Honeysuckle in the freezer: how to freeze for the winter

To freeze honeysuckle for the winter in the refrigerator and preserve all its beneficial properties, it is not necessary to heat it beforehand, there are many other recipes. After all, honeysuckle is a berry that strengthens blood vessels and normalizes blood pressure and body temperature. After heat treatment, even half of the useful substances do not remain.

Is it possible to freeze honeysuckle for the winter

Honeysuckle is ideal for freezing. In this form, it retains almost 100% of all the useful substances contained in it. Compliance with all the rules for harvesting berries for the winter in the refrigerator will preserve its taste, and even color.

The freezing process takes little time and it is not necessary to add sugar, which is not a healthy product.

Useful properties of frozen honeysuckle

Honeysuckle is not only a food product, but also a therapeutic and prophylactic agent. Depending on the variety and climatic features of growth, the quantity and quality of biologically active substances may vary.

Honeysuckle helps to remove salts of heavy metals from the body and has the following beneficial properties:

• relieves pain of various origins;
• has a diuretic effect;
• helps to reduce body temperature;
• increases immune forces;
• stabilizes the pressure;
• enhances visual acuity and prevents the development of cataracts;
• helps to reduce body weight;
• is a preventive measure against the development of cancer.

Honeysuckle is also called the berry of youth and beauty. It is often used to make face masks. These berries are often used to treat lichen, acne, and eczema. Fruit juice is an excellent anti-aging agent. A mask of gruel (mashed potatoes) allows you to get rid of fine wrinkles and pigmentation.

Fruits are recommended for use in diabetes mellitus. Honeysuckle helps to strengthen blood vessels, make them elastic. The fruits of honeysuckle allow you to cope with a lack of iron during the menstrual cycle and eliminate uncomfortable sensations.

Frozen berries retain all their beneficial properties

Preparing honeysuckle for freezing for the winter

To properly freeze honeysuckle for the winter, you will have to choose mature, but always elastic fruits. Ripe berries have a rich and bright blue color. They must not have any damage or defects. Such fruits will not be able to endure extreme cold and will surely burst, like overripe honeysuckle. After collection or purchase, the fruits are carefully sorted out, all debris and damaged berries are removed.

Before freezing, it is recommended to wash the honeysuckle. This is done step by step as follows:

1. Berries are placed in a sieve.
2. They are sent under warm running water or they are collected in a container with a diameter larger than that of a sieve, and the berries are dipped there several times.
3. Take out the sieve and leave it until all the liquid has drained.
4. Lay the berries on a towel or cloth, always in one layer.

The berries are left on the towel until the moisture is completely evaporated, usually it takes about 2 hours. After that, the fruits are placed in a dry container and sent to the refrigerator for 2 hours to cool.

How to freeze honeysuckle for the winter

After cooling the fruit, it is recommended to pre-freeze. Honeysuckle is placed in a plastic container, necessarily intended for use in the freezer and refrigerator. The container is sent to the freezer to freeze for at least 3 hours.

This stage will allow honeysuckle not to stick together and use it in winter in a crumbly form. However, plastic containers for permanent storage are not the best option. Oddly enough, but storing berries in a bag is considered the best option.

After preliminary freezing in the refrigerator, the fruits are sent to the package and tightly closed. The bag in the freezer can take any shape and takes up much less space than a special container.

Freezing Whole Honeysuckle Berries

There is a recipe for frozen honeysuckle in bulk. After cooling, the berries are laid out on a pallet in the form of pyramids, which should not touch each other. The pallet is sent to the freezer for 2-3 hours, if possible, lower the temperature to -21 degrees. After the specified time, honeysuckle placers can be put in one bag without fear that in the future it will be necessary to break off the desired piece from the total mass of frozen fruits.

Honeysuckle berries can be used as a cold remedy

Honeysuckle can be frozen for the winter with sugar. After preparing the berries:

1. Lay out in one layer.
2. We make a layer of sugar.
3. Again we put a new layer with fruits.
4. Sprinkle with sugar.

Between the lid and the last layer of berries there should be a space for air of about 2 cm.

You can prepare an original preparation for the winter with an orange. This will require:

• 5 glasses of berries in grated form;
• 5 glasses of sugar;
• 1 orange, divided into segments and peeled.

Cooking process:

1. Honeysuckle and sugar are mixed.
2. An orange is added to the prepared base and distributed in forms for freezing for the winter in the freezer.

Freezing honeysuckle puree

For cooking, not only ripe, but also slightly overripe fruits are suitable. It is better that their peel is as thin as possible.

The whole process consists of:

1. We send the berries to a blender, mixer and bring to the desired consistency.
2. Add sugar to the resulting puree, in a ratio of 4: 1.
3. The resulting mixture can be filled into containers, plastic cups and other containers.

The main thing is not to add mashed potatoes to the very edge, at least 1 cm of stock should remain.

Puree can be frozen in the form of briquettes. It is necessary to first put a plastic bag in a container for freezing, and only then place mashed potatoes there. After complete freezing, we take out the package with mashed potatoes from the container, tie it up and send it back to the freezer.

Eating berry puree in winter will increase the body’s immune forces.

Honeysuckle puree can be prepared according to another recipe:

1. Pour the pre-cleaned honeysuckle with water and send the container to the fire.
2. Bring to a boil and use a blender to grind the berries.
3. After the honeysuckle, send it back to the pan.
4. Add sugar at the rate of 1 kg of fruit half a kg of sugar.
5. Again send to the fire.
6. Heat the container to about 85 degrees and cook at this temperature for 5 minutes.
7. The cooled mixture is laid out in containers for freezing and sent to the freezer.

You can freeze honeysuckle along with puree from other berries. This mixture is called blending. If the berries ripen at different times, then at first the container is half filled with honeysuckle puree. After other fruits appear, they are mashed, poured with honeysuckle on top and frozen.

Freezing honeysuckle juice

Frozen honeysuckle is also useful in the form of juice. The easiest way to squeeze the juice with a press, strain and put on fire. Bring to a boil and cook for literally 3-4 minutes. Leave to cool completely and pour into containers for storage in the refrigerator in the winter.

Juice canned with and without sugar

Juice can be prepared with sugar. This will require:

• 200 grams of sugar;
• 1 liter of juice.

Sugar can be added in less or more, depending on individual preference.

Terms and conditions of storage

It is best to consume berries during the first three months from the moment of freezing in the refrigerator. In such fruits, most of the nutrients and vitamins are stored.

If you freeze honeysuckle berries according to all the rules and store at a stable low temperature of -18 degrees, then it can be stored for 9 months.

In cases where the preparatory stage was not carried out, namely washing, drying and cooling, the shelf life in the winter in the refrigerator is reduced by 3 months.

Conclusion

To maintain the maximum concentration of vitamins and freeze honeysuckle for the winter in the refrigerator in the form of juice or puree and whole berries, the product should be thawed gradually. The required number of fruits is taken out of the freezer and placed in the refrigerator for 12 hours, after which it is brought to room temperature in the room. For this purpose, it is best to lay out the material for freezing in portions and, as needed, defrost the right amount.