How to save strawberries for the winter without cooking: preparing berries, drying and freezing

Strawberry has long been one of the most popular forest and garden berries. After collecting sweet fragrant fruits, many summer residents have a question about how to save strawberries for the winter without cooking. After all, you want to enjoy delicious berries not only in summer, but also with the onset of cold weather. There are many ways to keep strawberry flavor all winter long.

Features of strawberry storage

Store fresh strawberries after picking is recommended in the refrigerator. If you leave it in a room, in 1-2 days it will become moldy or ferment. But even in the refrigerator, the berry is not stored for a long time, especially if it is in a small container in several layers.

In order to keep the picked strawberries fresh longer in the refrigerator, they are picked early in the morning or late in the evening when it gets cool outside.

If you plan to store the fruits for several days in the refrigerator, washing and cleaning them is not recommended. In this case, the berry will give juice and quickly begin to ferment. Fruits are washed immediately before freezing or heat treatment.

Requirements for the selection and preparation of berries

Any berries are suitable for freezing, only if they are free of mold, insect marks and other damage. For processing, you can use small and not the sweetest berries, and eat large ones fresh.

Before boiling or freezing strawberries, it will be enough to sort out the fruits, rinse thoroughly under water (there may be slugs, larvae and small bugs on the berries) and remove the stalk. Further actions depend on the chosen method of processing the crop.

Preparation of containers

Plastic bags or plastic containers are suitable for freezing crops. Grated wild strawberries and strawberry jam are usually poured into glass jars and then put away in a cold place. In the refrigerator, berries are recommended to be stored in wide pots or cups. The wider the container, the longer the fruit will stay fresh.

You can store fruits in any container. It can be plastic cups, enamel and aluminum dishes, glass jars. The material from which the container is made does not affect the duration of storage.

Methods of storage

There are many ways to store wild strawberries harvested from the forest. The berries are frozen, dried and jam is made from them. The methods of storing the berries will differ only according to the taste of the resulting product and harvesting technology.

Refrigerated storage

Refrigerated shelf life depends on temperature. The lower it is, the longer the berry will remain fresh. At a temperature of +6 degrees, the shelf life is up to 4 days. With a temperature regime of 0 to +2, the fruits remain fresh for one week. To keep the shelf life longer, this method is not suitable. This is the maximum when the crop can remain fresh while in the refrigerator without heat treatment. It is undesirable to store fruits in a plastic bag. Due to condensation, mold quickly appears on the berries.

Freeze

The easiest way to keep the freshness of wild strawberries after harvesting from the site is to freeze them. Before freezing, the fruits are sorted out, moldy and damaged are thrown out. The remaining fruits are thoroughly washed under running water in a colander. After that, it is necessary to allow excess liquid to drain.

The fruits are laid out on a towel or newspaper and left for 20-30 minutes. When the skin dries, the strawberries are transferred to plastic bags and put in the freezer.

Fresh-frozen berries are suitable for making pies, teas and compotes. Although they do not have as many vitamins as fresh ones, but of all the methods of storing berries, this method manages to preserve the maximum benefit for the body.

To prevent the berries from sticking together during freezing, they are laid out on a baking sheet separately, then sent to the freezer for a day. The next day, the strawberries are transferred to a bag and put back in the freezer.

How to grind strawberries with sugar for the winter without cooking

Another way to keep the strawberry harvest all winter long is to grind it with sugar. If you do not cook the workpiece, then to taste it will resemble fresh strawberries. Such a blank can be stored in jars in the cellar or put in the freezer:

• This harvesting method will require fresh strawberries and sugar to taste.
• Rinse the berries thoroughly under water, remove the stalks and discard the moldy fruits. Let the water drain.
• Then twist the strawberries in a meat grinder or grind in a blender.
• Add sugar to taste (it is better to use icing sugar instead of sugar, so grains will not be felt during the meal).

Shift the resulting workpiece to banks. Grated wild strawberries with sugar in the freezer can be stored all winter, and in the refrigerator it is better to eat them as soon as possible. If the workpiece is standing for a long time, it begins to ferment.

Dried strawberries

Fresh strawberries can be dried for the winter. There are two ways to dry. The first is the natural way. The second one is in the oven.

In the first drying method, strawberries are sorted and washed. Then laid out on a newspaper in a sunny place. Turn the berries regularly. Drying this way takes just over a week.

In order not to spend a lot of time on the process of drying berries, use the oven. The fruits are also sorted and washed. While they are drying from the water, preheat the oven to 60 degrees. Put dry berries in one layer on a baking sheet and put in the oven. It is best to spread parchment paper beforehand.

Leave the berries in the oven for several hours, turning and stirring regularly. Drying in this way takes up to 6 hours, so it is not recommended to plan anything for this day. You will have to constantly be near the stove so that the strawberries do not dry out.

Dried fruits retain their aroma, which is especially pronounced when brewing strawberry tea.

Evacuation

Another method to keep strawberries fresh after harvest is to freeze them in a vacuum pack. To do this, the fruits are sorted, washed in water and the stalk is removed.

For vacuuming fruits, you will need a special device - a vacuum cleaner. This is a small machine with which air is pumped out of the package. Also, for storage in this way, you will have to buy special packaging.

The fruits are placed in a package, with the help of a vacuum pump, excess air is pumped out. Then immediately put the bag in the freezer.

The advantage of this storage method is that no foreign smell penetrates into the packaging, and there is more space in the freezer. In addition, odors also do not penetrate into the refrigerator from freezer packs.

Jam

The most common way to prepare strawberries for the winter is to make jam from them. And for an unusual taste, you can add other ingredients.

To make strawberry jam you will need:

• 100 ml vodka;
• 1 kg strawberries;
• 1 kg of sugar;
• juice of one lemon.

Cooking:

1. Rinse fruits thoroughly under cool water.
2. Put into a saucepan, add sugar and vodka.
3. Cook until boiling, after boiling, cook for another 7-9 minutes.
4. Remove from heat, leave overnight.
5. The next day, add lemon juice to the preparation and cook again for 10 minutes over medium heat.

When the jam is ready, put it in jars and twist. Remove conservation to the cellar.

Strawberry jam is brewed along with other ingredients that complement its flavor. For example, with mint.

Jam Ingredients:

• 1 kg strawberries;
• 3 sprigs of fresh mint;
• 1kg sugar;
• lemon juice.

Preparation of jam:

1. Wash the fruits and separate the stalk.
2. Put the strawberries into a saucepan, cover with sugar, leave for a few hours for the fruits to release their juice.
3. Rinse the lemon thoroughly, grate the zest on a fine grater and squeeze out all the juice.
4. Put the pot with the fruits over medium heat, bring to a boil.
5. As soon as the jam boils, add the zest and lemon juice.
6. Stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, cook for 10 minutes.
7. After 10 minutes, add mint leaves without sprigs, mix and keep on fire for another 5 minutes.
8. Remove the pan from the stove, wait until the jam cools down.
9. Then boil it again for another 10 minutes.
10. Remove from heat and leave until the next day.
11. The next day, boil the jam for another 10 minutes.

Pour the finished jam into sterilized jars and twist. Wait until they cool down, and lower into the basement. You can not only eat such jam, but also use it for making homemade cakes.

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