How to prepare hawthorn for the winter. 7 best recipes

Hawthorn berries are a source of vitamins and a phyto-medicine, indispensable for diseases of the cardiovascular system.

There are many ways to preserve hawthorn for the winter. You can freeze the berries, dry them, or prepare delicious preparations.

Options for preparing hawthorn for the winter

Fresh hawthorn berries contain vitamins A, E, C and K, magnesium, calcium, iodine, selenium, cobalt, essential oils and essential acids for the body: ursolic, oleanolic and krategic. These fruits improve blood circulation in the vessels of the brain and myocardium, normalize heart rhythm, and have analgesic and tonic properties.

To preserve all the beneficial properties of hawthorn, use freezing or drying. These harvesting methods do not destroy vitamins and nutrients.

Freezing

This is the simplest and fastest option.

1. Sort through the berries. Only firm, intact fruits without visible defects are frozen.
2. Rinse the fruits and leave for a couple of hours to drain the moisture.
3. Place the hawthorn on a clean towel and rub lightly. The less moisture remains on the berries, the better.
4. Line a small tray or regular tray with cling film. Pour the fruits onto it in one layer.
5. Place in the freezer until completely frozen. The time depends on the power of your refrigerator.
6. When the berries are frozen, quickly transfer them to a container and put them back in the freezer.

The shelf life of frozen hawthorn is up to a year.

Advice. If you are using a certain amount of berries at a time, pack them in ziplock bags and freeze them in portions.

Drying

Our grandmothers used this method: they laid the berries on pallets and took them to a warm, well-ventilated place protected from the sun. A week or two, and the hawthorn is ready.

Modern technologies are much simpler.

• Dryer.

If you have a dryer, set it to 60 ^OC. Do not exceed this limit so as not to destroy beneficial substances. Place the berries in one layer and place in the chamber for 1-2 hours.

Dried hawthorn is dark red in color, hard and wrinkled.

• Electric and gas oven.

Set the regulator to the minimum temperature and turn on convection.

If your oven can reach 50 ^OS – excellent. No? No problem. Just leave the door ajar - this will reduce the temperature in the chamber and ensure air circulation. This is especially important if you are drying the hawthorn in a non-convection oven.

Cover a tray with parchment, place the berries on it and place in the chamber for 3-4 hours. Remember to turn the fruits over from time to time so that they dry evenly.

Remove the hawthorn from the oven when ready. Usually the berries near the walls dry faster than those in the center. If you leave them in the chamber, the fruit will burn.

To preserve hawthorn for the winter, put it in a clean jar, close the lid and put it in a cool, dark place.

Some housewives prefer small bags made of natural fabrics - this way the berries are ventilated and will definitely not become moldy. But there is a risk that the fruits will harbor bugs or food moths.

Hawthorn berries: recipes for winter

The large-fruited hawthorn has fragrant fruits with dryish pulp that taste like apples of paradise. These berries make tasty and healthy preparations.

Compote

Garden large-fruited hawthorn is too dry and the juice cannot be squeezed out of it at home. But you can cook a delicious compote!

You will need:

• 1 kg of hawthorn;
• 300 g sugar;
• 3 liters of water;
• aromatic spices to taste: cardamom, cloves, star anise, mint, orange zest.

There is no need to remove the seeds from the fruit.

1. Rinse the berries and soak in water for 10-15 minutes so that all debris floats to the surface.
2. Drain the water and rinse the fruits again.
3. Boil 3 liters of water in a saucepan. Add sugar there. When it dissolves, add hawthorn and spices. Taste - if there is not enough sugar for your taste, add more.
4. Boil the compote for 10 minutes.
5. Pour into sterilized jars, seal tightly with lids and cover with something warm: an old jacket or blanket. Leave the preparation overnight.

If you prefer a sweet and sour compote, add lemon juice or citric acid to the pan during cooking.

Morse

To preserve maximum vitamins, prepare hawthorn fruit juice for the winter.

For the drink you will need:

• 2 kg of berries;
• 200 g sugar;
• 3 liters of water;
• Favorite spices, lemon if desired.

Wash the hawthorn and clear of debris.

1. Pour water into a saucepan and boil.
2. Place hawthorn in boiling water and boil until soft.
3. Cool the workpiece. Drain the water into a separate container and rub the fruits through a sieve.
4. Return the water to the pan and add the hawthorn pulp and sugar.
5. Bring the fruit drink to a boil, add spices and lemon juice to taste and cook for 5 minutes.

Pour the preparation into sterile jars, seal tightly and leave overnight “under a fur coat”.

The best tincture recipe

Usually the tincture is made with vodka, but you can use any other alcohol of suitable strength: moonshine, cognac, even alcohol.

To prepare the liqueur you will need:

• vodka – 0.8 l;
• fresh hawthorn berries – 200 g;
• lemon juice – 50 ml;
• dried hawthorn flowers – 50 g;
• cinnamon – 1 stick;
• sugar or honey - 1-2 tbsp. l.;
• zest of 1 lemon.

Make the drink in a bottle with a wide neck to make it easier to pour in the berries.

1. Wash and dry the hawthorn.
2. Place the berries in a bottle, add sugar (honey), lemon juice, zest, cinnamon and dried flowers.
3. Pour vodka into the container.
4. Seal the bottle hermetically. If the lid is weak, coat it on top with regular children's plasticine.
5. Place the bottle in a dark, cool place. A closet or pantry is a great option.
6. Infuse the liqueur for three weeks, shaking the bottle every two days. During this time, fruits and flowers will release all their beneficial substances into alcohol and “exchange” tastes and aromas. The strength of vodka will drop to 30-35 ^ABOUT.

Before serving the liqueur, strain it through cheesecloth.

If you infused the berries with alcohol, dilute the drink with distilled water or rosehip decoction before drinking.

Candied hawthorn for the winter without cooking

When soaked in sugar, the fruits become very sweet - almost like candy. At the same time, they retain all vitamins and minerals - an excellent treat for children and adults.

To prepare a natural dessert, take 1 kg of sugar (powdered sugar) and 1 kg of berries.

1. Wash the fruits, remove the stems and sepals. Throw away any rotten, wrinkled or darkened berries.
2. Pour layers of hawthorn and sugar into a wide-necked bottle. The workpiece should fill the container ¾ full.
3. Sprinkle the last layer of sugar in a layer of 5-10 cm.
4. Cover the bottle with gauze folded in 4-6 layers, and on top with 2 layers of parchment paper. Tie a string around the neck to restrict air circulation.
5. Place the workpiece in a cool, dark place - in the cellar or refrigerator.

The berries are kept in sugar for 2-3 months. During this time, the hawthorn will release juice, the sugar will melt and a thick vitamin syrup will form. It will saturate the fruits, and you will get something like candied fruits, but without heat treatment.

Such berries are eaten as jam or candy, and syrup is poured over pancakes and ice cream.

Five-minute jam

The dessert is prepared from fresh or frozen berries.

You will need:

• 1 kg of fruits;
• 0.2 l of water;
• 1 kg sugar.

Hawthorn seeds are not removed.

1. Wash the berries, remove the stems and sepals.
2. Boil water and add sugar to the container.
3. Turn off the heat, put the fruits in the syrup and leave for 12 hours so that the hawthorn is saturated with sweetness.
4. Return the container to the heat, bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.

This five-minute jam can be served as soon as the syrup has cooled. But if you need preparation for the winter, repeat steps 3 and 4 three more times. Every 12 hours, boil the jam for 5 minutes, turn off the heat and leave the berries to soak in the syrup.

On the fourth day, pour the mixture into sterile jars, seal tightly and cool “under a fur coat”.

Marmalade

You can make marmalade from hawthorn - without gelatin and without pectin. Only berries, sugar and water.

To prepare you will need:

• 2 kg of fresh fruits;
• 2 kg sugar;
• 1.2 liters of water;
• lemon juice to taste.

If you like bright flavors, add orange zest, lemon balm, cinnamon or vanilla to the treat.

1. Remove the seeds from the fruit, cover the pulp with water and boil until soft.
2. Rub the berries through a sieve or blend.
3. Add sugar, lemon juice, spices to the mixture and cook again over low heat, stirring constantly.
4. When the mixture becomes thick, check readiness: drop the marmalade onto a cold, clean plate and wait 5 minutes. If the mass has frozen, turn off the heat.

Place the marmalade into sterile jars, seal and cool under a warm blanket.

Berry marshmallow

Hawthorn makes an excellent marshmallow - dense, aromatic and very healthy.

Ingredients:

1. sugar – 400-500 g;
2. fresh or frozen berries – 2 kg;
3. water – 0.5-1 l.

Place clean fruits in a saucepan and fill 1/3 with water. If this requires less than 0.5 liters, that’s okay. The water should still boil away.

1. Place the pan on the fire and boil the berries into a porridge. When stirring, the pulp should easily separate from the seeds.
2. Cool the mixture.
3. Pass the hawthorn through a sieve or fine colander.
4. Remove the seeds and pulp, and return the berry puree to the pan. Add sugar and cook until the mixture thickens to the consistency of sour cream.
5. Preheat the oven to 70 C. If the minimum value on the scale is 100 ° C, select it, but open the door a couple of centimeters.
6. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Pour in the berry puree and smooth out. This is important: if the mass lies in an uneven layer, thin places will dry out faster and begin to burn.
7. Place the puree in the oven and turn on convection - if it has it.
8. Leave the marshmallow in the oven for several hours.Don’t forget to check how things are going there, and from time to time turn the baking sheet to the other side so that the back edge of the workpiece does not burn.

The process takes from 4 to 8 hours. It all depends on the oven and the thickness of the berry puree layer.

When the marshmallow becomes elastic and dense, like rubber, take out the baking sheet.

Carefully remove the treat from the parchment to dry. The finished marshmallow can be cut into strips, figures or rolled into a “roll”.

Other fruits and berries are added to the hawthorn marshmallow: cranberries, blueberries, sour apples, quince, currants, rose hips, lemon. This way you will make the treat more tasty and healthy.