Lingonberries - one of the most common wild berries. It has a number of useful properties, rich in vitamins. The berry itself has a pronounced taste with a slight bitterness, it is juicy and aromatic. It grows in the coniferous forests of the Caucasus, the Urals, along the banks of the marshes of the European part of Russia.
This berry has an antimicrobial and antifungal effect, but it must be remembered that in large quantities it is toxic.
For medicinal purposes, in addition to berries, cranberry leaves are also used. They are used to make herbal teas and infusions.
Berries include fruit drinks, juices, boiled lingonberry jam, jam, and are consumed raw. Often cranberries make all kinds of sauces and seasonings for meat dishes.
In order to maintain maximum vitamins and other beneficial substances, lingonberry jam should not be subjected to heat treatment. You can cook the so-called "vitamin". To do this, prepared washed berries are ground with sugar in a 1: 1 ratio. The finished mixture is stored in a glass container in the refrigerator.
For a short time, for example, for transportation, whole lingonberry berries, sprinkled with sugar, can be stored in a dark and cool place.
There are a number of recipes by which you can cook cranberry jam. The main idea of any of them is to give the berry the thermal effect as gently as possible. In order to make cowberry jam, you need to take a kilogram of fresh ripe berries, one and a half kilograms of sugar, 600 ml of water, cloves and cinnamon to taste. Sort the berries, rinse and rinse with boiling water. Separately, prepare the syrup, place the berries there and cook in one step. Set aside to cool. At this point, you can add some spices to your taste.
Often lingonberry jam, whose benefits are so great for the body, is prepared with the addition of other berries and fruits. So, for example, apple-lingonberry, pear-lingonberry, cranberry-lingonberry jam , etc. are prepared. The proportional ratio of berries and fruits can be selected based on their own considerations and taste preferences.
Another original and delicious recipe using this berry is lingonberry pie. There may be a lot of options. One of the simplest will be a biscuit with cranberries. To prepare it, you need to take three eggs, one glass of sugar, flour and berries. Beat eggs with sugar separately, carefully add flour, continuing to beat. At the last stage, mix the berries.
Another option is a yeast cake with lingonberries. To prepare it, we need a yeast dough. From it we form a cake basket. If you use fresh lingonberries, then it is better to pre-bake the base in the oven for 15 minutes at 180 degrees. After that, lay the berries on top and sprinkle with sugar or powdered sugar. If the berries are fresh, then you can lay them out right away. Next, bake until cooked.
In order to preserve the fruits for the whole year, you can use the method of freezing or prepare soaked lingonberries, which are no worse than fresh or frozen can be used to make cakes, pies and other pastries.
In order to prepare soaked lingonberries, it is necessary to prepare sugar syrup. For a liter of water you will need 1 large spoon of sugar, a little salt, cinnamon, cloves. Bring the syrup to a boil and set aside to cool. This amount is enough for 1 kg of fresh berries. Rinse lingonberries and sort out. Then pour in the cooled syrup.