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It is difficult to find a garden in which this useful unpretentious berry does not grow. Most often, red, white or black currants are grown in central Our Country. From one bush, depending on the variety and age, you can collect up to 7 kg of berries. They are eaten fresh, ground with sugar, jam, jelly, jelly and compotes are cooked. The berries can be frozen or dried for later use, and they do great all winter. Currants in their own juice are popular with housewives: this is how the berry retains all the nutrients and vitamins without the use of preservatives.
Useful properties of currants in their own juice
Nutritionists recommend harvesting currant berries without cooking so that the vitamins in them are not destroyed. With such preparation of berries, minerals important for the body are preserved in the juice: potassium, zinc, iron and magnesium, as well as vitamins of groups B, C and K. Studies have shown that the plant contains more vitamin C than citrus fruits, and the content of antioxidants is higher than in blueberries. Due to the presence of such an abundance of useful substances in the juice, it is used not only in cooking, but also in cosmetic procedures.
Currant juice is good for various colds, anemia, inflammatory processes. Having a diuretic effect, the drink helps to remove from the body not only excess fluid, but also harmful toxins: mercury, cobalt, lead and other heavy metals.
Features of cooking currants in their own juice
Preparing a few liters of healthy treats is easy. Berries must be sorted out, get rid of specks and rumpled specimens. Only selected raw materials go to the bank. After cleaning, the currants must be washed and dried, spreading the berries in a thin layer over a clean canvas. The raw material must dry completely: for this, it can be left on the canvas all night. Now you can start harvesting currants in your own juice.
Currant recipes in their own juice for the winter
Each housewife has her own recipe for making currants in her own juice, but experts distinguish three types, which are described below. With this treatment, you can achieve a high concentration of vitamins and beneficial acids in the jar, reducing losses to a minimum.
With sugar
The ingredients must be taken in equal parts: for 1 kg of raw materials – 1 kg of sugar. Pour a thin layer of sugar on the bottom of the container, then put a layer of currants and so on until the jar is full. It is best to finish the alternation with sugar. This is necessary to fix the layers so that the berries do not move freely around the jar, but settle evenly during sterilization and release of their own juice.
Once the preparation is completed, you need to place the jars in the pan, after covering the bottom with a cloth. The containers should not touch each other, so they need to be wrapped in a kitchen towel and covered with lids. Next, fill the bottom of the pan with water, about 3/4 of the height of the cans, and heat over medium heat. When the water begins to boil, it means that sterilization has begun. For containers up to 1 liter, the process lasts 10-15 minutes. When the contents have decreased in volume, you can add your own currant juice from another jar and roll up the contents.
Another way to prepare canned food in your own juice with sugar is faster, because it does not involve drying the raw materials.
The washed berries are covered with sugar, mixed and laid out in jars of the required capacity. Next, cover the blanks with lids and leave overnight. After 10 – 12 hours, the jars will have enough of their own juice, while the volume of berries will decrease. It is necessary to report the raw berry raw materials pre-mixed with sugar to the jars and leave again for 10 hours. As soon as the process is completed, the jars are pasteurized at a temperature of 80 degrees. Time depends on volume:
- 0,5 l – 20 minutes;
- 1 l – 30 minutes;
- 2 l – 40 minutes.
Sugarless
The technology for making currants in their own juice without sugar is similar to that in the first recipe. Put a cloth on the bottom of the pan, pour about half of the water and bring the resulting composition to a boil. It is necessary to pour currant berries into dry sterilized jars, put them in boiling water and reduce the heat a little so that the water does not boil, but remains hot. Under the influence of temperature, the currant releases its own juice and settles to the bottom, thus boiling. It is necessary to gradually put raw materials into the jar until the required volume is reached. Once the container is full, the blanks should be rolled up.
With added juice
For this method, you need to divide the raw material into two parts. Break half of the berries with a blender and strain. Pour the second part of the currant with the resulting juice and boil in a saucepan with water according to the same principle as in the first two recipes. This cooking method avoids prolonged heating, which means that the greatest amount of vitamin C is preserved.
Caloric value
The number of calories in currants in their own juice depends on the amount of sugar added when harvesting the berries. Sugar-free in red currants 42 kcal per 100 g. In black currants – about 40 kcal per 100 g.
Terms and conditions of storage
Canned currants in their own juice under an iron lid can be stored from 12 months to three years, with proper observance of the conditions: in a dark, cool and dry room. With high humidity, the lids can become rusty and ruin the workpieces in their own juice. The optimum storage temperature is between 0 and 5 degrees Celsius.
Conclusion
Currants in their own juice are a very tasty and healthy preparation for the winter, which even an inexperienced hostess can handle. It is important to adhere to the basic rules for any blanks:
- Have separate kitchen utensils: sterilization containers, seamer, new lids, clean cloth, colanders or sieve, jars, new lids, spatulas and stirring spoons;
- Always check the integrity of the jars. Preservation containers must be free of chips, crevices and cracks;
- Carefully sort out the fruits, especially before preparing canned food in its own juice. Such blanks are not brought to a boil, which means that pathogenic bacteria from damaged fruits can ruin the entire jar;
- Not only cans, but also lids are subject to washing and sterilization before laying products;
- Before starting work, it is necessary to check the covers: their rubber gasket must be intact, without damage, cracks and dark spots. If the gum is damaged, it will easily let oxygen into the finished product, along with microbes.
By following these simple rules, according to the above recipes, you can provide yourself and your family with a vitamin dessert for the whole winter.
