How to keep strawberries for the winter at home: freezing, drying, preservation

In winter, when there are so few vitamins, I want to eat fresh berries from my garden. But often they don’t know how to save strawberries for the winter so that useful vitamins and microelements remain in it. The fruits of horticultural culture are so tender that within a few hours after harvest they give juice, and their flesh spreads. But there are recipes that will help keep the berry in winter.

How to choose or pick the right strawberries

Before laying garden strawberries for storage, it is necessary to choose them correctly by sorting out damaged specimens. It is necessary to choose such fruits that differ in hardness, density. Overripe ones with dark red, almost brown flesh will not last long.

When harvesting during periods of high humidity, make sure that there are no mold particles on the surface of the berries. After all, from a spoiled fruit, the rest will become infected, the entire crop will deteriorate.

Purchased strawberries are pulled out of the store container. If pieces of pulp remain on the walls, then it is better to immediately use such a berry for cooking. You can't keep it for long.

How to save fruits for the winter

To keep strawberries fresh you need:

do not wash berries before packing;
prepare containers with holes;
spray with a solution of vinegar to prevent crop mold;
dry the fruits on paper towels or napkins.

The berries are stacked in 1 layer so that they do not touch each other in barrels.

How to store fresh strawberries in the fridge

In the lower compartment of the refrigerator, where the air temperature reaches +2 degrees Celsius, garden strawberries can stay fresh for up to 2-7 days.

It is necessary before storing dense berries to spread out at a distance of 0.5-1 centimeter from each other. It is better to take a container made of wood, cardboard or plastic. Top cover the berries with a cotton cloth or gauze in 2 layers. So the air will circulate, not stagnate.

Do not forget to check the condition of the fetus every 2 days. If mold appears, it is better to use he althy fruits for food or for making desserts.

Freezing

Freezing has long been used as an effective way to preserve the harvest of berries. Whole specimens of fruits are picked up, put in a container in one row, after drying them.Cover with cling film on top. Once the berries are frozen, they can be put in bags and left in the freezer.

Fresh frozen immediately after harvest. The strawberries are placed in containers with their stalks up in the chamber.

It is better to freeze strawberries in sugar. To do this, whole fruits laid out in a container are sprinkled with sugar. In winter, such strawberries will decorate desserts and drinks.

It is worth pouring whole berries or their halves with syrup. To do this, prepare a filling of 300 grams of sugar per liter of water. When the syrup boils, add 5 grams of citric acid or a tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice. After the syrup has cooled, they are poured with strawberries in a container, put in the freezer.

Strawberry puree will also be delicious. Prepare it by grinding strawberries in a blender. Then mix the berry mass with sugar in a ratio of 1:1.Pour puree into containers and freeze. In winter, you can cut off pieces of the product, adding to porridge, cottage cheese, drinks. A cocktail made from kefir, banana and 2-3 tablespoons of frozen puree is also delicious.

Candied

The color and aroma of garden strawberries can be preserved throughout the year if candied fruits are prepared. To prepare:

pick fruits of the same size;
washed under running water;
put in a colander, leave for better drainage of water;
berries are placed in a saucepan, covered with sugar in layers (400 grams per 1 kilogram of berries);
keep under cover for 24 hours;
drain the resulting juice, adding sugar to it;
bring the syrup to a boil and lower the berries there for 7 minutes;
make sure that the pulp does not boil soft.

Now it remains to get the fruits with a slotted spoon, free them from excess syrup, holding them in a colander. It is necessary to dry the finished product in a dryer or oven at a temperature of 50 degrees. To do this, lay the berries on a wire rack or a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Finished products are stored in dry jars, sterilized in advance. Store covered in the refrigerator or cupboard.

Use candied berries instead of sweets, add to pastries, muffins, cakes, cakes. And the syrup left over from cooking can be poured into jars and put in the refrigerator.

Storage of dried strawberries

The easiest way is to dry the berry in the oven. To do this, take whole fruits or cut them into 2 parts. For tea, you can cut into cubes, slices. The product is washed, laid out on a towel to dry. The cabinet is heated to 45 degrees, put a baking sheet with strawberry slices laid out in 1 layer.You can lay parchment paper on a baking sheet. During the drying period, the berries are turned over several times. At the end of the procedure, you can increase the air temperature to 60-70 degrees. If the fruits do not stick to your fingers when you squeeze them, they are ready to be stored.

The temperature in the strawberry dryer is set at 50-55 degrees. Slices 4 mm thick dry faster. The fruits should be placed on the grid in 1 layer so that they do not touch each other.

In the convection oven, the process is faster. Berries are ready in 1-2 hours. They do not need to be turned over, as the process proceeds evenly.

The finished product is cooled, put in linen bags or dry glass jars. You can store it for 2 years at room temperature.

How to store strawberry products

Prepare a lot of blanks for the winter from garden crops. This is jam, jam, and compotes. But to preserve the benefits of strawberry products, you need to store them properly.

Strawberry jam often gets moldy. The reasons for this may be low-quality berries, a small amount of sugar. From covers, their density depends on the penetration of air into the workpiece. It is recommended to roll jam jars with metal lids.

It is better to put the jars in the refrigerator or cellar, then they will have to be used within a year. You can't keep strawberries longer.

Pure berries keep fresh only in the refrigerator for 3-6 months. You can freeze the puree, but the taste will change after defrosting. It will not be as fragrant and tasty.

Compotes with strawberries are stored in the refrigerator. If they are under a twist, then you can go to the basement or cellar, where it is dark and cool. It is necessary to use the blank within a year.

Wine from berries is often made. Store the drink in dark glass bottles. If the wine is weak, then it cannot be kept for a long time.

All desserts and drinks based on strawberries are sold in 1 month - six months. If mold appears on top, then you need to hurry up with the use by carefully removing the film.

How to properly store strawberries for sale

When they plan to sell garden strawberries, they follow the storage rules especially clearly. Fresh fruits should be kept in a plastic container with holes at a temperature of plus 1-2 degrees. Choose solid, high-quality specimens for storage.

Strawberries from the greenhouse do not need to be washed before sale. There will be a lot of liquid in it, and the berry will spoil faster. And so you can keep it fresh for 7-12 days. They give shine, a bright appearance to the fruits, if they are wiped with a cloth dipped in a solution of vinegar.