Lingonberry is a healthy, albeit bitter, berry that is often used in medicine, cooking, and cosmetology. To preserve all vitamins and microelements, the fruit is frozen for the winter. Frozen lingonberries are used before the new harvest to prepare sauces, compotes and other dishes. Let's talk about the rules for freezing and storing this wonderful berry.
Is it possible to freeze lingonberries for the winter?
Freezing in the freezer section of the refrigerator is a more gentle method of processing products, which allows you to preserve their freshness and usefulness.
It is better to do freezing in portions; this method is practical and convenient. If necessary, you can remove the bag from the freezer and prepare the desired dish including lingonberries.
Sometimes it doesn’t work out to freeze correctly. This results in the loss of:
- vitamins;
- primary type;
- smell.
It is worth considering methods that allow you to correctly freeze a product at home.
How to wash berries before freezing?
When lingonberries are harvested, you need to pay attention to the presence of debris, unripe rotten fruits, leaves, and insects in it.
For freezing, the berries are carefully sorted and washed under running water.
The next stage is the drying process. The fruit is laid out on a surface that absorbs moisture well and removes excess liquid.
Lingonberries must be washed before freezing..
How to properly freeze lingonberries at home?
The fruits are quite bitter, so the berries are frozen using granulated sugar to improve the taste.
In portion bags in the freezer
For this type of freezing you will need to take:
- lingonberries;
- colander;
- towels;
- freezer bags.
How to freeze berries:
- The fruits are sorted, stalks, leaves, and spoiled berries are removed.
- The product is thoroughly washed under running water and shaken.
- Next you need to dry it on a towel.
- The fruits are laid out in one layer in bags. They need to be closed so as to eliminate all the air as much as possible.
- Place the bags in the freezer compartment.
The advantage of this method is that it saves space - you can put bags of berries on top of each other.
No sugar in bulk
This option is also simple, but it will require more time. This method involves initially freezing the berries in bulk on any surface in one layer, and then they are placed in bags or containers, which is convenient.
To freeze lingonberries you should take:
- product;
- colander;
- paper towels;
- surface for freezing berries (tray, board);
- bags, plastic containers.
Preparatory process before freezing:
- The fruits are sorted and washed.
- Towels are laid out on the table, and lingonberries, which are prepared for freezing, are placed on them in an even layer.
- When it dries, it is transferred to a tray and sent to the freezer.
- Afterwards, the frozen fruit must be distributed into bags, releasing air, and containers.
During the freezing process, trays with food should not be stacked on top of each other.
With sugar
Freezing the fruit in bulk is also possible using sugar. The product is frozen in large plastic containers. The process is not very long. The main disadvantage is the cost of sugar.
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:
- The fruits are sorted and washed.
- Dry in a colander, then on a towel.
- Lingonberries are laid out in layers in a container and sprinkled with granulated sugar.
- It is recommended to take a glass of berries and half a glass of sugar, then another glass of berries and so on.
- When all the ingredients are laid out, mix them with a spoon.
- The plastic container is tightly closed and sent to the freezer.
Shelf life of frozen berries
The shelf life of fruits that have been frozen will depend on a number of factors:
- It is advisable to use a refrigerator or 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.
- 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.
In relation to other 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, in ground form) allows you to store the berries for up to a year.
How to defrost correctly
Methods that allow you to properly defrost berries:
- In the microwave in the “Defrost” mode. You will need to check every minute 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.
- Defrosting at room temperature is a slow process; the berries release a lot of juice, which also leads to the proliferation of microbes.
- The fruit in the bag is placed under running water - this method is very fast, but getting water into the lingonberry will lead to it becoming soggy and watery.
The best defrosting option is to place it on the top section of the refrigerator. Thanks to this method, all vitamins are preserved and bacteria do not multiply. A kilogram of treats will defrost in the refrigerator for 8-10 hours.