Cloudberry is one of the most common berries of the northern latitude. It grows in the wild and is extremely difficult to cultivate, which is why it occupies a special place in cooking.
What is this berry?
Cloudberry in appearance is similar to raspberries, but the plant is much smaller, only about 20 cm in height. It grows on acidic swampy soils and is extremely hardy, withstanding temperatures up to -40 ° C. Berries are usually easy to pick, as they grow on vertical stems, with each stalk containing only one berry. Plants begin to bloom in June, and berries usually ripen in July. First cloudberry has a red color, but then, as it ripens, it becomes a beautiful golden yellow color. The season of this berry is very short: often it disappears in mid-August.
Cloudberries are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins and antioxidants. For this reason, the question often arises: how to prepare this tasty and healthy berry for the winter? Of course, you can freeze it, but to store it in this form will require a lot of space in the freezer. Fresh, its shelf life is very limited. Therefore, the most suitable way is cloudberry jam.
This delicacy can be consumed by itself, as well as served with waffles and pancakes. In addition, it can be used as an ingredient in other sweet dishes, as it has a mild flavor and delicate aroma.
This berry contains a lot of benzoic acid, so cloudberry jam can be stored in the refrigerator for a long period of time and is not subject to spoilage. In addition, you can add half a teaspoon of citric acid or lemon juice to it for added sourness on the palate. So, how to cook cloudberry jam ?
Quick recipe
You will need the following ingredients:
- 500 g cloudberries;
- 250 g of powdered sugar;
- ½ teaspoon of citric acid;
Cooking:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 ° C.
2. Arrange (do not mix) cloudberries and sugar in two fireproof bowls (or cake tins).
3. Place the indicated bowls in the oven for approximately 20 minutes.
4. Carefully remove them from the oven and thoroughly mix sugar with cloudberries.
5. You will get “five-minute” cloudberry jam, which you must pour into prepared sterilized jars.
6. Close the cans with lids and leave to cool.
7. Such cloudberry jam (“five minutes”) should be stored in the refrigerator.
Second option
In addition, there is a classic version of the preparation of this berry. Tasty cloudberry jam can be obtained by short-term cooking. To do this, you need the following ingredients:
- 1 kg cloudberries;
- 350 grams of sugar.
Cooking
Put cloudberries in a pan and mix it with sugar very carefully. Then bring to a boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Transfer to hot glass jars. When cloudberry jam has cooled to room temperature, put the jars in the refrigerator.
Third option
Typically, fruit jam contains fruits and berries, cooked in whole or in pieces in syrup. However, most fruits do not contain such large seeds as cloudberry. Jam with such ingredients is not everyone's taste. The preparation of jelly, in turn, involves the use of only berry juice, without the addition of pulp and seeds. Below is an instruction on how to cook cloudberry jam using one berry juice.
Cooking method
Wash and sort the berries, separating overripe and low-quality. This can be done in a deep container or by soaking cloudberries in a sink. Then treat the selected berry with hot water to disinfect.
Use a sieve and cheesecloth to squeeze the juice from the berries.
Pour the juice into a saucepan and put it on the stove, bring to a boil and gradually add sugar (its amount can be varied to taste, but the approximate proportion is 5.5 cups of sugar for 4 cups of juice).
Add a bag of pectin after the sugar has completely dissolved. Stir the mixture constantly and bring to a boil again. How to cook cloudberry jam? After the jelly begins to boil very much (bubbles will continue to form, even when you continue to mix), detect 1 minute. A thick foam will begin to rise at this time, so you must continue to stir the mixture, preventing it from pouring out of the pan.
When one minute has passed, remove the pan from the heat and let the jam settle. You can see the foam layer on top. Take a spoon and carefully remove it. The foam is also suitable for use, so just put it in a separate bowl. You can eat it with tea or white bread.
Quickly pour the prepared jelly jam into pre-prepared jars, filling them up to the end. Cloudberries contain a large amount of natural pectin, so the jelly will begin to harden and harden very quickly.
Make sure the edges of your cans are free of traces of jam. Seal them with lids and sterilize in a water bath. To do this, you need to place them in a large container of water and bring it to a boil. Sterilize cloudberry jam is necessary for 10 minutes.
Remove the cans from the container and place them on a towel to cool. They must cool for at least 24 hours before you can move them to the refrigerator.
What is this delicacy used for?
Firstly, cloudberry jam and jelly are perfect as a filler for toast and sweet tea sandwiches. Secondly, it can be added to ice cream, which guarantees an unusual taste and aroma of dessert. Thirdly, it makes excellent meringues and other sweet goodies.
In addition, in Swedish cuisine cloudberries and jam from it are sometimes used in savory dishes, even those that contain mushrooms or meat. The most famous Scandinavian dish is fried cheese with sour cream and jam. To prepare this delicacy, cut goat cheese into thin slices and lightly fry them in a frying pan (if you wish, you can heat it in the microwave). While the cheese remains hot, cover it with a layer of sour cream and cloudberry jam and serve immediately.
Also an interesting recipe is Panakota with the addition of cloudberry jam. Despite the fact that this is a southern dish, its combination with northern berries looks unusual, and it turns out very tasty. Panakota with cloudberry jam with the addition of pistachios and white chocolate will be an excellent dessert for any table.
Jelly made in the form of jelly is perfect for making sweet drinks. To do this, it is enough to carefully stir one or two teaspoons of jelly in a glass of plain or sparkling water, lemonade. It turns out a fragrant and refreshing drink that quenches thirst well.