Strawberries have long become one of the most popular forest and garden berries. After collecting sweet, aromatic fruits, many summer residents have a question about how to preserve strawberries for the winter without cooking. After all, you want to enjoy delicious berries not only in the summer, but also with the onset of cold weather. There are many ways to preserve the taste of strawberries throughout the winter.
Features of strawberry storage
It is recommended to store fresh strawberries in the refrigerator after picking. If you leave it in the room, within 1-2 days it will become moldy or ferment.But even in the refrigerator, the berry is not stored for a long time, especially if it is in a small container in several layers.
In order for the collected strawberries to remain fresh longer in the refrigerator, they are collected early in the morning or late in the evening, when it becomes cool outside.
If you plan to store the fruits in the refrigerator for several days, washing and peeling them is not recommended. In this case, the berry will give juice and quickly begin to ferment. The fruits are washed immediately before freezing or heat treatment.
Requirements for the selection and preparation of berries
Any berries are suitable for freezing only if they are free of mold, insect marks and other damage. For processing, you can use small and not the sweetest berries, and eat large ones fresh.
Before cooking or freezing strawberries, it will be enough to sort out the fruits, rinse thoroughly under water (there may be slugs, larvae and small bugs on the berries) and remove the stalk. Further actions depend on the chosen method of processing the crop.
Preparing containers
Plastic bags or plastic containers are suitable for freezing crops. Grinded wild strawberries and strawberry jam are usually poured into glass jars and then stored in a cool place. In the refrigerator, it is recommended to store the berries in wide pans or cups. The wider the container, the longer the fruits will remain fresh.
You can store fruits in any container. These can be plastic cups, enamel and aluminum dishes, glass jars. The material from which the container is made does not affect the shelf life.
Storage methods
There are many ways to store strawberries collected in the forest. The berries are frozen, dried and made into jam. Methods for storing berries will differ only in the taste of the resulting product and harvesting technology.
Cold storage
The shelf life in the refrigerator depends on the temperature. The lower it is, the longer the berry will remain fresh. At a temperature of +6 degrees, the shelf life is up to 4 days. At temperatures from 0 to +2, the fruits remain fresh for one week. To ensure a longer shelf life, this method is not suitable. This is the maximum when the crop can remain fresh while in the refrigerator without heat treatment. It is not advisable to store fruits in a plastic bag. Due to condensation, mold quickly appears on the berries.
Freezing
The easiest way to preserve the freshness of wild strawberries after harvesting from the plot is to freeze them. Before freezing, the fruits are sorted and moldy and damaged ones are thrown away. The remaining fruits are thoroughly washed under running water in a colander. After this, you need to let the excess liquid drain.
The fruits are laid out on a towel or newspaper and left for 20-30 minutes. When the skin dries, transfer the strawberries into plastic bags and put them in the freezer.
Freshly frozen berries are suitable for making pies, teas and compotes. Although they do not contain as many vitamins as fresh ones, out of all the methods of storing berries, this method manages to preserve the maximum benefits for the body.
To prevent the berries from sticking together during freezing, they are laid out separately on a baking sheet, then placed in the freezer for a day. The next day, put the strawberries into a bag and put them back in the freezer.
How to grind strawberries with sugar for the winter without cooking
Another way to preserve your strawberry harvest throughout the winter is to grind it with sugar. If you do not cook the preparation, it will taste like fresh strawberries.This preparation can be stored in jars in the cellar or put in the freezer:
- For this preparation method you will need fresh strawberries and sugar to taste.
- Rinse the berries thoroughly under water, remove the stems and discard the moldy fruits. Let the water drain.
- Then grind the strawberries in a meat grinder or grind in a blender.
- Add sugar to taste (it’s better to use powdered sugar instead of sugar, so you won’t feel the grains while eating).
Transfer the resulting mixture into jars. Grinded wild strawberries with sugar can be stored in the freezer all winter, but in the refrigerator it is better to eat them as quickly as possible. If the product sits for a long time, it begins to ferment.
Dried strawberries
Fresh strawberries can be dried for the winter. There are two drying methods. The first is the natural way. The second one is in the oven.
In the first drying method, the strawberries are sorted and washed. Then lay it out on newspaper in a sunny place. Turn the berries regularly. Drying this way takes a little over a week.
To avoid spending a lot of time on the process of drying the berries, use an oven. The fruits are also sorted and washed. While they are drying from water, preheat the oven to 60 degrees. Place dry berries in one layer on a baking sheet and place in the oven. It is best to first spread parchment paper.
Leave the berries in the oven for several hours, turning and stirring them regularly. Drying in this way takes up to 6 hours, so it is not recommended to plan anything for this day. You will have to constantly be near the stove so that the strawberries do not dry out.
Dried fruits retain their aroma, which is especially strong when brewing tea with strawberries.
Vacuuming
Another method to keep strawberries fresh after harvest is to freeze them in a vacuum sealer. To do this, the fruits are sorted, washed in water and the stalk is removed.
To vacuum the fruit, you will need a special device - a vacuumizer. This is a small machine with which air is pumped out of the packaging. You will also have to buy special packaging to store it this way.
The fruits are placed in a package, and excess air is pumped out using a vacuum sealer. Then immediately put the bag in the freezer.
The advantage of this storage method is that foreign odors do not penetrate into the packaging, and there is more space left in the freezer. In addition, odors also do not penetrate into the refrigerator from frozen packages.
Jam
The most common way to prepare strawberries for the winter is to make jam from them. And for an unusual taste, you can add other ingredients.
To make strawberry jam you will need:
- 100 ml vodka;
- 1 kg strawberries;
- 1 kg sugar;
- juice of one lemon.
Preparation:
- Rinse the fruits thoroughly under cool water.
- Transfer to a saucepan, add sugar and vodka.
- Cook until boiling, after boiling, cook for another 7-9 minutes.
- Remove from heat and leave overnight.
- The next day, add lemon juice to the mixture and cook again for 10 minutes over medium heat.
When the jam is ready, pour it into jars and seal. Put the preserved food in the cellar.
Strawberry jam is cooked together with other ingredients that complement its taste. For example, with mint.
Ingredients for jam:
- 1 kg strawberries;
- 3 sprigs of fresh mint;
- 1 kg sugar;
- lemon juice.
Preparing jam:
- Wash the fruits and separate the stem.
- Place the strawberries in a saucepan, cover with sugar, and leave for several hours to allow the fruits to release their juice.
- Rinse the lemon thoroughly, grate the zest on a fine grater and squeeze out all the juice.
- Place the pan with the fruits over medium heat and bring to a boil.
- As soon as the jam boils, add the zest and lemon juice.
- Stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, cook for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, add mint leaves without branches, stir and keep on fire for another 5 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the stove and wait until the jam has cooled.
- Then boil it again for another 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and leave until the next day.
- The next day, boil the jam for another 10 minutes.
Pour the finished jam into sterilized jars and seal. Wait until they cool down and lower them into the basement. This jam can not only be eaten, but also used for making homemade baked goods.
