How to store cranberries at home

Cranberries are among the most useful berries, but fresh harvest is quite 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 fruits for a long time in order to have access to cranberries all year round.

Preparing cranberries for storage

1. To begin sorting berries for long-term preservation, it is necessary, first of all, to harvest. The procedure is best done in early or mid-September. It was at this time that the fruits were as large as possible with dense pulp. The first crop is suitable for storage in a freezer and water (soaking process).
2. The second collection is carried out in late autumn. Berries harvested in November are soft and rich in juice. Such fruits are suitable for storage in their own juice, in the form of mashed potatoes or as a whole with sugar. They can also be kept fresh in the refrigerator.
3. The third berry picking is carried out in March-April; a similar berry should not be sent raw for the winter. It is recommended to cook compote, jam, jam, fruit drink or resort to other methods of preservation.
4. After harvesting, the crop must be prepared. To do this, drop the berries portionwise on a sieve or colander, rinse with cold water, leave until the liquid drains.
5. Put the fruits on a towel, collect the remaining moisture. Now exclude rumpled, overripe or unripe specimens. Throw away all the twigs, leaves. Only healthy, moderately ripe cranberries are suitable for storage.

For safety, one or more of the available methods are used. These include soaking in water, freezing, drying, heat treatment. Consider each method in more detail.

Method number 1. Soaking in water

1. Prepare sterilized jars, a basin or plastic bottles. Wash the berries, dry, send to the prepared container.
2. You can fill the fruit with pre-boiled and cooled liquid or filtered water. No need to fill the berries completely, leave a little space in the prepared container.
3. Cover the dishes with a lid or cover with cling film. Leave a small hole for air to escape. Send to the refrigerator, cellar or other cool place. Berries perfectly retain their 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, preparing facial tonic, etc.).

Method number 2. Soaking in syrup

1. Cranberries are known to have a slight 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. fruits account for 35 g. granulated sugar and fine salt at the tip of a knife. You can add ground cinnamon, cloves and other seasonings to taste.
3. As in the previous case, the berries must be laid out in clean jars or bowls. Only soaking is carried out in water with already melted sugar and salt.
4. Containers with cranberries should be removed in the cold. Vitaminized properties will not go anywhere, but the taste and structure will partially change. Berries absorb spices and stop crunching.

Method number 3. Freezing

1. Using a 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. Wash all the berries first by throwing them in a colander.Cranberries should be perfectly dry. After that, prepare a cutting board or baking sheet, line the surface with cling film (parchment).
3. Lay the berries in one layer, send to the freezer for 3 hours. The fruits should completely harden; do not try to lay the berries in 2-3 layers, otherwise they will not freeze completely.
4. After the set time has passed, move the cranberries into food bags or plastic containers to heat food in the microwave. Cork, send to the freezer for a long time. Proceed with the preparation of the next batch.
5. Try to lay out the fruits in batches one at a time. If you thaw a large volume, cranberries cannot be sent for a second procedure. For convenience, use plastic cups.

Method number 4. Mashed Grinding

1. An excellent storage option is considered to be crushing cranberries with sugar in mashed potatoes. To begin manipulation, rinse the fruits and get rid of moisture. Sprinkle cranberries in the sand to taste or stick to 1: 1 proportions.
2. Now prepare a meat grinder, food processor or blender. Pass the berries through the appliance. You can also use a kitchen strainer with small holes.
3. Move the crushed cranberries 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, a cellar, basement or non-glazed balcony is suitable. You can also send the workpiece to the freezer, but then some of the properties will disappear.

Method number 5. Drying

1. If in the future you plan to cook cranberry infusion, use this storage method. You can dry naturally or use household appliances.
2. In the first case, washed berries are laid out on a tray, then sent to the sun until completely dry. The option is not very successful, because it requires more than 3 weeks.
3. It’s easier to use the oven. Line the baking sheet with parchment, put 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 evenly. The duration of the heat treatment is 3-4 hours.
5. After final cooking, remove the pan, leave the berries at room temperature until cool. Arrange them in clean glass jars, linen bags or plastic containers, cork.
6. Send the fruits to a dry, dark place. Subject to all storage conditions, dried according to the rules cranberries can last 1.5-2.5 years without loss of quality.

Method number 6. Mix with sugar

1. If in the previous case we were talking about crushing cranberries, this option involves storage in an integral form. Prepare the fruits, you need to rinse them and leave them on a sieve until dry.
2. Take clean plastic containers or liter sterile jars. Lay out a layer of berries, then sprinkle the fruit with sand, line the cranberries again.
3. Alternate the layers until the container is full. Note that the last row should be sugar. After all the manipulations, seal the dishes, put them in the refrigerator.

Method number 7. Heat treatment

1. Processing through heat exposure allows you to save most of the useful elements, since cranberries are preserved in their juice. During heating, the temperature does not exceed 100 degrees.
2. The technology is not particularly difficult. Sort the fruits, rinse them with running water, fold them onto a sieve. Wait for moisture to drain, dry with napkins or towels.
3. Move the cranberries into an enameled thick-walled pan and place on the stove. Set the smallest fire, simmer until juice comes out of all the berries.
4. You can not bring the composition to the appearance of the first bubbles.Such a move will lead to a complete loss of vitamins. When juice is washed from the fruit, pour the mixture into sterilized jars.
5. Cover with lids, leave small gaps. Prepare a water bath. Line a wide pan with a towel, place it inside the jar, pour hot water to the shoulders.
6. Pasteurize cranberries in your own juice for about a quarter of an hour, then turn off the hotplate. Remove cans with tacks, tighten with a special key.
7. Wrap containers with a sweatshirt, turn the neck down and wait until it cools completely. Put in the refrigerator or cellar for the winter, use if necessary.

Soak the berries in sugar syrup or water, dry the cranberries, or heat them to make them juice. Grated cranberries mashed the catarrhal diseases, fights with vitamin deficiency in the offseason, strengthens the immune system as a whole.

Video: how to keep cranberries or cranberries fresh in winter