Lingonberry is a healthy berry that can often be found in the Caucasus and the Far East. It grows in coniferous (most often in pine) or mixed forests on moist soils.
Many housewives often think about how to keep cranberries fresh. There are several ways, but first, let's talk about the properties of this berry.
Forest beauty on guard of your health
This burgundy, sometimes purple-red berry contains a lot of nutrients . In its composition, you can find benzoic and malic acid, vitamin C, a lot of fiber, manganese. It has many mineral salts of calcium, sodium, potassium and others. It is used as a means of improving appetite, saving from scurvy, with anti-putrefactive properties. Lingonberry water reduces cravings for alcohol, and infusions help with rheumatism. That's why we are concerned about the question of how to keep cranberries fresh. She is an excellent remedy. A more effective result is just raw cranberries. It retains all the beneficial properties that may be lost during cooking.
Features of the collection
If you decide to harvest the berry for the winter, you need to catch the crop on time. This is not so simple, because ripening depends on many factors.
This process is affected by the amount of precipitation, temperature, and clogging of the site.
So still when the lingonberry matures? Usually the berries are picked twice a season. Early collection can be carried out in the summer - at the end of July or in August. But the main time for harvesting lingonberries is the end of September and the first half of October. It is important not to miss the moment. Ripe berries have brown seeds and even burgundy color. Unripe lingonberries do not have time to gain weight, and overripe lingonberries are not subject to storage and transportation.
How to keep cranberries fresh?
Experienced housewives know many dishes that can be prepared from this berry. It is used in frozen, baked, boiled, soaked form. But most of all, fresh cranberries are still valued. How to keep it so for a long time?
Lingonberry in water
One of the easiest ways. Before storage, the berry must be carefully sorted. Rinse 2 times with cooled boiled water, pour into jars, pour chilled boiling water and cover with lids. Store containers in a cool place. For this, a refrigerator or cellar is suitable. In this form, the fruits will remain fresh for the long winter months.
Lingonberry in its own juice
There is another way to store these healthy berries. The fruits are laid in dense layers in a barrel. Tamp lightly and put oppression to wait for the appearance of juice.
After the liquid fills all the voids, the barrel is closed tightly. The berry remains fresh and does not lose its nutritional properties.
Cold preservation
Another easy way to keep lingonberries fresh is to put freshly picked berries in the freezer. They must first be washed and dried. Fruits should not be wet. Then pack in ordinary plastic bags. After defrosting, berries should be eaten as quickly as possible, since they quickly lose their properties.
As you can see, stocking up delicious berries for the winter is easy. Now you know how to keep cranberries fresh. It remains only not to miss the harvest.