The homeland of the chokeberry is North America, namely Canada, where this shrub grows everywhere. Chokeberry was introduced to Russia only at the end of the 19th century and quickly gained popularity as an ornamental plant.
But besides the fact that the chokeberry is indeed a very beautiful shrub, its fruits have a large amount of vitamins and nutrients. The North American Indians knew about the medicinal properties of mountain ash and widely used its fruits for medicinal purposes. These properties did not go unnoticed by our great-grandmothers.
After the mountain ash has faded in June-July, in August-September it was possible to harvest its fruits, which have a slightly tart taste. Each berry is a storehouse of a large number of nutrients, including: vitamins A, B, C, iodine, manganese, potassium. The pectin contained in the black chokeberry promotes the elimination of radiation and heavy metals from the body, and also normalizes the activity of the digestive system.
The systematic use of black chokeberry fruits stabilizes blood pressure, strengthens the walls of blood vessels and improves liver function.
One of the ways to preserve the fruits of chokeberry is to make jam, which retains most of the nutrients. Therefore, by using at least a spoonful of this jam every day in winter, you can maintain your immunity at a high level.
Chokeberry Jam
Ingredients:
- Chokeberry berries – 1 kg.
- Sugar – 1,5 kg.
- Water – 3 tbsp.
Rinse the mountain ash thoroughly, cover with cold water and leave for a day. The next day, make a syrup with sugar and water. Drain the water from the rowan and pour hot syrup over it. Wait until the syrup has completely cooled down, pour it into a saucepan and boil for 20 minutes. After that, add berries to the syrup and cook for another half hour.
After that, pour the jam into clean jars and close the lid tightly. You can store the jam in the refrigerator or in a cool place.
Chokeberry and apple jam
Ingredients:
- Chokeberry berries – 1 kg.
- Apples – 400 gr.
- Sugar – 1,5 kg.
- Water – 2 tbsp.
- Cinnamon to taste
- Lemon juice – 2 tbsp l.
Rinse the mountain ash thoroughly. Pour boiling water over for 2-3 minutes, then put in a colander and cool.
Boil syrup from water and 500 gr. sugar, put mountain ash in boiling syrup and boil for 3 minutes. Leave on for 8 hours.
After the rowan is infused, start cooking apples. They need to be peeled, seeds removed and cut into small cubes. After that, put them in boiling water and cook for 5-7 minutes.
Put the mountain ash in syrup on the fire, bring to a boil and add the remaining 1 kg of sugar to the berry. After the syrup has boiled, add the apples and cook until it thickens, stirring the jam constantly.
At the very end, add lemon and cinnamon, they give the jam a spicy taste.
Arrange hot jam in jars and close tightly with lids. You can store the jam in the refrigerator or in a cool, dark place.
Chokeberry jam with citrus and apples
Ingredients:
- Chokeberry berries – 1 kg.
- Apples – 500 gr.
- Orange – 2 pcs.
- Lemon – 1 pcs.
- Sugar – 2 kg.
- Water – 1 tbsp.
Rinse the mountain ash thoroughly, cover with water, close the lid and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Add 1,5 kg of sugar, stir, bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. After that, leave the berry for 3 hours.
Grind oranges and lemon in a meat grinder.
After this time, put the jam on the fire again, add the remaining sugar and apples, bring to a boil, add the rolled oranges and lemon and turn off the heat.
Arrange hot jam in jars and close tightly with a lid.
Chokeberry jam with nuts
Ingredients:
- Chokeberry berries – 600 gr.
- Walnuts – 150 gr.
- Apples – 200 gr.
- Lemon – 1/2 pc.
- Sugar – 600 gr.
- Water – 1 l.
Rinse the rowan and pour boiled water overnight. In the morning, drain the water and boil the syrup from one glass of infusion and sugar. Peel, core and cut the apples into small cubes or wedges. Peel the lemon and chop finely. Chop the nuts.
Put berries, apples and nuts in boiling syrup. After the syrup boils again, cook for 15 minutes. After that, turn off the heat and let it brew for 3 hours. Repeat the procedure 3 times. During the last boil, add the sliced lemon.
Pour the finished jam into jars and roll up the lids.
Chokeberry and apple jam
Ingredients:
- Chokeberry berries – 300 gr.
- Apples – 2 kg.
- Sugar – 1 kg.
- Water – 500 gr.
Wash apples and berries. Cut the apples into slices, leaving the rind and core. Pour some water into a saucepan, add mountain ash and cook for 5 minutes. Add apples, cover and blanch for 20 minutes, stirring constantly, until apples are tender.
Rub boiled apples and mountain ash through a sieve. Add sugar to the resulting puree, bring to a boil and cook for an hour, stirring constantly. If you like a thicker jam, then the cooking time can be increased.
Pour the prepared jam into jars and close the lids. It is better to store it in the refrigerator.
Bon appetit!
Chokeberry jam is a supply of vitamins for the winter, so if you want to be healthy, then we are ready to share with you other recipes for jam from the berries of this shrub.