TOP 10 ways how you can keep viburnum at home for the winter
Viburnum berries not only have a tonic effect, but also normalize blood pressure and heart rate. They raise the immune system, and therefore are indispensable for colds. Kalina is also called a female berry - it is indicated for those who have gynecological problems. There are many options for how to store viburnum at home in winter, but not all of them are equal in terms of preserving its beneficial properties.
When and how to harvest viburnum
Viburnum berries begin to ripen at the end of August, but they are harvested not earlier than mid-October. Unripe fruits have strong bitterness, which is not overridden by even a large amount of sugar. They get their best taste after the first frost. It is at this time that it is desirable to harvest the viburnum. Ripe berries have a bright rich dark red color, and the taste is sweet-sour, tart, with very little bitterness.
Ripe fruits immediately lose juice if they are removed individually. The correct way to collect them is to cut whole bunches with a pruner.
Please note: plucked red, but firm, unripe viburnum fruits do not ripen during storage.
It is advisable to collect in dry weather. Viburnum collected in rain, fog or general dampness is poorly stored without heat treatment.
Important aspects
Ripe viburnum is a tender berry. When collecting, you need to stock up on a capacious container so that the brushes do not wrinkle. Before processing them:
- berries are sorted out, removing rotten or spoiled by birds;
- washed without removing from the bunches;
- laid out in one row to dry on cloth or paper.
The fruits are easily separated from the branches, for this it is enough to lightly shake the brush. For freezing, viburnum is not washed, but it is done immediately before use after defrosting.
Berry storage methods
The largest amount of substances useful for human health is preserved in berries without heat treatment and the addition of preservatives (including sugar). You can keep the product in its pure form by freezing and drying. Viburnum berries perfectly tolerate winter, even while remaining on the tree, but they are destroyed by pecking by birds.
Since the viburnum contains a sufficient amount of pectin, it is possible to prepare not only jam, but also jam, marshmallow or marmalade from it. For both children and adults, such natural delicacies are much healthier than purchased ones.
Fresh
In a cool and dry room, the viburnum will remain fresh for several months: if the temperature does not exceed +8 ° C, the berries will remain until spring as if they were recently picked. Only the stalks and twigs will wither.The easiest way to comply with such conditions is in private houses - in closets, dry cellars, brushes are hung on a string or nails, tied in bundles of several pieces. Storage in the refrigerator is also possible, if there is enough space in it.
If the berries freeze when the temperature drops, they can be left in this state. But when the thaw approaches, remove from the brushes, place in the freezer or recycle, since when they are frozen again, they lose their usefulness.
Storing frozen berries
Freezing viburnum is a simple and reliable way to preserve its nutritional value for a long time. In frosty, without thaws, winter in a suburban area, viburnum clusters can be hung in a cold shed, but it is safer and safer to place them in the freezer of the refrigerator. At a temperature of -18-23 ° C, viburnum berries will fully retain their beneficial properties throughout the year - until the new harvest. Freezing to -8 ° C shortens this period by three times.
Freezing options are different:
- if there is enough storage space, you can put the bunches in plastic containers or plastic bags;
- you can pick berries with stalks (so that the juice does not leak out prematurely), freeze in one layer on a tray or large plate, and then pour into a bag;
- another way is to wash the viburnum, grind the berries in a blender with pits without sugar, pack them in bags of 50-100 grams and freeze.
In any form, viburnum is best packaged in small volumes to be used immediately after defrosting.
Storing viburnum with sugar
The use of sugar without heat treatment allows you to fully preserve the valuable qualities of the product (if possible, it is more useful to use honey in the same proportions):
- washed viburnum berries are crushed with a blender or using a meat grinder;
- weigh and add twice as much sugar;
- stir the puree until the sugar is completely dissolved, packed in small jars, and tightly closed.
The bones do not need to be separated. Since viburnum in this form is added to tea or diluted with boiled water, they will not interfere. Store this vitamin mixture in the refrigerator. At room temperature, it quickly oxidizes and disappears.
For long-term storage in a cellar or a cool pantry, the workpiece with sugar is sterilized:
- the amount of sugar in this case is halved;
- half-liter jars with the finished mixture are sterilized in boiling water for 10 minutes, liter jars - 20 minutes.
After sterilization, roll up with metal lids, cool and put away for storage.
Dried viburnum
In order to store viburnum for a long time without cooking in room conditions, it must be dried. If there is time and space, the collected brushes are laid out on clean paper in the shade in a draft, covered with gauze and periodically turning over. Finished berries are dry and wrinkled.
For quick drying:
- brushes are laid out on a baking sheet and placed in the oven;
- dried at a temperature of + 50 ... + 60 ⁰C;
- oven door, in order to avoid "boiling" berries, keep ajar.
Dried viburnum is stored without a refrigerator - on brushes or torn off from them, in dry jars under plastic lids or paper.
In the form of juice
You can save viburnum by making juice from it. To do this, use a juicer that separates the bones:
- sugar is added to the resulting juice in a 1: 1 ratio;
- the finished product is poured into sterilized jars or bottles and stored in the refrigerator.
Part of the sugar can be replaced with honey or only it can be used by adding a glass of boiled water per kilogram of viburnum berries, and honey to taste. In this case, the mixture is boiled for 10 minutes and stored in a cool place.
In the form of a tincture
The filling is both prepared and stored at room temperature.One of the popular recipes:
- viburnum berry juice and water - 100 milliliters each;
- sugar - 100 grams;
- vodka - 500 milliliters.
All ingredients are mixed, kept for two days, bottled and sealed.
A simpler but time-consuming method without juicing first:
- a clean bottle is filled with berries up to half (for a more intense infusion - completely), without compaction;
- pour the viburnum with vodka, covering the fruits;
- after a day, fill the container with vodka completely, cover with a lid or cork, leave in a dark, dry place for three weeks.
These tinctures are often called medicinal, but in reality they are more of a type of alcoholic beverage. For the purpose of health improvement, it is better to use tea made from fresh, frozen or dried berries, diluted juice.
Jam-shaped
This blank is also called jelly, its consistency is so delicate:
- you need a kilogram of viburnum berries, the same amount of sugar and 50 milliliters of water;
- the berries are ground in a blender in mashed potatoes and rubbed through a sieve to remove seeds;
- the cake is poured with 50 milliliters of water, boiled and the broth is added to the puree;
- mix mashed potatoes with sugar, bring to a boil over low heat and cook for 30-40 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened.
Poured into sterilized jars and rolled up with boiled lids. Over time, the jam will harden and thicken even more.
You can use plastic lids, but store the blank in the refrigerator.
In the form of jam
For a more complete preservation of the healing properties of viburnum berries, a five-minute jam is usually prepared from them, minimizing the heat treatment time (therefore, for medicinal purposes, it is more useful to use it from sweet preparations than jam or marshmallow). For cooking you will need: sugar and viburnum berries - by a kilogram, water - 350 milliliters.
Viburnum jam recipe:
- sort the berries, rinse and dry on a towel;
- boil water in a saucepan, pour sugar into it and boil for 5 minutes;
- dip the viburnum berries in hot syrup, cook for another 5 minutes and set aside from the stove;
- after complete cooling, boil again for 5 minutes.
The finished jam is transferred to sterilized jars, covered with lids and stored in the refrigerator.
In the form of a marshmallow
Such a delicacy is an excellent replacement for purchased sweets for those with a sweet tooth. The taste of marshmallow is sweet, slightly sour, slightly tart. For cooking, you will need 300 grams of viburnum berries, 250 grams of sugar and 0.2 grams of citric acid:
- the berries are washed, torn off from the branches;
- separate the juice with a juicer (pitted);
- boil it in a saucepan with a thick bottom, stirring it, until it becomes a thick puree;
- add sugar and citric acid;
- over low heat, stirring constantly, cook until thick (10-15 minutes);
- the tray for drying vegetables is covered with a sheet of baking paper smeared with refined sunflower oil (odorless), viburnum puree is spread on it, spreading evenly in a thin layer over the entire area;
- put in a vegetable dryer and keep until tender.
The finished pastille is easily separated from the paper. It is rolled up, cut into segments and stored in a cool dry.
The medicinal berries of the viburnum are available, easy to store, and the preparations from them are varied (compotes and candied fruits, vinegar and even viburnum oil are also made from the fruits). Thanks to this, viburnum remains one of the most popular health products for people of all ages.
