How to store cranberries at home

Cranberries are among the most useful berries, but the harvest of fresh crops is rather short. During this period, it is impossible to get a lot of vitamins and get enough of the taste of the product. Many people prefer to harvest fruit for a long time in order to have access to the cranberries all year round.

Cranberry preparation for storage

1. To begin sorting berries for long-term preservation, it is necessary, first of all, to harvest. The procedure is best carried out in early or mid-September. It was at this time that the fruits are as large as possible with dense pulp. The first crop is suitable for storage in the freezer and water (soaking process).
2. The second collection is carried out in late autumn.Berries, collected in November, are distinguished by softness and accumulation of a large amount of juice. Such fruits are suitable for storage in their own juice, in the form of mashed potatoes or whole with sugar. They can also be kept fresh in the fridge.
3. The third collection of berries is carried out in March-April, a similar berry should not be sent for wintering raw. It is recommended to prepare compote, jam, jam, fruit drink or resort to other methods of preservation.
4. After harvesting the crop must be prepared. To do this, fold the berries portionwise on a sieve or colander, rinse with cold water, leave to drain the liquid.
5. Put the fruit on a towel, collect the remaining moisture. Now exclude crumpled, overripe or underripe specimens. Throw away all the twigs, leaves. For storage, only healthy, reasonably ripe cranberries are suitable.

For preservation, use one or more of the available methods. This may include soaking in water, freezing, drying, heat treatment. Consider each method in more detail.

Method number 1. Soaking in water

1. Prepare sterilized jars, basin or plastic bottles.Wash berries, dry, send to cooked container.
2. You can pour the fruit in advance with boiled and cooled liquid or filtered water. You do not need to fill the berries completely, leave some space in the prepared container.
3. Cork the dishes with a lid or wrap them with cling film. Leave a small hole for air to escape. Put in the refrigerator, cellar or other cool place. Berries perfectly preserve properties.
4. It is important to remember forever that you should not drain the liquid in which the cranberries were soaked. It has a lot of juice, suitable for cosmetic purposes (washing, soaking feet, cooking tonic for the face, etc.).

Method number 2. Soak in syrup

1. It is known that cranberry has a light acidity. If you do not like this feature, get rid of it by soaking the berries in sugar syrup.
2. To calculate the amount per 1 kg. fruit accounted for 35 grams. sugar and fine salt on the tip of a knife. You can add ground cinnamon, cloves and other seasonings to taste.
3. As in the previous case, the berries should be put in clean jars or bowls. Only soaking is carried out in water with already melted sugar and salt.
4. A container of cranberries should be removed in the cold.Fortified properties will not disappear, but the taste and structure will partially change. The berries will absorb the spices and stop crunching.

Method number 3. Frost

1. Through the freezer you can store cranberries for more than six months. Of course, it will lose some of its properties, but will still be usable.
2. First, wash all the berries, throwing them in a colander. Cranberries should be perfectly dry. After that, prepare a cutting board or baking sheet, cover the surface with cling film (parchment).
3. Spread the berries in one layer, send to the freezer for 3 hours. Fruits must completely harden, do not try to lay out the berries in 2-3 layers, otherwise they will not freeze completely.
4. After a specified time, move the cranberries into food bags or plastic containers to heat the food in the microwave. Cork, send in the freezer for a long time. Proceed to the procurement of the next batch.
5. Try to lay out the fruit in portions of one portion. If you defrost a large amount, the cranberries cannot be sent for a repeat procedure. For convenience, use plastic cups.

Method number 4. Chopping in mashed potatoes

1. An excellent storage option is considered to be crushing cranberries with sugar in mashed potatoes. To begin the manipulation, wash the fruit and get rid of moisture. Sand the cranberries to taste or stick to 1: 1 proportions.
2. Now prepare a meat grinder, food processor or blender. Pass the berries through the device. You can also use a kitchen strainer with small holes.
3. Shredded cranberries move into dry food bags or plastic containers with a lid. You can use disposable cups, they allow you to pack berries in batches.
4. The workpiece should be stored in the cold. For these purposes, suitable cellar, basement or not glazed balcony. You can also send the workpiece to the freezer, but then some of the properties will evaporate.

Method number 5. Drying

1. If in the future you plan to cook the infusion of cranberry, use this storage method. You can carry out drying in the natural way or use household appliances.
2. In the first case, the washed berries are laid out on a tray, then sent to the sun until completely dry.The option is not very good, because it takes more than 3 weeks.
3. Easier to use the oven. Spread the baking sheet with parchment, lay out the washed and dried cranberries in one layer. Preheat the oven to 60 degrees, send the berries inside.
4. Do not close the appliance door; stir the cranberries every half hour to dry them evenly. The duration of heat treatment is 3-4 hours.
5. After the final cooking, remove the pan, leave the berries at room temperature until it cools. Place them in clean glass jars, linen bags or plastic containers, cork.
6. Send the fruit in a dry, dark place. Under all storage conditions, dried cranberries can last 1.5-2.5 years without loss of quality.

Method number 6. Mixing with sugar

1. If in the previous case it was a matter of chopping cranberries, this option implies storage in a holistic form. Prepare the fruit, you need to rinse it and leave it on a strainer until dry.
2. Take a clean plastic container or liter sterile jars. Lay out a layer of berries, then sprinkle the fruit with sand, re-line the cranberries.
3. Alternate the layers until the tank is full. Note that the last row should be sugar. After all the manipulations, cork the dishes, put them in the fridge.

Method number 7. Heat treatment

1. Processing by means of heat exposure allows you to save most of the useful elements, because the cranberries are preserved in their juice. In the process of heating the temperature does not exceed 100 degrees.
2. The technology does not present special difficulties. Fetch the fruits, rinse them with running water, fold to a sieve. Wait for dripping moisture, dry with napkins or towels.
3. Move the cranberries into an enameled thick-walled pan, put on the stove. Expose the smallest fire, simmer until the juice comes out of all the berries.
4. You can not bring the composition before the first bubbles. Such a move will lead to a complete loss of vitamins. When the juice is washed from the fruit, pour the mixture into sterilized jars.
5. Cover with lids, leave small slots. Prepare a water bath. Line a wide pan with a towel, put the jars inside, cover with hot water up to the coat hanger.
6. Pasteurized cranberries in their own juice for about a quarter of an hour, then turn off the hob. Remove the jars with tacks, tighten with a special key.
7. Wrap the container with a sweatshirt, turn the neck down and wait for complete cooling. Clean in the refrigerator or cellar for the winter, use if necessary.

Soak the berries in sugar syrup or water, dry the cranberries, or heat treat the juice. The cranberry ground in a puree perfectly copes with colds, struggles with beriberi in the offseason, strengthens the immune system as a whole.

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