Autumn generously presents us with fragrant fruits and ripe vegetables, valuable nuts and bright berries. Dogwood is a typical product of this time of year. The saturated red berries with a tart taste resembling a mixture of cranberries and cherries ripen in September. It's time to get ready for the winter. In the article we will tell you about how to quickly and costlessly prepare dogwood sauce for the winter. The recipes are simple both in execution and in the ingredient composition.
About berry
Dogwood has been known to man since ancient times; mention of it is found in the Bible and legends of Ancient Rome. A friendly crop of berries ripens in September-October. According to the old parable, the more dogwood on the bush, the harsher the winter will be.
This plant (shrubs or small trees up to 8 m high) of the southern latitudes, its growing season lasts 250 days, so growing is difficult in cold regions. In the Caucasus, Kuban and Crimea, dogwood grows freely, including in the wild at the edges of the forest, undergrowth, and in bushes. The berries familiar to all have a rich ruby-red color. However, breeders also bred new varieties, more adapted, with fruits of an unusual deep amber, almost white and scarlet hue. Hybrids adapted to a cooler climate also appeared.
The value of the berry is confirmed by the fact that it has long been used in traditional medicine in China to maintain male health and treat kidneys. Fresh fruits are used for food, as well as jam made from them, marshmallows, fruit drinks, preserves, spicy seasonings, and alcoholic beverages. We offer you to cook sweet and / or spicy dogwood sauce for the winter, which will not only retain healthy substances, but also give a new original taste to your dishes.
What is its use?
The reason for the high popularity of dogwood in cooking is the valuable properties of its berries. They have a pronounced astringent, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, bactericidal and choleretic effect. A decoction of berries strengthens the body, tones and enhances immunity. Fat burning properties of dogwood are especially useful for women. In order to improve the digestive tract, you should eat fresh berries. They stimulate lipid metabolism and promote the elimination of various toxins from the body. Do you know that astronauts and long-distance sailors prepare special pasta (jelly) from dogwood berries? Even on the longest business trips, this allows you to keep on hand a tube filled with all the necessary vitamins of natural origin.
However, people with chronic constipation, high acidity, insomnia and nervous irritability need to limit the consumption of dogwood berries to a minimum.
In addition to fruits, in folk medicine, leaves, roots, bark of the plant are actively used.
Hot dogwood sauce for the winter - recipe number 1
Preparing hot dogwood sauce is quite simple, the ingredients are affordable and certainly every hostess has it. Such preparation for the winter will allow you to please relatives and guests at any time with a fragrant seasoning for meat dishes cooked in the oven or on the grill. The amount of ingredients is presented per four servings.
So, you will need: a kilogram of ripe dogwood berries, a large head of garlic, 1 teaspoon of ground coriander, hot red pepper, seasonings of hop-suneli and olive oil, one small bunch of fresh green cilantro and salt to taste (0.5-1 h. l.).
The following is a step by step recipe for dogwood sauce for the winter. The process is quite simple, and a beginner culinary can cope with it. Before you start cooking directly, prepare all the necessary kitchen utensils, products, and sterilized jars in advance.
Step 1
Ripe cornel berries thoroughly rinse under running water and put in a bowl with a thick bottom. It can be a cast-iron cauldron or a wok pan. Gradually heat the berries over low heat for ten minutes, constantly stirring with a wooden spatula or spoon and lightly crushing. The process is continued until the dogwood turns into a liquid boiling mass.
Transfer the steamed berries into a sieve with a fine mesh and wipe them with circular motions of a spatula or spoon. You should get a light, slightly liquid mashed potatoes. Waste - bones and peel - can be used to make compote or fruit drink.
Step 2
Your winter cornel sauce for meat will be tastier and more aromatic if you add spices and fresh herbs to it. Rinse and dry the cilantro, and then chop finely with a knife. Grind the garlic and the coriander fried in a dry pan until smooth in the mortar, gradually adding chopped greens. Mix spicy dressing with cornel sauce, add olive oil and salt.
After you thoroughly mix the mass, put it on the fire again, if necessary add a little water. Hot sauce should be cooked for about 10 minutes on very low heat, constantly stirring with a spatula and avoiding burning. Pay attention to the consistency. Dogwood sauce for meat for the winter should not be too liquid and do not drain a thin stream from a spoon. Rather, it resembles a thick jam.
Step 3
Glass jars (the volume at your discretion, it is best to take small ones - 0.3-0.5 l) is sterilized. Gently place the hot sauce in the container and roll up the lids or use tightly closed vessels. If you do not plan to store the cans in the basement or cellar, then it is quite possible to use screw caps. Then just put them in the refrigerator.
Dogwood sauce for the winter, step by step with the photo presented to you now, is perfectly stored. Serve it chilled with meat or fish dishes, fresh pita bread or toasted toasts, and you can also try using it as a barbecue marinade. Jars with fragrant sauce will not take up much space in the refrigerator, you can even cook half a serving, because the consumption of a hot product is not so great.
Dogwood sauce recipe for the winter (with photo) original
Sauces are the finishing touch to the served dish, whether it is fish, meat or dessert. They emphasize its taste, giving many shades of aroma. We suggest you try another amazingly delicious dogwood dressing. Its composition is elementary simple, and the cooking process is very fast. One caveat - the sauce must be infused for at least two weeks before serving.
To prepare it you will need: 200-300 g of dogwood, a head of garlic, a teaspoon of dried and chopped mint, 100-150 ml of olive oil, 20 ml of grape vinegar, 0.5 teaspoon of sugar and salt.
How to cook
Ripe cornel berries should be washed in running water and dried on a towel to remove excess moisture. Remove the seeds from the fruit. You can use the apparatus for cherries or an ordinary glass. place the berries under the bottom and gently push, and then easily remove the bone. Pour cornel into a jar, which can then be closed tightly with a lid. This is necessary for tightness and better safety. After all, dogwood sauce is prepared for the winter - a very tasty additional product for meat, which allows you to add piquancy to the dish.
On top of the cornel, put garlic, chopped into thin slices, chopped dried mint, half a teaspoon of sugar and salt, 20 ml of grape vinegar, and then pour the mixture into cold-pressed olive oil. Close the jar with a lid and gently shake several times to mix all the ingredients. For 2-3 weeks, put the dogwood sauce for meat (for the winter) in the refrigerator, all its components should be saturated with juices and taste of each other, insist. This is very convenient, because it can be prepared in advance, before any celebration or holiday, and at the right time just get it and serve it with meat and fish. As well as the sauce prepared according to the previous recipe, it can be used as a marinade.
Sweet sauce - recipe number 3
Sweet dogwood sauce for the winter is easy to prepare. The recipe is much like the first, but different in ingredients. In fact, this is jam, but only more liquid in consistency. Serve it well with ice cream, fill muffins or muffins, water a souffle, etc.
We offer you an original and traditional Turkish recipe. Where, if not in Turkey, do you know a lot about sweets? To prepare sweet dogwood sauce, you will need: 1.2-1.3 kg of berries (the product will yield about a kilogram), 2 kg of granulated sugar, two glasses of boiled water and ¼ tsp. citric acid (natural preservative).
Cooking process
Rinse the cornel and put in a thick-walled dish, add 2 cups of water. Cook the berries on low heat for 15-20 minutes, until they are soft. Then allow the mass to cool, put in a sieve with small cells and carefully wipe until the consistency of the puree. Remove skins and pits periodically. Ultimately, you should get a homogeneous liquid mass. The total yield by weight is on average a kilogram. This dogwood sauce for the winter should not be too thick.
Pour the sauce back into a thick-walled bowl, add sugar and mix thoroughly with a wooden spatula or spoon. Boil on a medium heat for 5-7 minutes, not allowing the mass to boil. If foam appears, remove it with a spoon. Before the end of cooking, add citric acid. It prevents the crystallization of sugar in the sauce and preserves its excellent natural color. At the same time, if you wish, you can add your favorite spices, for example, vanilla pod, as well as aromatic herbs - mint, lemon balm.
Preparing for storage
While the sauce is hot, carefully lay it in jars (pre-sterilized) and roll them up with lids. It will be great if the heat in them persists for as long as possible. Therefore, wrap the jars in a warm blanket and leave at room temperature until completely cooled. Then put it in the cellar or in the refrigerator. Cooked sweet dogwood sauce is a summer sealed in a jar. It is fragrant and bright, reminds of the warm sun and gives a unique taste to your dishes.
Conclusion
Knowing how to prepare dogwood sauce for the winter, you can easily cope with even the largest harvest and at the same time not be limited to traditional jam, jam or compote. The simplicity of the process and the elementary set of ingredients make it affordable for everyone. The tart and aromatic taste diversifies the casual and festive table.