Fresh strawberries are considered a delicacy. It is popular among children and adults because of its delicate aroma, sweet and sour taste, and the absence of thick skin and seeds. Strawberries are not resistant to storage; their fruits quickly disappear. At the height of the summer season, many housewives begin to make strawberry preparations for the winter.
Fruits can be stored for a long time in canned, dried, or frozen form.In the cold winter, you can take out a jar of aromatic jam, jam or compote, nourish the body with useful substances, strengthen the immune system and remember the fine summer days.
Features of harvesting strawberries for the winter
Strawberries are prepared in different ways: they are dried, frozen, made into jam, jam, marmalade, marshmallows, compotes, juices. During heat treatment, some of the medicinal properties of the berries are lost, so strawberries are most beneficial when eaten fresh.
The fruits are widely used for culinary purposes, especially for making desserts. The berry is great for yoghurts, salads, baked goods, and is used to make wine, tincture, and balm. To enjoy strawberries for a long time, it is enough to store them correctly.
Selection and preparation of berries
Store-bought berries are not suitable for canning, since they are grown in greenhouse conditions with artificial lighting. The most useful fruits are those grown in natural conditions, under the sun's rays.
To ensure that the berries grow clean, agrofibre, film or mulch is laid underneath them. Strawberries do not tolerate thorough water procedures, so after picking the wild berries, they are washed carefully, immersing them in a bowl of water. The fruit should be ripe, but not overripe or green, as overripe specimens will spread during cooking and turn into mush.
Harvesting methods
The technology for preserving berries for the winter is distinguished by its diversity. Below are the best recipes for preparing strawberries.
Jam
To make jam you will need the following products:
- 1 kg strawberries;
- 1.5 kg sugar;
- 0.5-1 tsp. citric acid.
Cooking technology:
- The fruits are washed, leaves and stalks are removed, and dried.
- After mixing the berries with sugar, they are left for 5 hours to release the juice.Then place the pan on the fire and bring to a boil, stirring gently.
- After removing from the heat, the mixture is cooled for half an hour, then boiled again. The manipulation is carried out several times.
- To avoid sugaring, add citric acid to the liquid.
The finished mixture is poured into sterilized bottles.
In addition to the classic recipe, there are non-standard options for making jam.
No cooking
This dish contains the maximum amount of vitamins and nutrients, since no heat treatment is carried out. The berries must be freshly picked and unwashed. The container is pre-sterilized and dried. The fruits are crushed using a meat grinder, blender, or food processor, then covered with sugar and left for 3 hours. After the juice has been extracted, the liquid is poured into bottles, rolled up, and placed in a permanent storage location.
On a frying pan
Fried jam in a frying pan is a rather unusual delicacy. This is another way to give the popular berry a special aroma and taste.
Components:
- 0.5 cups sugar;
- 1 tsp. citric acid;
- 1-1.5 cups strawberries.
How to cook:
- The products are washed and cleared of tails. The frying pan is heated, fruits are poured into it, and sugar is added.
- After carefully mixing the fruits, the jam is “fried” over medium heat until the juice is released.
- After the sugar turns red, the mixture is boiled for 5-10 minutes, after which the heat is reduced and the foam is removed.
- Add citric acid to the cooled mass and stir.
After distributing the liquid into a sterilized container, the preservation is sealed, turned over, and sent for storage.
With rose petals
The dessert has a floral and berry aroma and a delicate sweet taste. For cooking you will need:
- granulated sugar 400-500 g;
- water 1 glass;
- strawberries 100 g;
- citric acid 0.5 tsp;
- rose petals 150 g.
Step-by-step preparation:
- Medium berries are sorted, washed, peeled, dried, poured into a bowl, mixed with sugar.
- The mixture should sit for 5 hours. At this time, the rose petals are washed, dried, and crushed.
- The petals are mixed with citric acid, ground, and left for 20 minutes.
- Pour water and granulated sugar into a metal pan, boil the syrup, and mix with the rest of the citric acid.
- Add crushed petals and berries to the syrup, boil, boil for 5-8 minutes, cool.
- The cooled mixture is boiled again.
The procedure is repeated several times, after which the liquid is poured into jars and sealed.
Freezing
Berries intended for freezing must not be damaged. After sorting the fruits, they are washed, laid out on a napkin, and dried. Next, get rid of the stalks. Having laid out the berries on the kitchen board, they are sent to the freezer for several hours, after which they are put into one bag and sent back to the freezer.
The advantage of freezing is that it preserves the integrity of strawberries; after defrosting, they can be used to decorate cakes, desserts, muffins, and pancakes. The shape and taste of the product are not lost.
Drying
You can dry strawberries in various ways. The most common is drying in the oven, microwave, or dryer. Each method should be considered separately:
- On air. The cut berries are laid out on a sheet of newspaper, and a few more sheets are placed underneath. The fruits on the board are placed in a cool, well-ventilated place, in the open air.The berries will release juice abundantly, so newspapers should be changed periodically and the berries should be turned over. After 4-5 days, the fruits will dry out and become similar to chips.
- In the oven. Washed, peeled berries are crushed into layers, squares, and straws. At the beginning of work, preheat the oven at 60 OC. The baking sheet is covered with parchment, on which the berries are placed. Drying is carried out at a temperature of 90 OC. After wrinkling and drying the fruit, the temperature is reduced by 30 OC, stand until the strawberries stop sticking to your hands.
- In the dryer. Place the washed, peeled, crushed and dried berries on the bottom of the container and set the temperature to 60 OC, close with a lid. Periodically check the berries and turn them over.
- Quick drying in the microwave. The plate for drying should be flat, and a napkin should be placed on top of the berries. Having selected the correct mode, the berries are dried for 3-5 minutes. After this, remove the napkin and dry for another 4 minutes. The products are turned over and checked for readiness.
With each drying method, the berries retain the lion's share of their nutrients.
Paste
To prepare marshmallows, you need a homogeneous berry mixture. The products are ground in a meat grinder or blender. You can improve the taste of the product using sugar, lemon, orange zest, mint, and vanillin. The process of drying marshmallows in the oven lasts 7-10 hours at 65-70 OC. There are several ways to dry marshmallows:
- Sugarless. Diet pastille includes 2 kg of strawberries, 1 tbsp. l. vegetable oil. The washed, peeled fruits are crushed. Place the berry pulp on a baking sheet and, after drying, roll it into a sausage.
- With pre-boiling.For 1 kg of berries, take 1 glass of granulated sugar, the juice of half a lemon, 1 glass of water. All components are mixed using a blender and boiled. The pulp is poured onto a tray and dried.
- Pastille with gelatin and egg white. For 100 g of fruit take 200 g of granulated sugar, 3 egg whites, 100 ml of water, 2 tbsp. l. honey, 10 g gelatin. Gelatin is mixed with water and left until it swells. The strawberries must be pureed and the whites beaten. In a saucepan, syrup is boiled from water, sugar, honey, mixed with proteins, gelatin, lemon juice, boiled, and berry pulp is added. The contents of the pan are poured into a mold, placed in the refrigerator for half a day, after which they are taken out, cut into cubes, and sprinkled with powdered sugar.
The last method of preparing marshmallows is similar to strawberry marmalade.
Jam
You can make jam with the following ingredients:
- strawberries 1 kg;
- sugar 1.2 kg;
- citric acid 1 tsp.
The procedure for making jam is similar to making jam, the only difference is the cooking time. The jam is cooked longer so that the berries boil in their own juice.
Compote
When preparing compote, it is important to keep the berries intact.
Components:
- fruits 5 kg;
- sugar 2 kg;
- water 1 l.
Washed, peeled specimens are covered with sugar and left for half a day. Then the juice is drained, boiled, poured over the berries, and sealed.
Strawberries in syrup
You can prepare berries in their own juice as a separate dish or as a filling for a cake, pie, or dessert. The washed fruits are sprinkled with granulated sugar and placed in the refrigerator for 12 hours. The berries are transferred individually into a sterilized container, filled with the remaining syrup, sterilized, and rolled up with lids.
Strawberries pureed with sugar
Making strawberry dessert for the winter is simple, just wash, peel, dry the strawberries, chop and mix with sugar. The mass is placed in a bottle, sterilized, and sealed.
Strawberry marmalade
For marmalade you will need:
- 1 glass of berries;
- 1 cup of sugar;
- 1-2 tbsp. l. honey;
- 0.5 tsp. citric acid;
- 100 g powdered sugar.
How to do:
- citric acid is mixed with 100 ml of water, the berries are crushed and boiled;
- after boiling, add granulated sugar, boil for 3 minutes, cover with the remaining sugar;
- mix the mass with a solution of water and citric acid, stir, pour into the mold.
After cooling, the marmalade is placed in the refrigerator for 12 hours. The finished dessert is taken out of the mold, cut into pieces, and rolled in powdered sugar.
Fresh
Strawberries are most valuable when they are fresh. The berry contains useful substances such as vitamins, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, selenium, iron, fiber, and organic acids. These mineral compounds help strengthen the immune system and cardiovascular system. The berry improves the removal of excess moisture from the body, helps normalize blood pressure, and speeds up metabolism.
