How to preserve lingonberries for the winter at home

Lingonberries are valued for their beneficial qualities. Ripe dark red berries contain many vitamins, which are used all winter long when the fruit harvest is properly stored. Each housewife has her own secrets for preparing lingonberries. But you also need to know how to store lingonberries so that the benefits remain in the product until the next harvest.

When to pick berries

Red lingonberries begin to appear on low-growing bushes in August - September. But even in October you can find clearings with ripe berries in the forest. It is necessary to collect forest fruits that are red or deep pink in color. The brown berries are already overripe and tasteless. It is not recommended to collect lingonberries after the onset of frost. The value of the berry is reduced, and it will no longer be possible to store it whole.

Sometimes they pull out all the berries, still whitish and unripe, in order to have time to prepare them. But in this case, you will have to work hard to bring the harvest to maturity.

What if the fruits are not ripe: how to ripen at home

Unripe lingonberries contain a lot of acid and are bitter. As ripeness increases, taste defects decrease, and the berry is quite suitable for fresh consumption. In order for it to ripen, you need to know what fruits to take from the bushes. The whitish fruits of the plant are always collected, hoping that they will ripen at home. But more often than not they don’t wait for this. Only the fruits that begin to turn pink become red after 4-5 days.

You need to pick berries in sunny weather. If you get caught in the rain while harvesting, you will have to dry the fruits. When storing wet lingonberries, they will become moldy.

We prepare the crop for long-term storage

The collected berries must be prepared for storage so that the work is not in vain. To achieve this, a number of activities are carried out related to:

• cleaning fruits from dirt and dust;
• rejection of rotten, spoiled specimens;
• rinsing under running water.

It is necessary to carry out procedures. After all, lingonberries are not always collected in environmentally friendly places.

Washing with water

A large number of collected fruits are difficult to clean from dust.It is recommended to use a large sieve into which the berries are placed and water is poured on top. The dirty liquid drains off, leaving clean fruit on the surface.

You can place lingonberries in a bath and fill them with water, then drain them. But with this method, part of the harvest is lost along with the liquid.

It is better to rinse with boiled water, cooled to room temperature.

Cleaning

Cleaning of debris, leaves and twigs occurs in different ways:

1. Sift the lingonberries in the wind, pouring them from one container to another. At the same time, the container with the harvest is raised to a height of 1-1.5 meters.
2. Use a fan or vacuum cleaner to blow out debris. In this case, the berries are scattered on an inclined surface.
3. The long gutter is installed obliquely. The berries are rolled over it, and the vacuum cleaner sucks in light debris. The clean harvest rolls into a basin where the end of the gutter rests.

Choose a cleaning method depending on the amount of harvested crop. A small number of berries can be peeled by hand.

Where and how are crops most often stored?

Collecting forest fruits is not difficult. Sometimes it's harder to save them. There are many ways to do this. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. It is better to store the berries fresh, but you can freeze them, preserve them with sugar, or in their own juice.

In room conditions

If the lingonberry harvest is small, then it can be stored in the apartment. Before it has time to spoil, it will be eaten. When fresh, the fruits do not remain ready for consumption for long, for 2-3 months.

It is better to place the berries in a glass jar or paper bag at home. A room with a temperature within 15 degrees is suitable for harvesting. Without freezing, lingonberries are used to make fruit drinks and compote.

In a private house, you can use utility rooms for storage; in apartments, places where it is cool and low humidity.

In the basement or cellar

Cellar conditions are most suitable for preserving the harvest. The temperature in it is +2 degrees. With it, the rotting processes are suspended, and the lingonberries will remain in excellent condition for a long time.

During the winter, the berry harvest is examined so that it does not spoil. Damaged fruits are removed so that they do not ruin the entire harvest.

In the freezer or refrigerator

Frozen lingonberries are useful to enjoy, as they retain their beneficial properties. To prepare, scatter the berries on a baking sheet and place in the freezer. After a week, you can place the fruits in plastic bags and leave them on the freezer shelf.

If lingonberries can be preserved in the chamber for a long time, then in the refrigerator - 1-2 months.

Methods and technology for harvesting lingonberries for the winter

There are different preparations for the winter from lingonberries. They are no different from canning other berries. But the distinctive feature of the product is that it does not deteriorate for a long time. It contains a lot of acid, which prevents the fruit from souring, and the thick skin protects it from damage. Therefore, it is possible to preserve lingonberries without sugar. And canning it does not seem to be a labor-intensive process.

Drying fruits

Lingonberries should be dried after harvesting, carefully sorting and washing them. The berries are poured in a thin layer onto a baking sheet and placed in the oven. It is necessary to keep the product at a temperature of 60 degrees. Leave the door slightly open and ensure that the fruits are completely dry.

A special chamber used according to the instructions is also suitable for drying.

Storing pickled lingonberries

The most popular method of preserving lingonberries is soaking. The sorted and washed berries are poured into bottles and jars that have been sterilized in advance. All that remains is to pour boiled water over the fruits. In this way you can store a tasty product for a long time.

Housewives add sugar and spices to the water. This produces a delicious dessert that is stored sealed in the cellar.

Steamed berries

Lingonberries, steamed in the oven, are stored in cellars. To prepare, the washed fruits are poured into a pan and placed in the oven. It should be kept in a heated oven for 2-3 hours. Then put into jars, closing with a lid. The steamed mass is used to prepare pies, fruit drinks, and jelly.

Lingonberries in their own juice

It is best to cook the fruits in their own juice in a wooden barrel. After washing them, lay them in a small layer and compact them, sprinkling them with sugar. Then they continue to pour the next layer and so on until the end. Finish laying with a layer of berries and seal the container with a tight lid. Under the influence of sugar, lingonberry juice will be produced. To speed up the preparation, leave the product in a warm place for 2 days. Then put it in the cold.

Making jelly

This preparation is prepared from berries and sugar, taken in equal quantities. Having poured lingonberries into a pan with a thick layer, press down so that the juice appears. Then put on fire for 10 minutes. After this, rub the mass through a sieve and squeeze out. The juice is mixed with sugar. Cook over low heat, without letting it boil. The workpiece will turn out jelly-like when the volume is reduced to 2/3 of the original volume. Berry dessert is used to decorate pies, cakes, and pastries.

Canning with sugar

Lingonberries are used to make jam for the winter. It is prepared like this: pour the fruits into sugar syrup and cook over low heat. You can add apples to the syrup.

Place the jam in well-sterilized jars. Store the workpiece in a cool place under lids.

Jam and marmalade made from fruits are delicious. Sugar for preparations is taken 2 times more than fruits. It is necessary to boil the product so that it is thick. Store the jam in the refrigerator under nylon lids. Jam is prepared in the same way. Such preparations are useful and do not spoil for a long time.

Shelf life of fresh berries and winter preparations

It’s not every year that nature pleases with lingonberries. Therefore, sometimes you have to feast on preparations for more than one year. Fresh berries cannot be preserved even for six months, so you need to prepare the berries differently in order to enjoy vitamin jelly or jam in winter and spring.

Such products can be consumed 2-3 years from the date of preparation. But they are better preserved in the refrigerator and cellar.