How best to keep gooseberries fresh for the winter
Summer abounds in fresh fruits and berries. And I want to somehow save such gifts of nature for the winter, so that in cold weather they can also be enjoyed. Many summer residents are wondering how to keep healthy gooseberries fresh for the winter so that they do not lose all their valuable properties. In this case, some tricks and knowledge will help.
What berries should be harvested for the winter?
Not every berry is suitable for harvesting. You need to know exactly how to store fresh gooseberries. Ripe berries can be green or red. Their full maturity is determined by the spots that appear. The most useful are light and green varieties.
You should choose ripe, but firm, firm berries. In no case should they be unripe or, on the contrary, already spoiled and cracked. You can determine the ripeness and suitability of a gooseberry by touch. If the berry is too hard, then it is not yet fully ripe. But a very soft berry indicates overripe. And it may already seem stale and even rotten. Storing gooseberries in this case will be useless.
You need to select that gooseberry, which, when pressed, remains elastic, but at the same time has spots on the surface, indicating its ripeness. When the task is to store this berry for a long time, then it is better to take the gooseberry immediately with the stalks.
We prepare gooseberry fruits for long-term storage
After collecting the gooseberries, dry them thoroughly. It is impossible that even particles of moisture remain on the surface of the berries. Dry gooseberries will help avoid the process of suppuration, as well as damage to the fruit itself. To dry the berries, they should be left for a while in a cool place, but which is well ventilated. The storage period should not exceed two days.
The process of preparing berries is as follows:
- First, suitable fruits with an elastic body and a peduncle are selected.
- It is recommended to pick gooseberries in the morning, but when the dew has already evaporated.
- For dry frosts, it is better to take gooseberries with a dense peel, but with a thin one, they are suitable for making mashed potatoes, which is also frozen.
- All debris must be removed from the berries before storage. Then they are washed and dried on a cotton towel.
What containers are best stored in fruits
Choosing a container for storing gooseberries should be based on the form in which the berry will be stored. The container must be portioned. Small bags or plastic containers are best.
In order to carefully distribute the berries into packages, you first need to place them on a tray for several hours and put it in the freezer. And then place the frozen fruits in packages.
If the fruits are frozen in containers, then the container is not closed with lids for the first two days, and the berries are shaken regularly. On the third day, the containers can be closed.
Rules and terms of storage of fresh crops
Fresh crops can be frozen, dried, or tried to store in their original form in a cool room. If the berries are in the freezer at 90% humidity, with a temperature of about zero, then their freshness will be preserved for two months. At temperatures below 3-6 degrees, gooseberries can survive for 6 months.
Indoor conditions
You can try to do without freezing and drying, leaving the fruits in a cool place. But in this state, they will not lie for very long. If the gooseberry is intact, then it can lie indoors for up to five days.
Unripe berries will last longer. They can stay indoors for up to ten days. It is important to place them in a container that holds up to five liters.
In a refrigerator
Asking how long gooseberries are stored in the refrigerator, they in their original form can lie for about two weeks. Better in a paper bag or in a container covered with paper on top. The optimum temperature for the refrigerator compartment should be 5 degrees. You do not need to wash it beforehand. In its original form, it will lie about two weeks.
Freeze in the freezer
Freezing the fruit is the easiest way to preserve the berries for the winter. In this form, they will be able to preserve the maximum amount of useful minerals and vitamins. Moreover, the thawed fruit can be used in various variations.
Before the freezing process, the berries should be sorted out. It is imperative to remove rotten and spoiled fruits.
Gooseberry puree
It is convenient to freeze berries in the form of puree. You need to take overripe fruits, which have a thin skin. The berries (one kilogram) are washed, the stalks are removed, and then they are beaten with a blender.
350 grams of sugar is added to the resulting mass, everything is mixed and after an hour the puree is laid out in glass containers. It is well stored in the freezer.
In sugar
The fruits need to be sorted out, rinsed, dried on a towel. Then put the berries in a saucepan, cover them with sugar (for one kilogram of gooseberries, 400 grams of sand). The components are mixed, the composition is laid out in plastic containers. They are closed with a tight lid and sent to the freezer.
In syrup
If the crop consists of overripe fruits, then it is better to freeze it as a syrup. For this, the berries are washed and dried. Then they are placed in a container. Syrup is prepared from water and sugar.
Gooseberries are laid out in containers, which are poured with chilled syrup. This should leave some free space to the edge of the container. The containers are closed with a lid and sent to the freezer.
Whole berries without sugar
The berries should be washed and allowed to dry. Then lay them out on a tray, which is previously covered with food paper. The tray is put into the freezer for several hours. When the gooseberries are frozen, they must be placed in bags in portions.
How to dry and preserve dried berries
Only ripe and whole fruits are suitable for the drying process. They need to be rinsed with water and peeled from the stalks. Then they should be held over a steam bath, then laid out on a baking sheet and placed in the oven.The temperature in the oven should initially be 30 degrees, and after 10 minutes it can be increased to 70 degrees.
During the drying process, the oven should be opened regularly and the composition should be stirred. The gooseberries will dry for about seven hours. Then the fruits are poured into cloth or paper bags. You can eat them for two years.
Gooseberry winter preparations
A berry like gooseberry is ideal for winter harvesting. It can be used to make various additives, mousses and sauces, jams and preserves.
Gooseberry adjika
Gooseberry adjika is quick and easy to prepare. For this you will need:
- 1 kilogram of green berries;
- a spoonful of salt;
- 300 grams of garlic;
- a spoonful of coriander seeds;
- 10 pieces of hot pepper.
The ingredients are washed, passed through a meat grinder, mixed and put into small jars.
Gooseberry mousse with oranges
To prepare gooseberry mousse with citrus fruits, you must take:
- two small oranges;
- 1.5 kilograms of granulated sugar;
- 1 kilogram of fruit.
The berries are washed, the tails are removed, the spoiled fruits are thrown away. Oranges at this time are also washed, doused with boiling water and cut into several parts.
Then all the ingredients are passed through a meat grinder, sugar is added to them, the whole mass is whipped again with a blender. The finished mousse is laid out in sterile jars, closed with a lid. This product is stored in the refrigerator.
Jam from berries
Gooseberry jam is very tasty. To prepare it you will need:
- sugar;
- water;
- berries.
All components are taken in one kilogram and one liter. The fruits are first peeled from the tails and washed. Then they are covered with sugar and filled with water. The container is put on fire, the liquid is brought to a boil. Jam in a container is placed in the refrigerator for one day.
After a day, it is already brought to a boil and put back into the refrigerator. The manipulations are repeated for seven days. When pectin starts to be released, the syrup converts to jelly, and the fruits retain their integrity.
Gooseberry sauces
Gooseberry can be used to make interesting and aromatic sauces for meat, fish and other dishes. You can make garlic sauce. For this you need to take:
- 1 kilogram of berries;
- a bunch of dill greens;
- 300 grams of garlic.
All ingredients must be scrolled through a meat grinder, salt. The prepared sauce can be kept in the refrigerator in small jars. Gooseberry-based tkemali sauce will also be delicious. For its preparation, it is better to take sour gooseberries. Fruits (1 kilogram) are pre-washed, filled with water and boiled until they are completely softened. Then to the mass in a crushed form is added:
- a bunch of parsley, dill, basil, cilantro;
- head of garlic;
- two pieces of red pepper.
The resulting composition is kept on fire for 15 minutes, after which it is poured into jars.
Jelly jam
To make jelly jam, you will need the following components:
- 1 kilogram of elastic fruits;
- 170 grams of sugar;
- 1 glass of water;
- vanilla stick;
- 100 grams of gelatin.
The berries are cleaned of tails and stalks, washed. At this time, sugar is poured with water and put on fire. When it is completely dissolved, gooseberry is added there. The mass is cooked for about 15 minutes.
When the composition cools down, gelatin and vanilla are added to it. The mass is again put on fire. Hot jam is poured into jars.
