Blueberries for the winter - 6 recipes with the preservation of vitamins

Got a good harvest from blueberries and are wondering how to prepare them for future use? The solution is simple - to make bilberry blanks for the winter. Mostly blueberries are used to make jam and freeze. I will tell you how to do this step by step.

So, you brought blueberries from the forest. The very first thing to do is to remove the rubbish. There are many ways to select litter from berries.

• You can use your hands. Pour some berries on a flat plate and carefully select the leaves and twigs.
• You can roll back. Put a piece of polyethylene on the table, so that it would cover the entire table and hang from one edge by 30-40 centimeters. Roll the edges of the polyethylene on both sides along the table so that you get a wide gutter on one side, and narrow where it hangs. Raise the edge of the table with the wide side of the gutter. Place a basin at the low end of the table so that the rolling berries fall into it. Pour blueberries onto the wide end of the gutter and let them roll into the basin, while removing the leaves and twigs.

These two methods are the most common. They say that you can blow off the litter in the wind or with a vacuum cleaner. But I have never seen how it is done.

Some housewives boil blueberries with leaves, removing only large litter. But if you cook "raw" jam, then the leaves can quickly ferment it.

They took away the berry. Now is the time to cook it. Here, too, the choice is rich.

Blueberries for the winter without cooking

The simplest blueberry recipe will take you no more than 20 minutes. You don't need any special culinary skills either - anyone can handle the cooking.

Ingredients:

• 500 gr. blueberries;
• 1 kg. Sahara.

Preparation:

1. I rinse and dry for years.
2. Place the berries in a container, add sugar.
3. Grind with a blender until smooth.
4. Arrange in jars, cover with lids.
5. Store the blueberry paste in the refrigerator.

The benefits of blueberries

For all its benefits, it is also very tasty. No wonder blueberries are widely used in cooking. Desserts and drinks are made from it. Experienced housewives stock up on blueberries for future use, so that there is always an opportunity to feast on themselves and treat guests.

Usually at home, blueberries are used to prepare jam, jams, sauces, compote and wine, since such preparations will not take much time. But there are even much simpler recipes - twist with sugar or just freeze blueberries. In this article, you will learn the versions of the recipes, how to prepare blueberries for the winter, how to make various types of jam, and what else you can do with blueberries.

Blueberries with sugar for the winter

Jam is also easy to prepare. Add mint to add flavor and flavor.

Ingredients:

• 500 gr. blueberries;
• 1 kg. Sahara;
• 3 sprigs of mint.

Preparation:

1. Rinse the berries, dry.
2. Top them with sugar. Cover with a towel and let sit for 6 hours. During this time, the blueberries are soaked in sugar and juice.
3. Place the berries on the stove. Bring to a boil, add mint.
4. Reduce the power of the stove to medium. Cook for half an hour.
5. Remove the mint and put the jam in the jars. Roll up the covers.

Terms and conditions of storage

It is known that shelf life depends on the preparation method and the conditions in which the product is kept. It is understood that the absence of any heat treatment results in a shorter shelf life. Nevertheless, you can store blueberries in this state for a year, adhering to the rules:

1. In the freezer, you can keep the workpieces up to 3-4 hours, no more. Use stainless steel cookware. For use, additional defrosting is required - either simply put in a warm place, or place under running hot water.
2. Re-freezing is only possible once. Duration - 1 hour. After the first defrosting, transfer the contents to other containers and close tightly.
3. In the refrigerator, you can store in almost any container: plastic containers, jars, plastic bags with clips.
4. In any case, remember that you should not keep blueberries in the light.

Relative humidity should be up to 60-70%.

Do not be afraid of white bloom. But the mold shows that the expiration date has expired.

Blueberries without sugar for the winter

This swampy berry is beneficial for diabetes. If you replace sugar with honey, or even chop blueberries without sweetener, then you can not worry about glucose levels.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg. blueberries;
• 200 gr. honey.

Preparation:

1. Rinse the berries. Dry.
2. Grind in a blender.
3. Heat the honey in a water bath so that it becomes liquid and less stringy.
4. Mix honey and berry puree.
5. Lay out in banks, roll up. Store only in the refrigerator.

How to freeze blueberries in the refrigerator in bags

This is the most rational way to preserve all nutrients. You can cook compote from frozen berries at any time, decorate a cake with them, or simply use it as an addition to ice cream.

Whether or not to wash the berries before sending them to the freezer depends on whether you bought them or collected them yourself in the forest. Purchased must be washed.

An important condition for preserving blueberries in this way is that they need to be dry. Otherwise, in the freezer, it will freeze into one conglomerate.

Cleaned from debris, washed and dried blueberries are put in bags with a lock. If there are none, the berries are placed in a double plastic bag or plastic container. The bags or containers are placed in the freezer by stacking them on top of each other. Store in the freezer until requested.

It is not recommended to re-freeze the thawed berries, so put them in so many bags that you only have enough food for one meal.

Raspberry-blueberry jam

Blueberries can be combined with other berries as well. For example, they create an interesting duet with raspberries, such a sweetness will definitely become one of your favorite blanks. Add some gelatin to thicken the treat.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg. blueberries;
• 200 gr. raspberries;
• 700 gr. Sahara;
• 1 tsp gelatin.

Preparation:

1. Rinse blueberries, dry.
2. Place together with raspberries in one container and cover with sugar on top. Leave it on for 5-6 hours.
3. Place the berry mixture on the stove. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Do not bring to a boil.
4. While the berries are boiling, dissolve the gelatin in 100 ml of warm water. Stir until the granules are completely dissolved.
5. Pour the liquid over the berries and cook everything together for another 10 minutes.
6. Arrange in jars.

Freezing and drying

Freezing and drying are considered to be the healthiest ways to harvest blueberries. With such methods, almost all substances found in berries remain unchanged. For freezing, high-quality berries are selected without various damages. Then proceed as follows:

1. Blueberries are washed and spread on a soft cloth to dry.
2. After the berries are poured into one layer on cardboard or paper and placed in the freezer.
3. After a day, the fruits are removed and scattered in plastic bags for freezing.
4. After squeezing out more air from the bag after filling, it is hermetically sealed and placed in the freezer.
5. Packaged in this way, blueberries can be stored for up to a year without losing their beneficial properties.

There is nothing tricky about drying blueberries.They do this either on the street under a canopy, or in the oven, or in an electric dryer. During the process, the berries give off moisture, which makes them, as seen in the photo, wrinkle and shrink. But despite the loss of appearance, most of all useful components are preserved in dried blueberries.

Blueberries as a blank are a great dessert for the winter. In the cold season, by opening a jar or taking out a handful of berries from the freezer, you can enjoy the wonderful taste of summer and at the same time improve your health.

Blueberries with sugar for the winter

This interesting cooking method allows you to keep all the vitamins in blueberries to the maximum. The fragrant and sweet preparation will save you from colds in winter.

Ingredients:

• 0.5 kg. blueberries;
• 100 g Sahara.

Preparation:

1. Rinse the berries. Dry.
2. Place the blueberries in the jar, filling the container up to the hangers.
3. Sprinkle sugar on top.
4. Pour water into a saucepan. Submerge the jar. The liquid should reach the level where the berries end.
5. Set the hob to medium power. Make sure that the water does not boil.
6. As the berries boil down, add a little fresh blueberries to the jar.
7. As a result, the berries should give juice and soften.
8. Cool the jar, roll it up.

What can be done?

The simplest way to harvest berries is to freeze them. Sprinkle clean, dry blueberries in a thin layer and freeze. Frozen fruits are poured into plastic bags and stored in the freezer.

Feature! The berries will freeze in a solid ice lump with a thick layer of filling.

Grated berry with sugar in a jar

In any recipe, the proportions of the ingredients are respected. This method will require 1.5 kg of sugar per 1 kg of fruit. After washing, the berry must be dried (excess moisture can provoke fermentation).

Recipe:

1. Chop blueberries (with a crush or with a blender).
2. Add sugar and mix thoroughly.
3. Leave for 1 hour.
4. Stir again and leave for another hour.
5. Mix again and transfer to prepared jars, tightly seal with a lid.

Often after adding sugar and stirring everything is left overnight. In the morning they are laid out in the banks. Store in the refrigerator, you can in the freezer. Shelf life is two years.

Interesting! Grinding with a crush is easier with a little sugar. The rest is added to the entire crushed mass.

Mashed in its own juice

This method requires less sugar. In this case, proceed as follows:

1. Three-quarters of the jars are filled with chopped berries.
2. Pour sugar to the top.
3. Leave for 2-4 hours: during this time, juice will be released.
4. Close with a lid (no need to stir additionally).

When stored in the refrigerator, make sure that the fermentation process does not start. Can be stored in the freezer.

Interesting! This method does not require thorough grinding. The fruits can generally be left intact.

How to rub frozen fruits?

So, the pure berries were simply frozen. They lay beautifully for several months, retaining all the taste and other pleasant useful qualities. They can now be thawed and used. For example, grind with sugar. They do it like this:

1. The frozen blueberries are left at room temperature.
2. The moment of "half-defrosting" is monitored. Such a berry will not give too liquid mass.
3. Crushed in any way.
4. Add sweetness to taste.
5. Leave the resulting mass to warm to room temperature.

The berry is ready. You can add honey to it.

How to make Pyatiminutka jam?

The name speaks of the minimum heat treatment time. For 1 kg of blueberries, 800 g of sugar are used. They wash in a colander, leaving them for a while to allow "excess water to drain." Pour out on a towel and let it dry.

Recipe:

1. Pour the berry into a cooking container and put on low heat.
2. A third of the required sugar is added.
3. The moment of its dissolution is monitored (during this time, blueberries will give juice).
4. Pour the rest of the sugar, add fire.
5. Stirring, wait for boiling.
6. Reduce the heat, remove the foam, cook for 5 minutes.

They are quickly poured into glass jars and sealed with lids. Banks are turned over and wrapped (for additional sterilization). After cooling, they are stored.

Feature! No water is involved in the cooking process.

How to prepare with lemon?

If desired, you can add lemon juice to the berries grated with sugar. They just squeeze it out. The taste of the product will change and the vitamin supply will be even richer. For 1 kg of mass, 1 lemon is used. The method is good if the storage method is freezing.

Blueberry jam with lemon is also cooked. Product proportions:

• 1 kg of blueberries;
• 1 lemon;
• 1.5 kg of sugar;
• 300 ml of water.

Cooked berries are additionally blanched: they are sent to boiling water for 5 minutes. For pure lemon, use the zest (the peel is rubbed gently on a grater) and juice.

Step-by-step manufacturing process:

1. Dissolve sugar in 300 ml of blueberry broth (after blanching), bring to a boil.
2. Pour out the fruits, let it boil.
3. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
4. Remove from heat, allow to cool.
5. Add cooked lemon.
6. Put on fire.
7. After boiling, cook for 5-6 minutes.

Ready jam is poured hot into jars. Close with sterilized lids. Turn over, cover with a thick layer of cloth (to cool slowly, about a day). You can store it in a cold place, preferably in the refrigerator.

Useful Tips

Blueberries for jam must be used fresh. If there is even one spoiled fruit, the whole dessert may be spoiled.

If desired, candied fruits, dried fruits, nuts can be added to the delicacy. Very tasty with cedar, walnut, forest.

Be sure to prepare such a dessert for yourself and your loved ones. It is delicious to eat with tea, pancakes, pancakes, ice cream, or used as a filling for pies, pies, cake and other baked goods. In Sweden, this jam is even served with meatballs! This is incredibly useful, do not miss the opportunity to please your family with something delicious.

Cooking wine

Prepare three kilograms of fresh berries. Pass them all through the press. Put all this in a glass dish and add two kilograms of sugar. Top up with three liters of water. Cover the dishes with gauze and leave to ferment for three days. Strain. Wash the dishes and pour the filtered juice into it again. Add a glass of honey and a liter of water. Close tightly with a stopper, venting gases into a bottle of water. Withstand two months in a warm room. After filtering. The jar is washed. The strained liquid is poured back and insisted again, but in a cold place. After two months, filter again. The wine is ready. Pour into jars.

Necessary tools and utensils

How to cook blueberries mashed with sugar? Prepare the equipment and utensils first. Take clean, small jars: half a liter or even less. Jars with special screw-on lids are best. You can also use nylon caps, just do not take those that have already been used.

If you have a lot of berries, then you need a basin, a bucket, a saucepan. For chopping, you can take a meat grinder, blender or wooden mortar. All sterilization equipment will also come in handy.

Grinding methods

The recipe for blueberries mashed with sugar is pretty simple. Our grandmothers and mothers are used to chopping berries with a pestle and mortar. Mixers and blenders came to the aid of modern housewives of the Wi-Fi era. Very often, a conventional meat grinder is used to grind blueberries.

Blueberries are quite dense berries, so it is better to process them with a blender. Half the blueberries and half the sugar are poured into the bowl, so the berry perfectly lets the juice and is crushed. The processed berries are poured into jars and covered with sterile lids.

There is also a recipe for blueberries mashed with sugar, just in layers. In this case, the berries remain intact. To begin with, wash and dry the blueberries. Then, 2 cm of granulated sugar is poured onto the bottom of a sterile jar, and the same layer of berries is placed on top. In this way, the layers are alternated until the jar is full. The workpieces are left to settle for half an hour. When the berry lets out the juice a little and settles, it is still covered with a layer of sugar on top. This jam is perfect for winter tea drinking with a bite!

And here is the recipe for jelly from mashed blueberries with sugar without cooking:

1. Put 1 kg of washed and dried blueberries in a bowl and grind with a blender.
2. Pour 500 g of sugar, mix with the berry and leave for 15 minutes.
3. 3 tablespoons of gelatin are poured with warm boiled water for swelling.
4. Pour 4 tablespoons of gin or strong vermouth into the gelatinous mass, mix thoroughly.
5. The mashed berries are mixed with swollen gelatin, put in sterilized jars and sent to the refrigerator for storage.
6. Mashed blueberries can be alternated with layers with whole berries, you get an original jelly.

Blueberry blanks - general cooking principles

Blueberries ripen by the middle of summer, they are harvested until August. For winter harvesting, a fully ripe berry is used. It needs to be sorted out, freed from debris, washed with cold water. After a simple preparation, you can start processing blueberries according to recipes for blanks.

Glass jars in which the prepared product will be stored must be sterilized over steam for 15-20 minutes (depending on the volume of the container). Metal lids need to be boiled. The sealed jars are cooled in the same way as other blanks: upside down under a warm old blanket or blanket.