unusual.

Servings / Volume: 1.5-2 l

Ingredients:

• fresh blueberries - 2 kg;
• sugar - 0.5-1 kg;
• water - 0.3-0.5 l;
• gelling component (Zhelfix, Confiture, etc.) - 1-2 sachets (according to the instructions);
• lemon / cinnamon (optional) - 1 pc. / 20-40 g.

Preparation:

1. In a saucepan with a thick bottom, dissolve the sugar in warm water.
2. Pour the prepared berries into the sugar syrup, bring to a boil.
3. Add lemon zest grated on a fine grater and squeezed juice, ground cinnamon.
4. Dilute the gelling powder in a little water as directed in the instructions.
5. Slowly, stirring constantly, pour it into a saucepan with berries.
6. Boil after boiling for 5 minutes over medium heat. The jam must be gently mixed so that it does not burn, and, if necessary, remove the foam.
7. Sterilize cans, dry.
8. Pour ready-made jam into hot jars, evenly distributing berries and syrup. Close with tight lids and allow to cool at room temperature.

This jam can be made without adding water. To do this, the berries are covered with sugar and left for several hours (overnight) so that they have time to let the juice out.

Video

We suggest you watch some more interesting recipes for jam, confiture and blueberry jam in the following videos:

For several years she worked as a TV program editor with leading producers of ornamental plants in Ukraine. At the dacha, of all types of agricultural work, he prefers harvesting, but for this she is ready to regularly weed, pick, pinch, water, tie, thin out, etc. I am convinced that the most delicious vegetables and fruits are grown by your own hands!

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In Australia, scientists have begun experiments to clone several varieties of grapes grown in cold regions. Climate warming, which is predicted for the next 50 years, will lead to their disappearance. Australian varieties have excellent characteristics for winemaking and are not susceptible to diseases common in Europe and America.

Convenient Android applications have been developed to help gardeners and gardeners. First of all, these are sowing (lunar, flower, etc.) calendars, thematic magazines, a selection of useful tips. With their help, you can choose a day favorable for planting each type of plant, determine the timing of their ripening and harvest on time.

Compost - rotted organic residues of various origins. How to do it? Everything is stacked in a heap, a hole or a large box: kitchen leftovers, tops of garden crops, weeds mown before flowering, thin twigs. All this is interlayered with phosphate rock, sometimes with straw, earth or peat. (Some summer residents add special composting accelerators.) Cover with foil. In the process of reheating, the pile is periodically ted up or pierced for the flow of fresh air. Usually compost “matures” for 2 years, but with modern additives it can be ready in one summer season.

It is believed that some vegetables and fruits (cucumbers, stalk celery, all varieties of cabbage, peppers, apples) have a "negative calorie content", that is, digesting more calories than they contain. In fact, the digestive process uses only 10-20% of the calories from food.

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For blanks, take ripe, unspoiled berries. Be sure to sort through them, remove the leaves. Rinse the blueberries under running water and pat dry.

Preservation jars and lids. After twisting, turn the containers with the blanks upside down, wrap them with a towel or blanket and leave to cool.

baibaz / Depositphotos.com

Ingredients

• 1 kg of blueberries;
• 1 kg of sugar - for the third method.

Preparation

Method 1

Arrange the berries in bags or compact containers in small portions that are enough for one meal. Wrap and store in the freezer.

Method 2

Grind the berries with a blender, food processor, or meat grinder. Divide into portions and place in freezer.

Method 3

Grind the berries with a blender, food processor, or meat grinder. Stir in sugar. Divide into portion containers and place in the freezer compartment.

tycoon / Depositphotos.com

Ingredients

• 500-600 g blueberries;
• 1,700-1,800 ml of water;
• 300 g sugar;
• 1 pinch of citric acid.

Preparation

Put the berries in a three-liter jar and pour boiling water over them so that they are completely covered. Leave it on for 15-20 minutes. Pour the remaining water into a saucepan and add the liquid from the can to it. Boil, add sugar and cook until it dissolves completely. Add to citric acid and pour it into the blueberry jar to the very top. Roll up the lid.

StephanieFrey / Depositphotos.com

Ingredients

650-750 g blueberries.

Preparation

Pour the berries into a 500 ml jar to the very top.

Place a towel or wooden support on the bottom of a large saucepan. Put a jar of berries and fill with water up to the top edge, but so that the liquid does not get inside. Bring to a boil and keep on low heat. When the berries have settled, add more blueberries to the very top.

Boil and pour the berries until the jar is full. This will take approximately 40-50 minutes. Then cook for a few more minutes, take out the jar and roll it up.

HandmadePicture / Depositphotos.com

Ingredients

• 500 g blueberries;
• 1 kg of sugar.

Preparation

Grind the berries with a blender, meat grinder or food processor. Toss the blueberries with the sugar. Pour into a jar, close the lid and store in the refrigerator.

marcomayer / Depositphotos.com

Ingredients

• 500 g blueberries;
• 400-500 g of sugar.

Preparation

Place the berries in a saucepan. Cover with sugar and leave for 2-3 hours at room temperature. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook for 5 minutes. Pour into jars and roll up.

tycoon / Depositphotos.com

Ingredients

• 2 kg of blueberries;
• 100 ml of water;
• 700 g sugar;
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice.

Preparation

Chop 300-400 g blueberries. Pour water into a saucepan, add about a third of the sugar and simmer over low heat. When the sand starts to dissolve, add the ground berries and stir constantly. Add the remaining sugar after 5 minutes.

When the syrup boils, add the whole blueberries and cook for 25-30 minutes. Pour in lemon juice a couple of minutes before cooking. Spread the jam into jars and roll up.

Gbuglok / Depositphotos.com

Ingredients

• 1 kg of blueberries;
• 1,000-1,200 g of sugar;
• 100 g of pectin;
• 100 ml of water.

Preparation

Mash the berries with a pusher, pass through a meat grinder or chop with a blender. Place in a saucepan, cover with sugar, mix well and leave for 10-15 minutes.

Dissolve the pectin in water and cook for a minute over medium heat to dissolve.

Bring the blueberries and sugar to a boil over medium heat. Pour in the pectin, reduce heat to low and cook for 3-5 minutes. Pour into jars and close the lids.

anskuw \u200b\u200b/ Depositphotos.com

Ingredients

• 1½ kg blueberries;
• 400 ml of water;
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 600 g sugar;
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice.

Preparation

Place the blueberries in a saucepan and crush with a crush or spoon. Add half the water and zest and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. Rub through a sieve to remove pulp and bones.

Boil the remaining water with sugar and cook until the crystals are completely dissolved. Pour the syrup over the berries and leave to simmer for a couple of minutes. Add lemon juice, stir and remove from heat. Pour into jars and cover with lids.