Viburnum berries not only have a general strengthening effect, but also normalize blood pressure and heart rate. They boost immunity, and therefore are indispensable for colds. Viburnum is also called the female berry - it is indicated for those who have gynecological problems. There are many options for storing viburnum at home in winter, but not all of them are equivalent 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 not harvested until mid-October. Unripe fruits have a strong bitterness, which is not covered even by a large amount of sugar. They acquire the best taste after the first frost. It is at this time that it is advisable to harvest viburnum. Ripe berries have a bright, rich dark red color, and the taste is sweet-sour, tart, with a very slight bitterness.
Ripe fruits immediately lose their juice if removed individually. The correct way to collect them is to cut off the entire bunches with pruners.
Please note: picked red, but elastic, unripe viburnum fruits do not ripen during storage.
It is advisable to collect in dry weather. Viburnum collected during rain, fog or general dampness does not store well without heat treatment.
Important aspects
Ripe viburnum is a tender berry. When collecting, you need to stock up on capacious containers so that the brushes do not wrinkle. Before processing them:
- berries are sorted, 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; to do this, just shake the brush lightly. For freezing, viburnum is not washed, but is done immediately before use after defrosting.
Methods for storing berries
The largest amount of substances beneficial to human health is preserved in berries without heat treatment and the addition of preservatives (including sugar). You can preserve the product in its pure form by freezing and drying. Viburnum berries survive the winter well, even remaining on the tree, but they are destroyed by pecking at birds.
Since viburnum contains a sufficient amount of pectin, it can be used to make not only jam, but also jam, pastille or marmalade.For both children and adults, such natural treats are much healthier than store-bought ones.
Fresh
In a cool and dry room, 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 maintain such conditions is in private homes - in storerooms and dry cellars, brushes are hung on string or nails, tied into bunches of several pieces. It is also possible to store it in the refrigerator if there is enough space.
If the berries freeze when the temperature drops, they can be left in this state. But when the thaw approaches, remove them from the brushes, place them in the freezer or process them, since they lose their usefulness when re-frozen.
Storing frozen berries
Freezing viburnum is a simple and reliable way to preserve its nutritional value for a long time. During a frosty winter without thaws in a suburban area, viburnum bunches can be hung in a cold barn, but it is safer and safer to place them in the freezer compartment 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. When frozen to -8 °C, this period is reduced by three.
Freezing options are different:
- if there is enough storage space, you can put the bunches in plastic containers or plastic bags;
- you can pick the berries with the stalks (to prevent the juice from leaking out prematurely), freeze them in one layer on a tray or large plate, and then pour them into a bag;
- Another way is to wash the viburnum, grind the berries in a blender with seeds without sugar, package them in 50-100 gram bags and freeze.
In any form, it is better to pack viburnum in small volumes so that it can be used immediately after defrosting.
Storing viburnum with sugar
Using sugar without heat treatment allows you to sufficiently 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, pack into small jars and close tightly.
The bones do not need to be separated. Since in this form viburnum 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 cool pantry, the sugar preparation is sterilized:
- the amount of sugar in this case is reduced by half;
- Half-liter jars with the finished mixture are sterilized in boiling water for 10 minutes, liter jars for 20 minutes.
After sterilization, roll up with metal lids, cool and store.
Dried viburnum
To store viburnum for a long time without cooking in room conditions, it needs to 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 turned over. Ready berries are dry and wrinkled.
For quick drying:
- the brushes are laid out on a baking sheet and placed in the oven;
- dried at a temperature of +50…+60 ⁰C;
- To avoid “cooking” the berries, keep the oven door ajar.
Dried viburnum is stored without refrigeration - on brushes or torn from them, in dry jars under plastic lids or paper.
In the form of juice
You can preserve viburnum by making juice from it. To do this, use a juicer that separates the seeds:
- 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.
Some of the sugar can be replaced with honey or used only 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.
As a tincture
The liqueur is prepared and stored at room temperature. One of the popular recipes:
- juice of viburnum berries 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 longer method without first preparing the juice:
- fill a clean bottle with berries up to half (for a more intense infusion - completely), without compacting;
- pour vodka over the viburnum, covering the fruits;
- after a day, fill the container completely with vodka, cover with a lid or stopper, and leave in a dark, dry place for three weeks.
These tinctures are often called medicinal, but in fact they are more of a type of alcoholic drink. For health purposes, it is better to use tea made from fresh, frozen or dried berries, or diluted juice.
In jam form
This preparation is also called jelly, its consistency is so delicate:
- you will need a kilogram of viburnum berries, the same amount of sugar and 50 milliliters of water;
- the berries are pureed in a blender and rubbed through a sieve to remove the seeds;
- the cake is poured with 50 milliliters of water, boiled and the broth is added to the puree;
- Mix the puree with sugar, bring to a boil over low heat and cook for 30-40 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened.
Pour into sterilized jars and seal with boiled lids. Over time, the jam will harden and thicken even more.
You can use plastic lids, but you need to store the workpiece in the refrigerator.
In the form of jam
To more fully preserve the healing properties of viburnum berries, five-minute jam is usually prepared from them, reducing the heat treatment time as much as possible (therefore, for medicinal purposes, it is more useful to use it from sweet preparations than jam or pastille). For preparation you will need: sugar and viburnum berries - a kilogram each, water - 350 milliliters.
Recipe for viburnum jam:
- Sort the berries, rinse and dry on a towel;
- Boil water in a saucepan, add sugar and boil for 5 minutes;
- dip the viburnum berries into the 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 marshmallow form
This delicacy is an excellent replacement for store-bought sweets for those with a sweet tooth. The taste of pastila is sweet, slightly sour, slightly tart. To prepare you will need 300 grams of viburnum berries, 250 grams of sugar and 0.2 grams of citric acid:
- the berries are washed and picked from the branches;
- separate the juice using a juicer (without seeds);
- in a saucepan with a thick bottom, boil it, stirring, until it becomes a thick puree;
- add sugar and citric acid;
- cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thick (10-15 minutes);
- a tray for drying vegetables is covered with a sheet of baking paper, greased with refined sunflower oil (odorless), viburnum puree is laid out on it, spreading evenly in a thin layer over the entire area;
- Place in a vegetable dryer and keep until ready.
The finished pastille is easily separated from the paper. It is rolled up, cut into segments and stored in a cool, dry place.
The healing berries of viburnum are available, easy to store, and 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.
