Summertime is a wonderful time: there is a huge selection of fruits and berries in the garden and on the shelves in the shops. For many people, June is their favorite month, and this is because during this period the harvest of cherries is ripening on the trees. And it seems that you have enough time to eat to hell, but all the same, with the onset of cold weather, you remember this juicy berry with anguish. In this article, we will tell you what can be made from cherries for the winter, recipes for homemade preparations will be simple and even a beginner can handle them.
Frost
Having correctly frozen the sweet cherry, you will be able to preserve for a long time all the vitamins and trace elements that are contained in this delicious berry. First you need to decide in what form you will eat sweet cherries in the winter - with bones or without. With stones it is perfect for compotes and other drinks, and without - for filling in pies or dumplings.
If you decide to freeze in its pure form, the first thing you need to select high-quality fruit - damaged or overripe for storage in the freezer will not work. Selected cherries are well washed, all the stalks and leaves are removed. Before being sent to the freezer, it should dry well. Washed, dried berries placed on a wide dish, it is desirable that the berries do not come into contact with each other. To freeze enough 3-4 hours in the freezer. After the berries are completely frozen, they can be packaged in a convenient container and sent to the freezer before the onset of cold weather.
Important! In order for frozen berries to preserve their aroma and taste for a long time, follow the rules for storing them in freezers: keep them sealed, keep meat and fish products away from the berries, try not to re-freeze thawed foods.Another option for preparing cherries for the winter includes recipes for freezing berries in their own syrup. The technology of cooking is somewhat more complicated than the previous recipe, but in this form you will be able to pamper your household with delicious cherries all winter. From selected and washed berries need to prepare a syrup. For 1 kg of berries, 4 glasses of water and half a cup of sugar are taken. The container with the ingredients is put on the fire and allowed to blanch the sweet cherry for 5-7 minutes.
Blanching allows you to save nutrients in the berries, in addition to the bright color of products. The resulting syrup with berries poured into a convenient container and placed in the freezer.
Learn also how to prepare for the winter: strawberries, cherries, cranberries, raspberries, plums, red and black currants, apples, watermelons, lingonberries, mountain ash, sunberry, hawthorn, blueberries, yoshta berries.
Drying
Dried sweet cherry is not such a frequent guest on the table in the winter, however, even in the form of dried fruits, it has a pleasant taste and contains a large amount of vitamins and trace elements. The easiest way to use an electric dryer. However, if you do not have it, do not despair. With the help of the oven, you can prepare cherry drying for the winter.
First of all, berries need preliminary preparation - to speed up the drying process, they are doused with boiling water and slightly cut the skin in several places. Next, they are placed in an electric dryer or oven. The temperature at which the process will proceed should not exceed 70-75 ° C. If you dry in the oven, then the door should be open. The drying time is 16-18 hours. It is very easy to check the readiness of the fruit - the finished drying has a burgundy, almost black color, does not emit juice when pressed, and it does not stick to hands at all.
Did you know? The most ancient canned product was found by archaeologists in the Egyptian pyramids. It was a vessel of clay, the lid of which was sealed with resin. Inside was canned duck meat in olive oil. The age of the found canned food is over 3 thousand years.It is very important to properly store the sweet cherry in the form of dried fruits - it is best to use glass jars, which are neatly packed in a tight row with fruits. Top need to close the lid with holes. Store jars of dried fruit in a cool and well ventilated area. Periodically should inspect the workpiece for bugs and worms. Finding such lovers cherries - do not rush to throw it. Enough reheat in the oven and microwave.
Preservation
Preserving sweet cherries for the winter is a great way to keep a bit of summer on a cold winter day. There are many recipes for cooking canned sweet cherries, let's explore the best of them with you.
Jam
Cherry jam is one of the most popular winter sweets. There are a huge number of ways to prepare it: with or without stones. We will tell you an easy recipe for making delicious cherry jam with pits. From the ingredients you will need:
- berries - 1 kg;
- sugar - 1-1.2 kg;
- vanilla - a pinch.
Compote
Lovers of delicious drinks will like our sweet cherry compote recipe for the winter. To make the compote enough for everyone, the proportions are calculated on three-liter jars:
- sweet cherry - 5 glasses;
- sugar - 1.5-2 cups;
- water - 3 liters.
Important! If the technology of preparing your blanks involves sterilizing the cans in a large pan, then in order that they do not crack during the cooking process - cover the bottom of the pan with a thick towel.
In own juice
There are two options for recipes for canning sweet cherries in their own juice - with and without pre-sterilization. We will tell you about both. Recipe in its own juice with pre-sterilization (per 1 liter jar):
- sweet cherry - 700-800 g;
- sugar - 100-150 g;
- water - 500 ml.
- sweet cherry - 2 glasses;
- sugar - 1 cup;
- citric acid - 1 tsp.
Jam
Jam is perfect for filling pies and buns. We suggest you cook the jam according to the following recipe:
- berries - 2 kg;
- sugar - 1 kg.
Jam
If in your garden this summer freaked out a big crop of sweet cherries, then we suggest you prepare fruits for the winter in the form of jam. To make it you will need:
- sweet cherry - 1 kg;
- sugar - 500 g;
- zest of half a lemon.
Mashed with sugar
This is the easiest form of winter harvesting - in our recipe from the ingredients only berries and sugar. Fruits are washed, the bones and stalks are removed. The proportions of 500 ml of such "cold" jam are 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of sweet cherry. The technology of preparation is very simple - the berries and sugar are ground by a blender into a homogeneous mass. The finished product is poured into a convenient container and leave to be stored in the refrigerator until winter.
Did you know? Wild cherry is used for the production of natural dyes. Only the color it gives is not red, as one would expect, but green.
Dried
The technology of cooking dried cherries is in many ways similar to the preparation of dried. But in this recipe, the berries will be dried in the open air, without using an electric dryer or oven. First of all, the cherry must be prepared - thoroughly wash the selected berries. It is best to use running water. Peel off leaves and peduncles and remove bones. Prepared berries are covered with sugar, approximate proportions - 1 kg of sugar per 2 kg of cherries. Sweet cherries with sugar should stand for a day in a cool place - this is done so that extra juice comes out and the berry itself is filled with sweetness.
The next step will be the preparation of sugar syrup. Mix sugar in water (for 2 kg of cherries an approximate amount of ingredients is 600 g of sugar and 600 ml of water) and set on fire. Our berries should boil in boiling syrup for 6-8 minutes. Be sure to let the fruits drain excess juice - this will significantly speed up the drying process, and then lay them on a baking sheet or tray in a single layer. As such, it will be necessary to leave the berries for several days, after 3-4 days, gently turn each berry on the other side and let them dry for 7-10 days. Berries should be dried in a dry and well ventilated place. Such a delicacy is stored in exactly the same way as dried sweet cherry - in glass jars and in a cool place.
Marinated
Cherry, closed for the winter in pickled form, will definitely surprise your household with original spicy taste. In this form, it perfectly emphasizes the taste of meat dishes, as well as an unusual snack for a festive table. Preparing pickled sweet cherry is very simple, now you are convinced of it yourself. For convenience, the calculation of spices and marinade for preparation is designed for a jar with a volume of 500 to 700 ml, choose for yourself which one is convenient for you:
- For the preparation of a mixture of spices: cloves, white pepper and allspice - 3 pieces each, bay leaves - 1 piece, currant leaves or cherry leaves - 1 piece each, mustard white grain - 0.5 teaspoon;
- For the preparation of marinade: boiled water - 1 l, table vinegar - 250 ml, sugar - 100 g
Let's start with the preparation of marinade for blanks. Water, vinegar and sugar are mixed in a saucepan, which is put on the stove. While the marinade does not boil - periodically stir it. Cherry is placed in a jar and filled with a mixture of spices. Try to fill the jar tightly with berries, but make sure that they do not start to gag or burst. Banks with berries, pour boiling marinade to the top, as long as each berry is immersed in spicy water.
Many housewives advise to pasteurize blanks after closing. This process is recommended for berries and fruits, which are characterized by increased acidity. Pasteurization will take 15-20 extra minutes, but you will be calm that your preservation will last until the end of winter or even longer. Take a large saucepan and put the jars of pickled cherries on the bottom. Fill with water almost to cover and put on fire. After the water boils in the pot, let the banks “boil” for 15-20 minutes. After carefully remove the workpiece and place the covers down.
Preserving summer fruits and berries will help keep a bit of summer in each can. Try to prepare blanks according to our recipes and you will see that autumn and winter evenings can go much faster and tastier.