Blackberries have long ceased to be called wild berries. Her domesticated varieties can be found on almost every estate site. The berry has a denser texture than raspberries, and has a sweetish-mild flavor that balances a fine sourness.
Harvesting begins at the end of July and lasts until the end of September, and the question naturally arises as to how to store the blackberry in the future. Rich in vitamins and minerals useful to the human body, it will be indispensable in the period of acute vitamin deficiency. Prepare a blackberry for the winter can be in many ways, and each of them will be in its own way useful and tasty.
Contents:
- Berry preparation
- Blackberry frost for the winter
- Drying
- Preserving
- Delicious recipes
Preparing berries
Regardless of the way of harvesting and preparing blackberries for the winter, the berries need careful preparation. Usually housewives work according to the following scheme:
- To begin with, they are sorted out from excess garbage and leaves. The dish should only get ripe fruit. In contrast to the same gooseberries, which can be dosed at room temperature, the blackberry will remain green.
- The washing process follows. Here the main thing is to be careful and not to damage the integrity of the berry. Therefore, it will be appropriate to use a wide sieve, and instead of a tap to use a shower with a weak pressure.
- You need to remove the washed berries from the tails. This is done quite simply. First, it is scrolled along its axis, then it is ripped out with a neat movement.
Before drying, the blackberries are carefully cleaned again. Depending on the workpiece, it is used as a whole and elastic, so flabby and soft berry.
Freezing blackberry for the winter
Freezing is a great way to keep all the vitamins inherent in it. There are different frosting recipes and each needs its own approach
Frozen whole berries
This method is useful for those who need a blackberry in the future to decorate desserts or just to keep it beautiful. Frozen berries thus take a lot of time, but the result will certainly be pleased.
It is necessary to adhere to such a plan:
- elastic and whole washed berries are laid out on cardboard or on a large cutting board lined with food film. Do this so that the berries do not touch each other;
- further board or cardboard is sent to the freezer until it is completely frozen;
- frozen berries are transferred to a special plastic container or packed in small packages for freezing.
If this method of freezing seems too laborious, it can be simplified. Fold the blackberries on a flat surface with layers, forming a small slide of 3-5 layers. Each ball is covered with food film. True, the integrity of the berries, most likely, will leave much to be desired, but for compotes, fruit drinks and kissels, it is quite suitable.
Blackberries with sugar
This method of freezing requires a plastic container. The blackberries are laid in layers, which are sprinkled with a small amount of sugar. Usually a kilogram of blackberries is a glass of sugar.
The container is closed, gently shaken and sent to the freezer. Frozen berries in this way will serve as an excellent filling for dumplings or pies.
Blackberry shredded
The washed and dried berries are ground with a blender or meat grinder and laid out in small plastic cups. Each glass is wrapped in a food film and placed in the freezer.
In blackberries, you can add fried raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries. Adding a spoonful of honey to each container, you can enjoy a tasty and useful dessert in winter.
Drying the blackberry for the winter
Another way to keep berries for the winter is to dry them. This can be done in several ways: outdoors, at room temperature and in special drying equipment.
The blackberry itself is dried for about 3-5 days. The berries are laid out on special mesh trays and covered with a thin layer of gauze, and the process is turned over. This is done to evenly dry.
If the process needs to be accelerated, the blackberry can be dried in an oven or in an electric dryer. Initially, the drying temperature should be about 70 degrees, and after a few hours it is reduced to 40. At this temperature, the blackberry is brought to complete drying.
Dried berries should be dense, but dry, if they continue to clump and stick to your hands, then the process is not yet complete.
It is better to store ready berries in a hermetically ukuporennoy glass container no longer than 1 year.
Dried blackberries are used in baking, for making drinks, and crushed into powder - as a natural dye for cream.
In addition to berries, the leaves and roots of the plant are also dried. They are widely used in folk medicine and are an excellent restorative and tonic.
Blackberry conservation for the winter
The most delicious and convenient way of harvesting blackberries for the winter. What could be better than a hot cup of tea on a winter evening in a snack with a fragrant sweet jam? Probably only a glass of refreshing compote to the table!
Canned blackberries are stored for 1 to 3 years. And for the preparation to be as tasty and useful as possible, we must remember some tricks:
- To make the jam of excellent quality, it is advised to bring it to a boil several times and cool it.
- When cooking jam, always remove the formed foam and reduce the fire to a minimum. Otherwise, the syrup will change color, and the jam will be brown or brown.
- For small sweet tooth, it is best to cook jam, grinding berries through a sieve. Since they are unlikely to appreciate the presence of small grains.
- When brewing compote berries are blanched, and then separately poured with boiling syrup. You can also cook compote separately and roll it boiling in a sterilized jar.
- To ensure that the lids do not swell on the jars, carefully sterilize the dishes and lids, and pour the jam or compote top to the top so that there is no excess air left in the jar.
- The corked blackberry is turned upside down and covered with a blanket until it cools down completely.
- The desired temperature for storing canned food is 10-15 degrees. Periodically, you need to check the cans for discoloration or bloating.
Delicious recipes
Compote Assorted
- Blackberries - 4 st
- Strawberries - 2 st
- Currants - 1 st
- Sugar - 4 st
- Water - 2 l
The berries are washed and sprinkled with boiling water. Fold in sterilized jars. From sugar and water, boil the syrup. Pour the boiling syrup into the jars and cover with a lid. Tightly roll up.
Blackberry jam
- Blackberry berries - 2 kg
- White sugar - 2 kg
- Water - 1L
Boil water and throw in it a pre-cleaned and washed blackberry. Bring to a boil and discard in a colander. Hot berries to grind through a metal sieve. The resulting mashed potatoes are covered with sugar and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thick. Hot jam pour into sterilized jars and roll.
Blackberry jam with a twist
- Blackberry - 1 kg
- Sugar - 900 g
- Cardamom - 6 pcs
- Carnation - 3 pcs
Broken and washed berries are covered with sugar. Wait until the berries are allowed to juice, and put on a slow fire. Add cloves and cardamom. Stirring, remove the foam and bring to a boil. Cool it down. Repeat the procedure 2 more times. Hot jam pour into cans and roll.
In addition, the blackberry is perfectly combined with any fruit and berries, while cooking jam you can experiment and create your own unique recipe.
Blackberry harvesting for the winter and its regular use will help in the fight against colds, increase immunity and strengthen the walls of blood vessels.