10 easy step-by-step recipes for red currant jelly for the winter
Delicious berry delicacy will appeal not only to children, but also to adults. It will not leave indifferent even an exquisite gourmet. Currants contain a large amount of valuable elements and vitamins, many of them, even after heat treatment, remain in the finished dish. If the jelly is prepared in a cold way, it will retain the maximum of useful substances. Making red currant jelly isn't difficult if you follow the recipe's recommendations.
Secrets of making red currant jelly for the winter
In order for the berry preparation to work out, and the consistency is the right one, it is important to take into account a number of factors: the correct choice of berries and the amount of sugar used. At the same time, the issue of preparing containers and lids for storage remains important..
Berry selection rules
The berries must be picked or bought when ripe, dense. Lethargy and flabbiness speaks of staleness of the product, there will be less juice in them. There should be no damage, signs of decay or decay on the fruits.
It is important to buy or collect with twigs. The berries must first be washed, dried with twigs, otherwise some of the juice will be lost. It is better to remove the stalks, they give some bitterness, but when there is no time, many housewives leave the twigs. Jelly has a slightly tart taste.
How to prepare containers correctly?
It is recommended to use enameled dishes or stainless steel containers during cooking.
The container in which the jelly will be stored and the lids must be clean, sterilized and dry.
Why is currant jelly not gelled?
The jelly is placed in jars until it thickens. A workpiece prepared without boiling should not be immediately put into the cold. It is necessary to wait until the sugar is completely dissolved. If the jelly does not freeze, it is recommended to add sugar and let stand.
One of the reasons why jelly does not thicken is the correct heat treatment. If it is boiled over high heat and boiled over, the amount of pectin decreases. It is necessary to cook over moderate heat. If it didn't work out, add more sugar, quietly boil it 1.5-2 times.
While the thickening process is in progress, do not move the containers, do not rearrange. Let the natural process complete its work.
How much sugar do you need
The proportions of the ingredients in the cooking process are very important. Although currants contain pectin, a substance that promotes the gelling process, if you put less sugar, the jelly may not work. Therefore, the sweet component must be used by volume as much as currant juice has turned out.
How to make red currant jelly at home?
The whole variety of red currant blanks with various ingredients is based on the classic recipe. And then you can be creative by adding new ingredients, because this is how culinary masterpieces are born.
Classic recipe
Step-by-step instructions will help even the most inexperienced housewife make such a delicious, beautiful dessert.
It is necessary:
- currants - 1 kilogram;
- granulated sugar - 1 kilogram;
- water - 150 milliliters.
Sequencing:
- Put the prepared berries in a saucepan, pour in water and heat until the juice separates.
- Put the berries in a colander, rub. The leftovers can be used to make compote.
- Pour in the specified amount of granulated sugar.
- Cook only over low heat for a quarter of an hour. The mass will decrease by 1.5-2 times.
- Arrange in prepared containers.
If desired, whole berries can be added 5 minutes before the end of boiling. They will look beautiful in the finished dish.
No gelatin
You can make a berry dessert without gelatin, following the classic recipe indicated above. But if the hostess doubts the successful outcome of the case, you can play it safe with the help of a gelling component. The specified set of products requires 15 grams. It must be soaked in 30-40 milliliters of water, heated after swelling and added to the jelly at the end of cooking.
Without cooking
You can cook berry dessert without heat treatment. This way the maximum of nutrients is preserved.
It is necessary:
- currants - 2 kilograms;
- sugar - 1 kilogram.
Sequencing:
- Pass the berry through a juicer. You get about a liter of juice.
- Mix the resulting mass with sugar. Wait until the sweet component is completely dissolved.
- Place in a sterilized, dry container. It is recommended to make a sugar crust on top: pour sugar about 1 centimeter thick.
- After 5-7 hours, put in the cold.
A simple recipe without sterilization
A classic set of components is used for cooking.
Cooking features:
- Heat the washed berries with a crush, add water, stir.
- Put in a colander and wipe.
- Add sugar and cook until the mass decreases by 1.5-2 times.
- Put in sterilized jars.
With raspberries
You can also cook currant jam with other berries. Raspberry goes well with red currant. The required number of components:
- raspberries - 300 grams;
- currants - 700 grams;
- sugar - 1 kilogram.
Cooking is carried out according to the classic recipe.
Through a juicer
It is convenient to make such blanks using a juicer. The cooking process is simplified. There is no need to boil the berries and wipe them through a colander or sieve. Pour sugar into the resulting juice and boil, according to the classic recipe.
Frozen currant with gelatin
Delicious jelly will turn out if you make it from frozen berries in winter.
It is necessary:
- currants - 500-600 grams;
- sugar - 240 grams;
- gelatin - 8-10 grams.
Sequencing:
- Pour 60-70 milliliters of water into the berries, boil for 5 minutes. Rub through a colander.
- Soak gelatin in 55-60 milliliters of water.
- Add sugar, boil for 5 minutes.
- Heat gelatin, pour into jelly. Pour into molds.
Assorted red and black currant jelly
The cooking method does not differ from the classic recipe.
It is necessary:
- currants - 700 grams of each type;
- water - 90-100 milliliters;
- sugar - 1 kilogram.
Cook according to a classic recipe.
Thick jelly
To make the jelly very thick, one condition must be met. Boil it 2-2.5 times. As a rule, the cooking time is 30-40 minutes. In this case, the berry mass must be stirred periodically so that it does not burn, otherwise the finished dish will have a specific smell.
In a pressure cooker
This assistant is firmly entrenched in the kitchen. It allows the hostess to save time, effort and more time to devote to the family.
It is necessary:
- currants - 2 kilograms;
- sugar - 1 kilogram;
- water - 90 milliliters.
Sequencing:
- Put the prepared berries in a bowl, pour in water, set the "stewing" mode for 10 minutes.
- Put the berries in a colander, rub. Pour the resulting berry mass into a bowl. Add sugar, stir until completely dissolved.
- Set the "extinguishing" mode for half an hour.
- Pour the hot berry mass into the prepared container, close.
How and how much can you store?
The workpiece that has undergone heat treatment and decomposed in a sterilized container is stored in a room for up to 1 year, in the cold - up to 2 years.
If the jelly is made by cold cooking, that is, it has not been subjected to heat treatment, it must be stored in the refrigerator for up to six months.
A good option would be to freeze the berries, and in the winter, prepare a fresh, tasty jelly.
