Frozen lingonberries: TOP 3 recipes for cooking for the winter at home

Cowberry is a useful, albeit bitter, berry, which is often used in medicine, cooking, and cosmetology. To preserve all the vitamins and minerals, the fruit is frozen for the winter. Frozen lingonberries are used until the new harvest to prepare sauces, compotes and other dishes. Let's talk about the rules for freezing and storing this wonderful berry.

Can lingonberries be frozen for the winter?

Freezing in the freezer section of the refrigerator is a gentler method of processing food to keep it fresh and he althy.

Freezing is best done in portions, this method is practical and convenient. If necessary, you can take the bag out of the freezer and prepare the desired dish with the inclusion of lingonberries.

Sometimes it doesn't freeze properly. This results in loss:

• vitamins;
• primary view;
• smell.

It is worth considering methods to properly freeze the product at home.

How to wash berries before freezing?

When lingonberries are harvested, you need to pay attention to the presence of debris, unripe rotten fruits, leaves, insects in it.

For freezing, the berry is carefully moved, washed under running water.

The next step is the drying process. The fruit is laid out on a surface that absorbs moisture well and removes excess liquid.

Cowberries must be washed before freezing.

How to freeze lingonberries at home?

The fruits are quite bitter, so the berry is frozen using granulated sugar to improve the taste.

In portion bags in the freezer

For this type of freezing you will need to take:

• lingonberries;
• colander;
• towels;
• freezer bags.

How to freeze berries:

1. The fruits are sorted, the stalks, leaves, spoiled berries are removed.
2. The product is thoroughly washed under running water, shaken.
3. Next you need to dry it on a towel.
4. The fruits are laid out in one layer in packages. You need to close them so that all the air is eliminated to the maximum.
5. Put the bags in the freezer compartment.

The advantage of the method is to save space - you can put bags of berries on top of each other.

No Bulk Sugar

This option is also simple, but it will take more time. This method provides for the initial freezing of berries in bulk on any surface in one layer, and then they are laid out in bags, containers, which is convenient.

For freezing lingonberries, take:

• product;
• colander;
• paper towels;
• surface to freeze berries (tray, board);
• bags, plastic containers.

Preparation before freezing:

1. The fruits are moved and washed.
2. Towels are laid out on the table, lingonberries, which are prepared for freezing, are placed evenly on them.
3. When it dries, it is transferred to a tray and sent to the freezer.
4. After the frozen fruit must be distributed into packages, releasing air, containers.

During the freezing process, do not stack food trays on top of each other.

With sugar

Freezing the fruit in bulk is possible with the use of sugar. The product is frozen in large plastic containers. The process is not very long. The main disadvantage is the cost of sugar.

To freeze a treat with sugar for the winter, you need to take:

• 1 kg cranberries;
• 500 mg granulated sugar;
• towels;
• colander;
• container;
• plastic spoon.

Steps of work:

1. The fruits are moved, washed.
2. Dry in a colander, then on a towel.
3. Cowberries are laid out in layers in a container, sprinkled with sugar.
4. It is recommended to take a glass of berries and half a glass of sugar, then another glass of berries and so on.
5. When all the ingredients are laid out, they are mixed with a spoon.
6. The plastic container closes tightly and goes to the freezer.

Shelf life of frozen berries

The suitability of fruits that have been frozen will depend on a number of factors:

1. It is advisable to use a refrigerator, freezer with a No Frost cooling system, since old-style refrigerators are not able to provide a deep freezing process that allows you to fully preserve the structure of the fruit.
2. The temperature in the freezer should be constant and not rise more than -18 degrees. If the temperature is -10 degrees, then the shelf life will be reduced.

In relation to other fruits, the shelf life of lingonberries is long - from a year to 3 years, but only if it is frozen whole, in its purest form.

Freezing in other ways (with sugar, in ground form) allows you to store the berry for up to a year.

How to defrost properly

Methods that allow you to properly defrost a berry:

1. In the microwave in the "Defrost" mode. You will need to check every minute how the product is defrosted so that the lingonberries do not heat up. This method leads to the destruction of the beneficial elements of the berry.
2. Defrosting at room temperature is a slow process, the berries release a lot of juice, and it also leads to the growth of microbes.
3. The fruit in the bag is placed under running water - this method is very fast, but getting water into the lingonberry will cause it to become limp and watery.

The best defrosting option is to place it on the top of the refrigerator. Thanks to this method, all vitamins are preserved, bacteria do not multiply. A kilogram of goodies will defrost in the refrigerator for 8-10 hours.

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