Lingonberry is one of the most useful northern berries, which contains a huge amount of vitamins, especially A, C and E, trace elements, amino acids and other substances. It is traditionally used to treat colds and strengthen immunity in the cold season. Harvesting lingonberries for the winter is not particularly difficult. Due to the high acid content, the berry can be stored for a long time and in fresh form (no more than a month), for a very long time - in frozen, and if you want to combine taste and benefit, you can cook jam or make lingonberry stock without heat treatment.
How to save cranberries using the above methods, read in our article. The main thing, when selecting a berry, note that it should not be green or pale pink - this means that it is not ripened, or, conversely, excessively saturated color, soft - this will mean that it is overripe and, for example, for freezing is not good.
Lingonberry: harvesting for the winter in the freezer
Let's start with the easiest way that won't take you much time. You can freeze the berries, for this, wash and sort it, put it on a tray or plate with a thin layer and send it to the refrigerator. After a couple of hours, frozen lingonberries can be laid out in bags or boxes, put in a freezer and stored there until the winter cold. Keep in mind that the berry does not tolerate repeated freezing, so it is better to use a small container when packaging. So every time you can get a serving, let it thaw and cook a delicious fruit drink or jelly from lingonberries, grind it with sugar or just eat it fresh.
Lingonberry: harvesting for the winter with sugar without cooking
When cooked, the berries lose some of their vitamins, so that this does not happen, you can prepare a delicious supply - grind lingonberries with sugar. To do this, take the indicated ingredients in a 1: 1 ratio, mix with each other, and then grind in a blender (you can also use a hand blender) or using a meat grinder. Lay out the resulting mass in sterilized jars, roll up the lids and put in a dark place for storage. It will be delicious if you add fresh orange to such a blank. Wash the citrus, remove the seeds, but you don’t need to remove the peel. Just twist the orange with lingonberries. You will get a berry supply with a light citrus flavor.
Lingonberry: harvesting for the winter traditional. Cook delicious jam from berries and apples
For cooking you will need:
- 1 kilogram of ripe berries;
- 4 apples
- kilogram of granulated sugar.
Wash the lingonberries and apples, then peel the fruits and remove the seed chamber. Cut into slices, and then (with the berry) pour sugar over. Put the mass in a saucepan and heat over low heat until the juice begins to form. Remove the dishes from the stove and let the berry brew for a couple of hours. After the specified time, put the pan on the fire again, boil for 20 minutes - half an hour, cool slightly and pour into sterilized jars. Done. Whatever method you choose, in the cold season you will have delicious lingonberries on your table. Harvesting this berry for winter is relatively simple, and its undeniable benefits for the body are an excellent argument for it to appear on your table very often.