Hawthorn is a fruit and berry shrub, an inhabitant of the forest and forest-steppe strip. Since ancient times, its leaves and young twigs have been used to prepare delicious, very healthy vitamin teas and drinks. But the berries themselves enjoyed even greater success, from which they compote and tinctures, sauces for meat dishes and, of course, various sweets. Let's talk about them!
What is useful hawthorn
Since we started talking about
hawthorn jam
, the useful properties of it also do not interfere. Berries of a bush are considered a valuable tasty and medicinal product. They have been widely used as an astringent since the 16th century. At a later time, with the help of hawthorn, they lowered blood pressure, cleaned the blood, and treated cardiovascular diseases. Drops and tinctures from fruits, decoctions of fruits and flowers are now widely used in traditional medicine and pharmacology. And homemade jam is very popular among sweet lovers. It is prepared mainly from large and juicy varieties. Dried ones, with powdery pulp, are dried, ground into flour and are a popular additive in the baking of confectionery and bakery products. By the way, you can eat these gifts of nature even to people with diabetes.
Pitted jam
How to make hawthorn jam? The recipe may be different. For example, this: sort the collected berries, discard greenish or spoiled. Wash and put in a deep basin, in which you usually cook jams, jam, etc. Pour in water - one and a half glasses per kilogram of product. Put on fire, let it begin to boil. Pour sugar - half a kilogram per 1 kg of berries. Cook for an hour, stirring and removing foams (make a small fire). Then set aside your hawthorn jam. The recipe recommends that you continue the procedure after 8-12 hours. Put the bowl again to boil, squeeze the juice from 1 large lemon, add to the jam. Let it boil for 10 minutes, then, without removing it from the heat, pack it in prepared (sterilized) cans and roll it up.
Seedless jam
If you want to cook pitted jam from hawthorn, take this recipe. Berries, sorted and washed, halve. Free from the stones and add sugar to let the juice flow. Put the basin in a cool place for 8 hours. Then make the syrup. Boil a liter of water and pour 0.5-0.7 kg of sugar. Let it dissolve, remove the foam. Pour the syrup into the upcoming hawthorn jam. The recipe recommends finely chopped lemon with peel and add to berries. Cook in 3 receptions, 30 minutes each. At the end of cooking, the halves of the berries should acquire transparency. Distribute the finished product in sterile jars and twist.
Some additions
Your jam will get a surprisingly pleasant aroma if you boil a slice of vanilla pod with berries. Or just pour some vanillin into the basin. If you have no time to mess with cooking or if there is no suitable cookware, do it easier. Mix the fruits you have with sugar (1: 1). You can remove the bones, but you can leave it as you want. Pack the hawthorn in jars, filling with berries for three quarters, and filling the rest of the space with sugar. Close the plastic lids and put in the cellar for two or two and a half months. Then get out and eat a delicious treat: the hawthorn will let the juice in, the berries in it are preserved naturally. It will be amazingly delicious!