Physalis is familiar to most of us as an ornamental plant, and only a few know about its edible qualities. The fact is that from berries hidden in Chinese lanterns, you can cook delicious dishes. Physalis is a very useful plant that contains a huge amount of vitamins that have a good effect on our body.
Despite the fact that its benefits have been proven, physalis is not a very frequent guest on the Russian menu, because there are some problems with its cultivation. Distinguish the decorative, vegetable and berry appearance of this plant. The first can not be eaten, the second is usually salted or pickled, and physalis jam is prepared from berry varieties.
In our climatic conditions, a vegetable variety grows best. He is quite unpretentious, precocious and high yielding. Due to the bitterness, physalis is considered not very tasty, so it can only be eaten in processed form. Berries are salted and pickled, sometimes they make jam. We also cultivate berry varieties, but they are more finicky, so it can be very difficult to grow such physalis in a summer cottage. Jam from it turns out to be very sweet and fragrant, and berries can be eaten even fresh.
Dishes from this plant will delight not only with an unusual and very pleasant taste, but also with useful properties. Strawberry Physalis is best suited for making sweet and fragrant preserves or candied fruits. The recipe is very easy to prepare and does not take much time.
So, to make physalis jam, you need 1 kg of berries, 0.5 l of water and 1 kg of sugar. First you need to remove all the cups, and wash the berries themselves in
hot water to remove the sticky substance. It is recommended that the fruit be blanched for about two minutes. This will help get rid of a specific taste.
Physalis jam will be more beautiful if the berries remain intact. So that they do not burst, you need to pierce them with a needle or a toothpick. Syrup is made from water and sugar. The fruits are put in a saucepan and poured with hot syrup. For impregnation, it is recommended to leave them for 10 hours. Then the pan is put on a slow fire, and the jam is brought to a boil. You need to cook it for 5 minutes.
After this, the berries insist another 8 hours. For the third time, physalis jam is cooked until cooked over low heat. All the time you need to gently stir it so as not to crush the berries, and remove the foam. In sterile jars, the jam is poured hot. Rolled containers are turned upside down and held until cool.
If you need to get candied fruit, then cook the jam for an additional 10 minutes, and then filter through a colander to get rid of excess fluid. The berries themselves are laid out on a baking sheet and dried in the sun or in the oven. Cooked candied fruits can be sprinkled with powdered sugar and put in jars.
Decorative physalis is not consumed, but is used in the interior. In winter, it will become a pleasant memory of hot summer days. Its fruits can be used as decoration. To do this, stick foil on the leaves of the plant, and gild the berry itself. It will turn out a beautiful toy for the Christmas tree.