3 recipes for pitted red currant jelly for the winter
This is a truly versatile dish - red currant jelly jam. Having made such a miracle, the hostess will be provided not only with delicious jam, but also with a preparation for a layer of cake, the basis for an unusual sauce for meat. And it is a pleasure to just enjoy refreshing, fragrant, moderately sour jelly in winter! We offer recipes for the preparation of classic transparent jelly and jam, cooked in the microwave.
Features of making red currant jelly jam for the winter
Most housewives, when asked what they cook from red currants, will probably say that they make jam or compote. Not everyone dares to cook delicious jelly, because, firstly, it should be pitted, and not everyone wants to mess around with rubbing. Secondly, there is an opinion that it does not freeze in everyone and not always.
This is actually the case. There are some subtleties of making this royal dessert. Let's name the main one:
- you need to cook jelly quickly - the more you cook the mass, the worse it jellies, valuable pectin is destroyed in it. The ascorbic acid we need, that is, vitamin C, is also lost;
- metal oxidizes the product, therefore instead of a metal we take a hair sieve, wooden pushers and shovels;
- tastier and healthier than live jelly, that is, from raw berries, not subjected to heat treatment. But it can only be stored in the refrigerator and for a short time (maximum six months);
- sugar - what gives sweetness and thickness to the product, enters into interaction with pectin and acids and forms a gel-like substance. The classic recipe assumes the proportion of two parts sugar to one peeled berries. You can make one to one, but not less, since the product can sour;
- the density and density of the jelly appear after two to three days, sometimes more. Therefore, after cooking, the jars should be left alone and do not mix the contents - at this time, pectin bonds are formed;
- no one is safe from failure - even an experienced hostess may not be able to make jelly. The amount of pectin in berries is influenced by the variety of currants. And if suddenly the workpiece does not gel, you can always put pectin powder or agar-agar.
How to choose and prepare berries?
Everything is simple here: the redder and larger the berries, the more sugars and taste they contain. It is easier to work with such currants - it is easier to squeeze out the juice. So, if you plan to breed currants in the country, purchase large-fruited varieties.
The berries are removed from the bush on brushes, sorted, washed, dried slightly and removed from the brush. The berries are ready to be processed.
Container preparation
Jars and lids must be sterilized and dried. The containers and tools in which the product will be prepared (especially if you make jelly without boiling) must be clean and dry, preferably not made of metal.
How to make jelly red currant jam?
Jelly can be made hot or cold.
Simple recipe
Boiled jelly takes a little longer to cook. Proportions:
- 1 kg of berries;
- 1 kg of sugar;
- 50 g of water.
You can do without water at all. In this case, you first need to knead the berries, wait for the juice, and only then put on the fire to warm up.
Cooking like this:
- Prepare berries and put in a basin, add water.
- Warm up over medium heat, stirring until boiling, boil for about five minutes so that the berries begin to burst. This is called steaming, you can speed things up with a crush - the currants will sooner release their juice when crushed.
- Turn off the heat and rub the gruel through a sieve or strain through cheesecloth. Some of them run through a juicer, which is acceptable, but this is not quite the classic way of processing.
- The pulp can be used in compote, and the juice can be poured into a container, add sugar, mix and boil over low heat. Readiness can be determined by the characteristic type of jam, which will begin to leave a path from the spatula and stick to the walls of the container.
- Pour hot jelly into jars and close. It is stored in a cool place.
Jelly raw
Very tasty, vitamin, completely summer jelly, which everyone, without exception, will like. We take:
- 1 kg of picked berries;
- 1.1 kg of sugar.
The most difficult thing here is to rub the berries. It is important to do this carefully, because the gelling substances are located just in the skin of the berries. Rub as hard as possible, squeezing all the juices from the currants literally.
1 liter of pure juice should come out. Gradually pour sugar into it and stir constantly. It is best to do this in a plastic container or enamel pot. Leave the mass overnight so that the sugar is completely dispersed. In the morning, pour the jelly into jars and seal. Store in a refrigerator or cellar.
In a multicooker
Prepare juice and sugar. The volume can be any, the proportions of juice and sugar are important.
Put the berries in a slow cooker, crush with a crush until juice appears. Set the stewing program and wait for it to boil. The berries burst in about a quarter of an hour - you can pour the mass out of the bowl and start crushing, then filter through cheesecloth.
Mix the resulting juice with sugar, pour into a slow cooker and put again on stewing. As it boils, remove the foam and immediately pour into jars. You don't need to boil a lot!
Store like regular boiled jelly.
How and how long can the workpieces be stored?
Ideally, jelly storage should be in the refrigerator, cellar, or in a cold basement. However, in the conditions of urban life, we usually store summer cottages in an apartment. This is acceptable for a product with heat treatment and if it is not hot in the apartment. At very high temperatures, the mass can become thinner.
Raw jelly is stored only in the cold and no more than 6 months. However, it does not last that long - it is usually eaten first.
