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Probably, any person in his life at least something, but heard about viburnum. And even if he mainly admired the bright red fire of ripe berries, symbolizing the very height of autumn, he must have heard something about the healing properties of this ornamental plant. Well, those lucky ones, on whose plots this miracle tree-doctor grows, are simply obliged to use its medicinal properties for the benefit of their health and their families. Moreover, the medicine is really tasty. Although many are confused by some peculiar flavor contained in the viburnum fruits, it goes away if you know some secrets of collecting and harvesting viburnum berries for the winter.
Kalina for the winter is not only and not so much traditional jams and jams, these are, first of all, numerous blanks that do not even use heat treatment. Since the viburnum is remarkably preserved even without long cooking, at the same time not a single valuable element from its composition is lost.
Valuable properties of viburnum and contraindications for admission
It is quite difficult to argue about whether viburnum is a useful berry or not, since almost the entire table of Mendeleev’s elements is present in it. In addition, many acids important for the functioning of the human body, and, of course, almost all known vitamins.
One list of diseases for which viburnum really helps would take up a whole page.
And most often, blanks from viburnum are actively used for problems with the stomach and upper respiratory tract, with high blood pressure, with skin and gynecological diseases and diseases of the central nervous system. Viburnum berries have found their application in cosmetology.
However, like any plant product with such a rich composition, viburnum is capable of causing harm, especially if consumed in excessive amounts.
- The most obvious is that individual intolerance to viburnum berries and subsequent allergy to it may occur, which will be expressed in the appearance of red spots.
- The use of viburnum during pregnancy should be abandoned, since it contains a female hormone that can adversely affect the development of the child.
- Naturally, you should not abuse viburnum at low pressure, as well as with increased blood clotting.
- Increased acidity of the stomach and joint pain are also reasons to reduce the use of viburnum to a minimum.
Of course, in all these cases, except for pregnancy, a small amount of viburnum is not capable of causing significant harm, but care must be taken.
Collection and harvesting of viburnum: features
Traditionally, it is customary to collect and harvest viburnum, as well as buy it in the markets after the first frost. Under the influence of frost, some bitterness and an unpleasant taste leave the berries. But in our time of advanced technological progress, any housewife in the kitchen can freeze the collected or purchased viburnum berries for several hours in the freezer and get exactly the same effect.
So if you are given the opportunity to stock up on viburnum even before frost, do not miss it. In cool conditions, for example, on the balcony, the viburnum in clusters will be completely preserved for several months, until your hands reach its preparation for the winter.
Among the many recipes for harvesting viburnum for the winter, you can find those in which the berries are freed from stones, and only viburnum juice with pulp is used. And in other recipes, the berries remain intact or are kneaded, but along with the peel and seeds.
If they are removed, washed, dried and roasted in a pan, then after grinding in a coffee grinder, you can make a drink similar to coffee from them. It is used to restore strength after illness and strengthen immunity. Keep this in mind if, according to the recipe, you need to remove the bones from the viburnum.
Recipes without heat treatment
It is clear to everyone that in order to obtain the maximum therapeutic effect, it is desirable to use recipes for preparing viburnum berries for the winter without heat treatment. Since it is in such blanks that the maximum amount of useful substances is preserved.
Berries in sugar
The most elementary way to preserve viburnum for the winter and at the same time obtain a tasty and healthy syrup is to sprinkle the berries with sugar. According to this recipe, 1-700 grams of sugar is taken per 800 kg of viburnum berries. First you need to sterilize the required number of cans, and then dry them.
Before you cook viburnum berries in sugar, they must be sorted out and freed from twigs and other plant debris.
After the final rinsing, the viburnum must be dried by all means, pouring it out in a thin layer on a paper or cloth towel.
Fill the bottom of the prepared jars with a layer of sugar, then lay out a layer of viburnum, about 2 cm thick, sprinkle the berries well with sugar again and so on until the very top of the jar. The last layer of berries should be so abundantly covered with sugar that the berries under it should not even be visible. Then close the jars with tight lids and put in a cool place.
Within a few days, viburnum berries should absorb almost all the sugar and give abundant juice, so that the jar will be filled to the brim with delicious syrup, which, if desired, can be added to tea instead of sugar or prepared compotes or jelly based on it. Such a blank can be stored in the refrigerator until spring, and the berries from it can be used as needed for medicinal purposes.
Kalina with honey
This recipe is especially useful for the treatment of various diseases, since the beneficial qualities of viburnum are enhanced by the unique healing properties of honey.
Fresh berries must be crushed with a wooden mortar and rubbed through a sieve to remove the seeds and skin. Then mix the crushed pulp of viburnum with honey in equal proportions by weight.
Small jars, up to 0,5 liters, sterilize and fill with viburnum-honey mixture. Close with plastic or screw-on metal lids and let the mixture steep for a week at room temperature. Then it is desirable to store it in the refrigerator.
This healing mixture can be taken in a tablespoon three times a day before or during meals, and it can heal you from many diseases.
Raw viburnum jam
Before making raw jam, you need to thoroughly rinse and dry the viburnum berries as described in detail above. For 500 grams of berries already peeled from twigs, exactly the same amount of sugar is taken.
This will only affect the preservation of jam in a positive way.
Even before adding sugar, viburnum berries must be crushed in a plastic or enamel bowl with a wooden pestle. It is undesirable to use a blender, mixer and other metal devices for these purposes. After all the berries are mashed, the right amount of sugar is added and everything is mixed. Keep warm for 6-8 hours a container with berries and sugar, and then spread the raw jam in dry sterile jars and keep cool.
Among other recipes, there is also a method for making raw pitted viburnum jam. In this case, at the stage of grinding the berries, they are additionally ground through a plastic sieve, removing the seeds and peel. Of course, it is much more convenient to do this with pre-blanched berries, but in this case, absolutely all vitamins are preserved.
Blanks from viburnum with heat treatment
Perhaps the most versatile, simple and quick to prepare is viburnum juice.
Kalin juice
It can be obtained in many ways, but if you have a juicer of any model, then the easiest way to squeeze the juice is with it. Of course, this results in quite a lot of pulp waste with stones.
If there is no juicer, then they act differently. Washed and sorted viburnum berries are poured with a small amount of water, brought to a boil and then rubbed through a sieve. Blanched berries are much easier to grind than raw, and the process itself does not take much time.
The viburnum juice obtained in one way or another is heated again, without boiling, and immediately poured into sterile bottles or jars. To store it outside the refrigerator, containers with juice are sterilized in boiling water for 15-25 minutes, depending on the size of the containers.
viburnum syrup
Many healing drinks are made from viburnum juice in winter: compotes, jelly, fruit drinks. But the most popular preparation in which juice is used is viburnum syrup. Usually it is added to tea one spoon at a time, but you can use it daily and just like that, on an empty stomach, as a delicious therapeutic and prophylactic remedy.
For its manufacture, only 1 liter of viburnum juice, 1,8 kg of sugar and 10 g of citric acid are required. First, heat the juice almost to a boil, gradually adding sugar as it heats up. After boiling, it is necessary to remove the foam that appears and add citric acid. Boil for about 10 minutes over low heat and pour hot into sterile jars and seal tightly. Opened jars require refrigeration.
Jams and preserves
To cook viburnum in such a way that jars with it can be easily stored outside the refrigerator, a variety of jam recipes are used.
The classic jam is made from whole berries boiled in sugar syrup. If you crush the berries with sugar and boil them, then you will get jam. And if you want to boil viburnum juice with sugar for at least half an hour, you will get a unique jelly made exclusively from berries with sugar without any additives.
To make jam from 1 kg of viburnum berries, first boil sugar syrup by dissolving 300-1 kg of sugar in 1,5 g of water.
Dip viburnum berries in boiling water for 5 minutes, or even better, blanch them in a colander.
Then fill the berries with hot syrup and leave to soak for 10-12 hours. After the set time has elapsed, heat the jam and cook it for about an hour, stirring and removing the foam. When it thickens, spread it into clean, dry jars.
Kalina goes well when cooking jam or jelly with a variety of fruits and berries. So you can use its berries mixed with apples, rowan, plums, lemons and oranges. Usually use equal proportions of fruits or berries with viburnum.
Conclusion
As you noticed, the recipes for viburnum blanks for the winter are very simple, even a beginner can handle them. Therefore, do not miss the opportunity to stock up on a valuable natural remedy for the winter, and at the same time practice making delicious and healthy dishes.
