Redcurrant and gooseberry compote for the winter: simple recipes with photos and videos

Every housewife tries to stock vitamins for the winter, to keep vegetables and fruits in the most original form. To do this, there are recipes for jams, pickles, marinades, accumulated by many generations, summarized in collections of tips and cookbooks. And how to cook a delicious compote of red currants and ripe gooseberries for the winter, for sure, it will be interesting for many to know - for this you will need to read this article to the end.

Features of making gooseberry and currant compote

Cooking is almost an art: one extra ingredient and the taste changes exactly the opposite.Although it is believed that real masterpieces are created in this way. In relation to the situation with gooseberry and currant compote, one must take into account the fact that both products contain a large amount of ascorbic acid, which is also vitamin C. This means that it will be necessary to “balance” the excess acidity with sugar, but at the same time not to exceed the norm, so as not to bring the product to cloying. It is also impossible to boil the mixture for a long time: high temperature destroys most vitamins and trace elements, turning he althy compote into tinted sweet water.

Therefore, a drink made from gooseberries and currant berries is prepared according to a special recipe, but the secret of a real fortified cocktail will be revealed a little later.

Which varieties of currants to choose

To make the compote really tasty, rich, and most importantly - retain its useful qualities for a long time, you need to choose ripe berries, follow certain rules - otherwise the final product may turn out to be too sour or, conversely, overly sugary, the pleasure of it will be hopelessly damaged.

Currant varieties have been bred by breeders, they are different in fruit size and taste, but the main ones come down to 3 types:

• black;
• red;
• white.

Appetizing, rich in useful substances, including vitamins C, A, groups B, P, E, sugar, essential oils, pectins, organic acids and trace elements, berries are useful in all varieties. Most of all, ascorbic acid and retinol (vitamins A and C) are in the currant, and the white one is superior to the black one in the content of folic acid and carotene.

And fruits are rich in antioxidants, are low-calorie foods (42 calories per 100 grams). Therefore, it is difficult to specifically recommend the choice of one or another type. Better to rely on your personal tastes.

Important. Currant berries, regardless of variety and size, are very tasty, juicy, and also he althy: they contain vitamins A, C, B, organic acids, antioxidants and trace elements - a real natural pantry! Of these, you definitely need to make compote.

Selection of gooseberry varieties before starting the process

Gooseberry is a unique plant with fruits of a characteristic striped color, but its value is not only in form, but also in content. Of the varieties growing in Russia, the following varieties are known: English, emerald, Russian, change, honey, Moscow, spring, dessert and many others.

Berries contain provitamins A, vitamins B and C, as well as polysaccharides, minerals, pectins, trace elements. Dark varieties are rich in vitamin P, which helps neutralize heavy metal compounds.

In general, the choice of one or another species is not so important as the classification according to the degree of ripeness. The fact is that slightly unripe fruits are suitable for compote, it is desirable that they be about the same size. Overripe berries are suitable for jellies and jams, while completely green ones will not allow you to reveal the full potential of gooseberries.

Important. There is an opinion that in gooseberry compote, which has a peculiar taste and rich fresh aroma, the presence of currant enhances these qualities and color, since without it the infusion is very light, transparent.

Preparing the main ingredients

Before preparing a tasty and he althy compote, you need to do a few simple, simple steps. They will preserve the properties of the berries, as well as make the drink pleasant for aesthetic perception. Yes, yes, because nutritionists believe that food should be not only nutritious, but also beautiful, which is why so much attention is paid to serving in restaurants and self-respecting catering places.

So, a step-by-step algorithm for processing berries:

1. Collected gooseberries and currants are sorted, washed, removed tails, ripe and green fruits are sorted. The gooseberries are slightly pricked, as they have a dense skin (so that the syrup gets inside and the berries boil well).
2. The dishes are being prepared. If the compote is supposed to be consumed immediately, then there will be enough pans, if for storage, then you will also need glass jars of the required quantity and volume.
3. Be sure to need granulated sugar, how much - it will become clear, based on the consumption of berries.
4. The last component is covers (needed if we are talking about preparations for the winter).

These are all the main ingredients and ingredients that a hostess may need before cooking compote.

How to make gooseberry and currant compote at home

There are several recipes for making a delicious, fragrant compote, which is good to cool off in the summer heat, having it for breakfast or as an aperitif, as well as for a stock for the future (for a long cold winter, when the body especially needs vitamin nourishment).They differ in the proportions of the components and some additional additives that improve the taste, but, in general, they do not present any particular difficulties in cooking.

Easy winter recipe

To implement a simple way to treat yourself to something delicious, you will need: a picked berry, a pan of suitable size and granulated sugar. The fruits are washed, the tails are removed (on both sides of the gooseberry, dried leaves are removed from the currant), they are prepared for cooking. In total, you will need 1 glass of each type (this is about 250 grams), you can experiment with currants: mix red and black or black with white in equal parts, the taste will only benefit from this.

Cold water (3 l) is poured into a cleanly washed dish, sugar (200 grams) is added to it, mixed, brought to a boil, so that a syrup is obtained. It is very important to understand that the end goal is not to boil the berry, but to lightly process it with a hot solution.

Therefore, the mixture of fruits in syrup is brought to a boil, then kept on low heat for no more than 2 minutes, removed from the stove and allowed to brew. Gooseberry compote acquires a rich taste and aroma over time, it is for this that the last condition was invented. Next, the finished drink is cooled, poured into a jug and consumed - with cookies, a bun, gingerbread or just like a tonic.

No sterilization

This recipe is fraught with some trick: you still have to sterilize, but not ready-made compote, but only jars with lids. You will need to make a calculation to determine the consumption of components and the amount of glass containers. Berries, water and sugar will be needed in approximately the following proportion:

• 200 grams of gooseberries;
• 300 grams of currant;
• 300 grams of sugar;
• 2.5 liters of water.

This is a calculation for one 3 liter jar. For smaller or larger volumes, it is corrected. You can take red currants, in which case they leave branches with it. Further, simultaneously with the sterilization of the container, the syrup is prepared: it is brought to a boil and “boiled” for 2-3 minutes. Then a hot solution is poured into the prepared jar, in an amount of about 0.5-1 liter, the fruits are poured into the same place and at the end they are filled with liquid under the neck.

After that, the lid is rolled up, the finished compote is turned upside down (this way the lids are better retracted), covered with a blanket and allowed to cool completely for a day.

The method is simple but effective: thanks to the interaction with hot syrup, the berries are blanched, completely preserving all the healing substances, and the absence of air in the jar does not allow fermentation processes to develop.

With raspberries

Another original recipe that has every right to exist. To implement it, you will need (the amount is indicated in glasses):

• ripe but firm gooseberries (2 cups);
• raspberries (3 tbsp.);
• granulated sugar (2 tbsp.);
• pure water (10 tbsp.).

Important. Variations in the amount of sugar for a sweet tooth are allowed, but not less than the specified norm.

The berry is moved, garbage, stalks, unusable fruits are separated from it. It is recommended to wash gooseberries and raspberries in a colander, leaving them to drain at the end of the procedure. Next, the standard processing of cans is carried out: washing, sterilization in boiling water. At the same time, syrup is being prepared, the process consists in pouring sugar into hot water with thorough mixing until completely dissolved. You can cook it a little, but not for long (no more than 3 minutes).

Fruits are poured into the prepared container (in equal proportions), which are then poured with hot sugar solution. The last stage remains - the sterilization of the compote itself: a towel is placed in a pan with a wide bottom (to avoid direct contact of the bottom of the cans with metal), and then the cans covered with lids are installed. The water level should reach approximately the shoulders, the container should be boiled for 40 minutes, mandatory on the slowest fire. Then the jars are carefully removed, rolled up with lids, turned upside down and left in this position for about a day. Delicious homemade compote for the winter is ready.

With cherries

This recipe is a real mix of flavors and colors: dark cherries contrast well with lighter gooseberries, and the taste of this compote is hard to put into words. You will need:

• cherry;
• gooseberry;
• sugar;
• citric acid.

Preparation begins with sorting out the berries: gooseberries are removed tails, stalks, leaves, cherries - bones. Fruits are washed in a sieve or colander under running water. A 3 liter glass jar is washed with soda or dish soap, rinsed, sterilized over a boiling kettle (steam). The tin lid for preservation is prepared separately, it is boiled for 5 minutes.

Preparation of compote is carried out in 2 stages: first, a berry is poured into a jar, poured with water preheated to a boil and left to cool. Then the water is poured into the pan, sugar is added there, the mixture is boiled with stirring until a homogeneous composition is obtained. The hot syrup is re-poured into the jar, a pinch of citric acid (at the tip of the knife) is poured into the same place, after which the lid is rolled up.Then the container is turned over, wrapped and left in this form for several hours.

The consumption of components based on 3 liters is:

• 200 grams each of gooseberries and cherries;
• 250 grams of granulated sugar;
• a pinch of lemon.

How long compote is stored

A ready-made drink brewed from fresh berries should be consumed as soon as possible: this way it will be more useful and the tasting will not end with food poisoning. Compotes rolled into jars are a completely different matter: they can be safely stored for a whole year, until the new harvest, it is not even necessary to put them in the refrigerator. But if there are seeds left in the berries, then the shelf life is reduced: in such fruits, hydrocyanic acid accumulates over time - a strong poison that is dangerous to humans.

Rules for storing gooseberry and currant drink

Sterilized preservation is stored in a dark place, closed from direct sunlight - a pantry, basement or cellar. You can also use a refrigerator for these purposes, but not necessarily: without air access, the products inside the jar will not oxidize, they do not need extra cold.

A delicious, he althy, carefully prepared drink made from juicy berries is sure to come in handy both in the heat of summer and in cold winter - you will find a real supply of vitamins and microelements in it.

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