TOP 3 recipes for frozen lingonberries for the winter at home

Lingonberry is a useful, albeit bitter, berry, which is often used in medicine, cooking, and cosmetology. To preserve all vitamins and trace elements, the fruit is frozen for the winter. Frozen lingonberries are used until the new harvest to make sauces, compotes and other dishes. Let's talk about the rules for freezing and storing this wonderful berry.

Can lingonberries be frozen for the winter?

Freezing in the freezer section of the refrigerator is a more gentle method of processing products, which allows them to preserve their freshness and usefulness.

Freezing is best done in portions, this method is practical and convenient. If necessary, you can remove the bag from the freezer and prepare the desired dish with the inclusion of lingonberries.

It happens that it does not come out to freeze correctly. This leads to the loss of:

• vitamins;
• primary view;
• smell.

It is worth considering methods for correctly freezing a product at home.

How to wash berries before freezing?

When lingonberries are harvested, attention should be paid to the presence of debris, immature rotten fruits, leaves, insects in it.

For freezing, the berry is gently moved, washed under running water.

The next stage is the drying process. The fruit is laid out on a surface that absorbs moisture well, removes excess liquid.

Lingonberries must be washed before freezing..

How to properly freeze lingonberries at home?

The fruit is quite bitter, so the berry is frozen using granulated sugar to improve the taste.

In portioned bags in the freezer

For this type of freezing, you will need to take:

• lingonberry;
• colander;
• towels;
• freezer bags.

How to freeze a berry:

1. The fruits are sorted out, the stalks, leaves, spoiled berries are removed.
2. The product is thoroughly washed under running water and shaken.
3. Next, you need to dry it on a towel.
4. The fruits are laid out in one layer in packages. Close them so as to eliminate all the air to the maximum.
5. Place the bags in the freezer compartment.

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The advantage of this method is space saving - you can put packages of berries on top of each other.

Sugar free in bulk

This option is also not difficult, but it will take more time for it. This method provides for the initial freezing of berries in bulk on any surface in one layer, and then they are laid out in bags, containers, which is convenient.

To freeze lingonberries, take:

• product;
• colander;
• paper towels;
• surface to freeze berries (tray, board);
• bags, plastic containers.

Preparatory process before freezing:

1. The fruits are moved and washed.
2. Towels are laid out on the table, lingonberries are placed on them in an even layer, which is prepared for freezing.
3. When it is dry, it is transferred to a tray and sent to the freezer.
4. After the frozen fruit, you need to distribute it into bags, releasing air, containers.

During the freezing process, do not stack trays with food on top of each other.

With sugar

Freezing the fruit in bulk is also possible with the use of sugar. The product is frozen in large plastic containers. The process is not very long. The main disadvantage is sugar costs.

To freeze a treat with sugar for the winter, you need to take:

• 1 kg of lingonberries;
• 500 mg granulated sugar;
• towels;
• colander;
• container;
• plastic spoon.

Stages of work:

1. The fruits are sorted out, washed.
2. Dry in a colander, then on a towel.
3. Lingonberries are laid out in layers in a container, sprinkled with granulated sugar.
4. It is recommended to take a glass of berries and half a glass of sugar, then again a glass of berries, and so on.
5. When all the ingredients are laid out, mix them with a spoon.
6. The plastic container is tightly closed and sent to the freezer.

Shelf life of frozen berries

The suitability of fruits that have been frozen will depend on a number of factors:

1. It is advisable to use a refrigerator, a freezer with a No Frost cooling system, since old-style refrigerators are not able to provide a deep freezing process, which allows you to completely preserve the structure of the fruit.
2. The temperature in the freezer should be constant and not rise more than -18 degrees. If the temperature is -10 degrees, the shelf life will be reduced.

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In relation to the rest of the fruits, the shelf life of lingonberries is long - from a year to 3 years, but only if it is frozen whole, in its pure form.

Freezing in other ways (with sugar, ground) allows you to store the berry for up to a year.

How to defrost properly

Methods that allow you to properly defrost the berry:

1. In the microwave in the "Defrost" mode. It will take every minute to check how the product is defrosting so that the lingonberries do not heat up. This method leads to the destruction of the beneficial elements of the berry.
2. Defrosting at room temperature is a slow process, a lot of juice is released from the berries, and this also leads to the multiplication of microbes.
3. The fruit in a bag is placed under a stream of water - this method is very quick, but water entering the lingonberry will lead to its sourness and wateriness.

The most optimal defrosting option is to be placed in the upper compartment of the refrigerator. Thanks to this method, all vitamins are preserved, bacteria do not multiply. A kilogram of goodies will thaw in the refrigerator for 8-10 hours.