Frozen bird cherry

Many people think that berries, including bird cherry, are frozen only for compotes. And after defrosting, it turns into an unsightly-looking homogeneous mass, which is difficult to use anywhere. But that’s not the case at all. You can freeze the bird cherry with individual berries, or you can directly with the twigs. There are several techniques to preserve the natural taste and aroma of berries. In addition, bird cherry can be frozen practically in the form of a ready-made dish, which after that can be used at any time without fear of sourness or mold on it. All this will be discussed later in the article.

Do bird cherry freeze

Enjoying delicious and juicy berries when a snowstorm is blowing outside and frosts are getting stronger is not a dream of any summer resident and gardener. And if the jam retains, at best, an attractive aroma and some taste somewhat distorted by sugar, then frozen berries and fruits can be almost fresh after defrosting. Especially if you know some of the secrets of freezing. All of the above applies in full to the bird cherry, although this berry is not particularly loved by gardeners. It is even called bird’s, as if hinting that its fruits are suitable only for food for birds.

But in fact, this berry is not only quite tasty, but also useful. Fans of unusual dishes will definitely appreciate the very attractive taste and aroma of bird cherry in their own way. And its healing properties were recognized and used by our distant ancestors. And all these tastes and properties can be perfectly preserved in frozen berries. In addition, the process of preparing and freezing bird cherry is very simple and takes very little time, unlike other preservation methods.

How to freeze bird cherry for the winter

The most important thing that is absolutely necessary for the proper freezing of bird cherry is the freezer compartment in a modern refrigerator or a separate freezer. It is better if it maintains a temperature of about -18 ° C or less. It is even better if it has a “shock freezing” mode, which will allow you to quickly and easily freeze the berries.

But, as for the bird cherry itself, the most important secret is that you can only freeze berries collected from bushes or trees within the next XNUMX hours. Berries that have been stored for a longer period after picking are no longer recommended to be frozen, since their taste and aroma cannot be preserved in their original form. The conclusion is quite simple – you should not mess with the freezing of bird cherry fruits purchased in the markets, or even more so in stores. You need to look for bird cherry bushes from acquaintances, friends or relatives. Or in the nearby forest.

All damaged, wrinkled, unhealthy bird cherry fruits should be removed. It is this selection that will help to best preserve the taste and aroma of the berries remaining for freezing.

Then the bird cherry should be washed well. This is best done in cool water, in a large container, changing the water several times to minimize mechanical impact and not damage the rather thin shell of the berries.

The last procedure for preparing for freezing is the thorough drying of the bird cherry. The berries are scattered in one layer on a paper or cloth towel and placed in a dry and warm place for several hours. It is important to dry the bird cherry with high quality, since the degree of preservation of the berries during freezing and subsequent defrosting will depend on this.

2 hours before the start of the freezing process itself, the freezer is set either to the shock freezing mode or to the lowest possible temperature (usually this is -20 ° C).

Then the bird cherry is frozen by one of the convenient methods described in detail in the following chapters.

Bird cherry frozen on twigs

Freezing bird cherry on twigs is another way to keep the freshness and taste of almost natural berries after defrosting. In addition, sorting out the berry becomes much easier. It is better to rinse the branches under a small stream of running water, but drying the bird cherry before freezing still remains a mandatory procedure.

For freezing with sprigs, it is necessary to prepare flat trays that will easily fit in the freezer in size.

Trays are covered with sheets of parchment paper, dried sprigs of bird cherry are laid out on them and placed in the freezer for several hours.

After 12 hours, the trays are pulled out, the bird cherry twigs are transferred to special plastic containers, preferably rectangular in shape for a larger capacity. Containers are labeled and put in the freezer already for storage.

When defrosted, bird cherry berries are easily removed from the stalks and practically do not differ from fresh ones. They can be used to prepare any dishes, including decorating pies and cakes.

Freezing bird cherry berries in bags or containers

This is one of the most popular ways to freeze bird cherry.

Berries after sorting are separated from the stalks and in this form they are washed and dried. In the future, they act as described in the previous chapter, only the berries on the tray are placed strictly in one layer.

Since bird cherry berries are relatively dense, you can try to freeze them by immediately pouring them into prepared containers.

But there is another secret here. In order for the fruits to retain their color and taste as much as possible, they can be frozen as a whole, pouring sugar in layers. For 1 kg of fruit, you will need no more than 1 cup of granulated sugar. And the berries must be absolutely dry.

To do this, take a plastic container of suitable size, pour a layer of berries, sprinkle a little sugar on top, again a layer of berries and repeat until the container is completely filled.

Defrost bird cherry, stored in the freezer by all the methods described above, should be in the refrigerator. Although this will take a lot of time, the berry will retain all its best properties in the best possible way.

Freezing bird cherry, twisted in a meat grinder

Since bird cherry is rarely used for fresh consumption, the method of preserving its berries in a ground state is very popular.

To do this, the berries need only be sorted and washed. They do not need thorough drying. Moreover, even berries with mechanical damage can be used. But, nevertheless, carefully weed out fruits with traces of diseases and parasites.

The washed berries are twisted through a meat grinder. You can even do this several times if the meat grinder holes are too large.

Then the resulting mass is laid out in small molds and laid in freezing. If there is a desire to use the molds again, then after a day they are taken out of the freeze, slightly pressing, pulled out of the molds and distributed in special bags. Place back in the freezer for storage.

How to freeze bird cherry ground with sugar

An even better option will turn out if sugar is added to the berry mass grated through a meat grinder in a 1: 1 ratio. The result is an almost ready-made filling for pies, pies, pancakes, casseroles or dumplings. In general, ground bird cherry with sugar is quite tasty and just like that, in the form of cold tea jam.

By the way, if you freeze bird cherry, grated with sugar, in small ice cubes, you can get a wonderful ready-made cure for indigestion. When such a problem occurs, it is enough to dilute one cube in half a glass of warm or hot water and drink the finished medicine.

What can be cooked from frozen bird cherry

Of course, most often various drinks are prepared from frozen bird cherry: compotes, kissels, cocktails and even alcoholic tinctures and liquors. Whole berries are great for decorating desserts and cakes.

A variety of baked goods with frozen bird cherry is popular. After all, it makes excellent fillings for pies and pies.

In addition, it can be used to add to milk sweet cereals, cottage cheese casseroles and desserts, cheesecakes, pancakes. Frozen mashed potatoes with sugar are also used to prepare various desserts in the form of puddings, smoothies, jelly and other things.

Shelf life of frozen cherry

In general, at a temperature not higher than -18-20 ° C, frozen bird cherry can be stored for up to one year. It is advisable to use the mashed berries in a shorter period, since they contain crushed seeds, which can cause an increased concentration of hydrocyanic acid.

Conclusion

Many novice housewives are not even aware that it is possible to freeze bird cherry in order to preserve it for the winter. But in this way they get not only a tasty addition to many dishes, but also a valuable remedy for stomach and colds.