With the onset of autumn, many gardeners in summer cottages begin to ripen tasty and extremely healthy hawthorn, harvesting for the winter of which is carried out in various ways, you will see for yourself. However, for some strange reason or out of ignorance, gardeners prefer to stock up on wild rose, and hawthorn trees are grown only as a decorative fence. And it’s very vain, because red berries conceal a lot of healing properties and, with proper preparation, give them completely. And how many dishes with their addition can be prepared that will surprise and delight in taste!
How to prepare hawthorn for the winter? Interesting ways
One of the quickest and easiest options is drying. After removal, the fruits should be evenly distributed over the surface of the oilcloth or put in an electric dryer. In vivo, the process is much longer - takes at least a week. In rainy weather, berries should be brought into the room.
To speed up drying, you can use a conventional oven. As raw materials, both fruits and buds that have not yet blossomed are suitable. The dried crop is placed in a fabric bag and perfectly stored for a long time - several years. Excellent fortified drinks are obtained from the product, which will help to supply the body with the necessary source of valuable minerals.
It should be noted that not only dried hawthorn. Harvesting for the winter is, of course, troublesome, but the result is worth it. Fresh fruits are frozen and boiled. They make juices, preserves, compotes, jams and marshmallows from them . Prescription recipes can not be counted.
Do not forget that after heat treatment a lot of vitamins are lost, so it is recommended that the ground berries be filled with sugar and consumed to enhance immunity. A sweet tooth offer a couple of delicious cooking options.
Jam
Before you prepare hawthorn for the winter, you need to take care of the products for conservation. A kilogram of fresh berries will require a similar amount of sugar, one and a half glasses of plain water and half a dessert spoon of lemon.
Sort the fruits, blackened and damaged - remove. Rinse, let the liquid drain (use a colander). In a deep container, dissolve sugar in water and send to the fire. Cook sweet syrup until the grains of sand completely disappear.
Pour the berries with a hot solution and leave for 10-12 hours in the room. We put the fruit pan on the stove, let the mass boil, pour in citric acid and cook for 15 minutes. Cover with a towel and wait for complete cooling. We shift hawthorn over sterile containers. Harvesting for the winter is a reminder of sunny days.
If you wish, you can make jam without stones: boil the fruits for ten minutes, then pass through a meat grinder or sieve. A homemade treat is perfect as a filling for confectionery. At the same time, you know exactly what products your dish consists of, are 100% sure of its safety and quality.
Cooking in a slow cooker
Do not want to stand by the stove? Then use modern technology. Put in the bowl all the necessary products (water, fruits, lemon and sugar), set the mode to “Soup” or “Stewing”. The cooking process takes two hours. You can reduce the amount of ingredients. When laying, always focus on the displacement of the bowl. The instruction does not recommend filling it in more than 2/3.
A simple recipe for hawthorn compote for the winter
This peerless drink will give vigor and energize. It is prepared from half a kilogram of sweet and sour apples and hawthorn fruits. Also, you can not do without a kilogram pack of granulated sugar and two liters of water. We make on a three-liter container, we take a little more liquid, so that it is probably enough.
Cut the apples into medium slices, not forgetting to take out the seeds. We wash the hawthorn. Harvesting red berries for the winter is also a combination of them with other products. We heat the water, pour in granulated sugar and citric acid, boil for five minutes. We sterilize the jar, lay out the indicated products in layers on the bottom.
Pour hot syrup, roll up the lid and store it upside down for 24 hours. You will be pleasantly surprised by a soft, slightly sour drink. You can reduce the amount of sugar if you do not like too sugary compote. We harvest hawthorn for the winter and enjoy a treat in the cold season!