Blueberry - a short shrub of the family of Vereskovs with edible berries, grows mainly in the northern forests, in marshes, in the tundra. Berries, leaves and shoots have medicinal properties, are used in traditional folk medicine. Berries can also be used as a natural dye. In the fruit of bilberry contains various useful substances, namely: anthocyanins, flavonoids, fruit acids, pectin, tannins, vitamins A, C, and group B, magnesium and calcium compounds.
Regular use of blueberries is beneficial for the eyes and gastrointestinal tract, in addition, blueberries contribute to the regulation of blood sugar, and is also a means for the prevention of scurvy and other diseases of the oral cavity.
Blueberries are harvested in various ways, including, and such as freezing and sugar permeation - these methods are very good, since they allow you to save almost all the useful substances.
If you have a freezer or a powerful modern refrigerator in your household, you can freeze blueberries in small plastic containers with lids or plastic bags. Before freezing, berries should not be wet, if you washed them - dry on a napkin. Frozen in this way, blueberries are good because they cook without sugar, after defrosting it will be almost as fresh.
Now tell you how to cook blueberries with sugar.
Bilberry recipe with sugar
Ingredients:
- blueberries ripe - 1 kg;
- sugar-sand - 1-1,5 kg.
Preparation
Berries sorted, washed and poured onto a clean napkin to remove the remnants of water. We move the fruit into a working container, pouring sugar (we use about half of this rate). Leave the minutes for 30, let them let the juice. When blueberries let the juice, gently mix the fruits with sugar and lay in clean jars (preferably with a capacity of not more than 1 liter). Top with sugar so that it covers berries (the layer should be about 1.5-2 cm thick). We put plastic covers on or roll tin cans (do not turn the jars). Keep these blanks best in cool, but at plus temperature.
If you want to prepare fried blueberries with sugar, before falling asleep with sugar, the berries must be passed through a meat grinder or chopped with a blender, and then add sugar (at once all) and put into jars. You can prepare mashed blueberries with sugar, for this, skipped through a meat grinder or shredded blender fruit, before falling asleep sugar should be wiped through a sieve.
The last two methods are in principle not bad, however, when used in your preparations, there will be less plant fibers and pectin, which is contained in the skin of berries.
Blueberries harvested by any of these methods (see above), will pleasantly please us, our guests and domestic ones, will be a good accompaniment to tea drinking and prevention of avitaminosis. From harvested blueberries you can prepare compotes , jellies and jelly , and also use in the preparation of various desserts, pastries and confectionery.
Recipe for jelly from frozen blueberries with cream
Ingredients:
- blueberries - 300 g;
- gelatin - 3 teaspoons;
- water 350-400 ml;
- gin or juniper tincture on vodka (can be replaced with strong vermouth red, white or pink) - 1-3 st. spoons;
- sugar - about 100-130 g.
Preparation
Defrost the harvested frozen blueberries in a bowl, it will empty the juice. In slightly warmed water, we add gelatin, when it dissolves, we add juice to the dishes with gelatin, add gin and sugar. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. In the jellyware dishes (kremanki, for example) we lay a little bit of unfrozen berries, and pour the prepared gelatin solution on top. We put it in the refrigerator until it is completely solidified. You can make jelly layers, first you need to freeze the first layer, then lay berries, and then pour the remaining solution (blueberry or other) juice with gelatin and sugar.
Blueberries, wiped with sugar, can be served with cottage cheese with sour cream or in a mixture with unsweetened yogurt.