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Barberry is a shrub from Asia, which is known both in Our Country and around the world. The sour, dried berries are used as a spice. Barberry recipes for the winter involve harvesting a significant part of the crop for the cold period so that a tasty and healthy berry is available all year round. You can use simple harvesting methods, for example, dry or freeze a berry, or you can make a treat for the whole family.
Where can you use barberry berries
Sour berries of an unpretentious shrub are used in:
- cooking;
- cosmetology;
- medicine.
Dishes with the use of this plant are varied: sauces, jams, marshmallows, sweets, honey, juice, liqueurs and fruit drinks. Barberry sauce for meat is highly valued in many cuisines of the world. Classic pilaf also provides for the use of dried barberry in its recipe.
In medicine, berries are used to strengthen the heart and blood vessels, as a choleretic agent, to improve appetite and to stop bleeding. And also berries normalize liver function and hormonal levels. For medical purposes, barberry is most often brewed and tea is drunk from it. For this, dry berries are used.
In cosmetology, nourishing face masks are made from milk, hercules and barberry. Keep this mask for about 20 minutes.
The low calorie content of the fruits of the shrub determines their use in nutrition for weight loss.
How to save barberry for the winter
To preserve the barberry for the winter, it is dried or frozen. You can make jams, sauces and make various preparations. But dried or frozen, the berry retains the maximum amount of vitamins and nutrients. At the same time, in winter, any dish of your choice can be prepared from the preserved berries, both for everyday dinner and for the festive table. There are nuances for each type of workpiece.
Freezing barberry for the winter
Any freezer is perfect for freezing barberry. To begin with, the berries must be washed and dried. Then the fruits are laid out in portions in plastic bags. You can’t freeze more berries than you use at one time, because after defrosting you can’t re-freeze the product – it loses its properties and appearance. Instead of bags, many housewives use plastic containers.
Drying
Drying barberry fruits is the most convenient way, since the process is simple and the shelf life is long. The vitamin composition also does not differ from freshly picked berries. You can dry the barberry for the winter outdoors, in a drying cabinet or in the oven.
The first stage of drying is the preparation of fruits. They must be sorted out, separating diseased and damaged specimens. Then wash the barberry under running water and spread it on towels. After the berries are dry, you can start harvesting:
- When drying in a cabinet or dryer, the temperature at first should not exceed 50 ° C, as soon as the fruits stop releasing juice, raise it to 60 ° C.
- For drying in the fresh air, it is necessary to cover the fruits with a fine mesh or gauze, and the berries themselves should be in the shade. Gauze will be needed from birds and insects that want to enjoy the available fruits.
- Be sure to turn or mix the berries during the drying period, do it carefully so as not to wrinkle.
There is a simple way to check readiness: squeeze the berries in your hand. If they are ready, they do not secrete juice, do not choke and remain crumbly.
What to do for the winter with barberry
For the preparation of blanks, there are many recipes using berries. The main advantage is that barberry fruits can be used both in dessert seamings and as seasonings or spicy preservation. And beekeepers prepare delicious and healing honey from barberry. It all depends on the additional ingredients and the desire of the hostess.
Recipe for barberry sauce for the winter
This type of sauce is used most often in Indian cuisine. Lovers of rice, pilaf will like it, it is used for poultry meat. Barberry sauce for the winter requires the following ingredients:
- 1 kg of barberry;
- Xnumx g of granulated sugar;
- to taste cinnamon, ginger and cloves.
The step by step recipe looks like this:
- Put the berries in a saucepan, cover with water and boil until soft.
- Grind the cooked fruits through a fine sieve.
- Add granulated sugar and all necessary spices.
- Boil.
- Cook until thickened, do not forget to stir.
- Pour into glass jars and cover with lids.
- Sterilize the product for 15-20 minutes, depending on the volume of the jars.
- Roll up tightly, wrap with a blanket and let cool for a day.
Store in the basement or cellar, serve with meat. An important indicator of the correctness of preparation is that the fruits should not darken during cooking.
Barberry with sugar for the winter
This is a no-boil jam recipe. Suitable for hasty housewives and those who do not like heat treatment. Fruits better retain their healing properties and taste. Products for harvesting: barberry and sugar in a ratio of 1:3.
The process is step by step:
- Grind the fruits in any convenient way. To do this, you can use an ordinary meat grinder.
- Add sugar and stir until completely dissolved.
- Arrange the resulting product in sterilized glass jars and roll up.
This preparation should be stored in the refrigerator. The required temperature for the product is observed there, and the barberry will successfully stand all winter.
barberry juice
Juice from the red berries of an oriental shrub is a vitamin drink. It can be prepared for the winter in two ways: with and without sugar.
The ingredient for the savory recipe is the barberry itself. It is washed, and then blanched in boiling water for just a couple of minutes. Then already soft berries are squeezed through a juicer. Juice should be poured into dry sterilized jars and rolled up.
Sweet Juice Ingredients:
- barberry – 1 kg;
- 250 grams of sugar;
- ginger and cinnamon with cloves – optional.
Preparing juice is simple: squeeze the juice, as in the first recipe, add sugar and pour into glass jars. Then sterilize for 15-20 minutes. Roll up, turn the lids down to check the tightness and wrap with a blanket.
Barberry honey
Barberry honey is a healing product and famous all over the planet. This product has a restorative, hemostatic, as well as antibacterial and choleretic effect.
Barberry nectar is not to be confused with others: golden-amber color, there is some sourness in taste. Viscosity parameters are average. The process of crystallization of honey from barberry takes 2-6 months. Everything directly depends on the storage conditions, as well as on the climate in the region.
For storage, glass containers with high-quality lids are used. Honey is stored at a temperature not exceeding +20 °C. Otherwise, fermentation processes will begin.
Sweets from barberry berries
Barberry recipes for the winter, according to which marshmallows, marmalade, jam from these berries are made, will appeal to all sweet tooth without exception.
Ingredients for jelly: one kilogram of barberry and sugar, plus 200 ml of water. Cooking:
- Rinse the berries, put in a saucepan (preferably enameled), pour water.
- Heat until fruits soften.
- Rub through a sieve.
- Add sugar and cook until desired thickness.
- The hot product is poured into jars and hermetically sealed.
The berries are also used to make marshmallows. Treat products:
- kilogram of berries;
- sugar – 800 g;
- 30 g of powdered sugar;
- 300 ml of drinking water.
Step by step instructions for making pasta:
- Boil the berries and discard in a colander to drain.
- The resulting broth add half of all sugar, beat.
- Add the remaining sugar, beat again.
- Put on the stove, cook over low heat until it boils down to a characteristic consistency.
- Arrange in molds or simply put on a baking sheet and put in the oven to dry.
- Pull out and cut into strips, sprinkle with powder.
This recipe is perfect for those with kids. A delicacy will please any kid.
To prepare marmalade, you will need 1 kg of fruit, 750 g of sugar, 200 ml of water. The cooking algorithm is the same as in the manufacture of jelly. Only you need to cook to a thicker consistency, and at the end do not pour into jars, but cool and cut into cubes. The product looks great if it is sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Terms and conditions of storage
Any blanks for the winter have identical storage conditions. You need a cool temperature, but without frost, as well as a dark room. Preservation of barberry, whether it is sauce or jam, does not tolerate direct sunlight. For dried berries, any access of moisture is contraindicated. The optimal storage conditions in this case is a cloth bag.
For storage in winter, blanks are best suited for a dry cellar without moisture and mold, as well as an unheated pantry. If the jars are on the balcony, then the temperature should not drop below 0 degrees.
Conclusion
Barberry recipes for the winter help preserve a healthy berry for a long period. In the cold season, jam or jam from the fruits of this shrub will help maintain immunity, fight colds, and the sauce will decorate any meat dish. If the hostess does not know how best to use the fruits, then you can simply dry them or freeze them and use them as a seasoning in winter.