How to store cranberries at home

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

All housewives know that any heat treatment of berries leads to the loss of useful components. Storage time also plays a role. Cranberries are a popular and very healthy berry. It has many beneficial properties. Often jam is made from cranberries, compote is boiled. Tasty, but vitamins disappear from the boil.

In order for cranberries to retain useful substances, you need to adhere to certain storage rules. Next, we will talk about how to store cranberries at home without a refrigerator.

How to prepare berries for long-term storage

All nutritionists recommend consuming it fresh. But, canning, adding to various dishes is also useful. It goes well with meat recipes. It is important for any housewife to know under what conditions this berry retains all its beneficial properties.

Everyone who loves to harvest - harvest cranberries do it in the autumn, when it is just beginning to ripen. It tastes a little sour, but there is a good plus: it is perfectly cleaned of debris and washes well. It is best to put the washed berries in wooden boxes.

Do not use plastic containers for storage (albeit not for a long time).

The best period for picking berries for storage outside the refrigerator is at the very end of autumn. They are quite juicy, beautiful and have an extremely rich taste. During this period, the berries are as large as possible than at the beginning of September. It is good to preserve unripe berries, to cook jam or compote from them. You can freeze this crop in the refrigerator.

Features of storing cranberries

Cranberries are such berries that can be stored outside the refrigerator or cans for a long time. The fact is that this miracle berry contains a natural and powerful preservative in sulfur - benzoic acid. If she has already been in the refrigerator, such a berry is no longer suitable for ordinary storage. Hide it back in the freezer.

Now, as for benzoic acid, it prevents the multiplication of all kinds of microorganisms that destroy the berry. Due to the presence of this chemical component, cranberries are well preserved without heat treatment. You don't need to boil it, preserve it or freeze it.

Lingonberries also have such acid. Strawberries and blueberries do not have this natural preservative. You need to know how to store cranberries at home without a refrigerator.

Preparing the berry for storage

We clean the harvested unripe cranberries from any debris and dirt. We remove the crumpled berries to use them for making fruit drinks (very useful). Unripe cranberries are also not good. Everything needs to be sorted out.

We store all whole and ripe cranberries as follows:

1. Unmanaged, whole berries can be stored in normal home conditions for several months. To do this, it is enough to put them in a dark place that is well ventilated and cool in it. If the room is not ventilated enough, then the cranberries will gradually start to deteriorate due to the accumulation of carbon dioxide.
2. The berry can be poured into special wooden boxes or polyethylene. Do not use thick plastic bags. We also store in a dark, cool room.
3. Strive to select spoiled berries even during storage in a dark place. Pick out ripe cranberries.

If all the conditions are met, there will be no problems. Benzoic acid will save the product from putrefactive processes.

Cranberry storage methods

In a glass jar

There is another interesting way to store cranberries at home without a refrigerator. For proper storage of the berries, we prepare glass jars. In such a dish, cranberries will also feel normal.

If there are a lot of berries, you can save them in an enamel bowl. Such pans should be free of physical defects. The enamel should be intact, without cracks.

Next, we take the required amount of water, boil it, remove it from the heat and wait until it cools down. Pour the prepared water into the berry prepared for storage, cover with a lid and leave in a cool place. Now you don't have to worry about the safety of your valuable product.

This storage method will not harm her. The only thing that can happen is that it is "saturated" with a little water, the taste may also decrease. In this form, it can be well preserved until the next campaign for it.

Cranberries with sugar

The housewives have been using the following method for a very long time. For better preservation, cranberries are ground together with sugar. It is, of course, very tasty, but you should warn about one drawback of this method.

Sugar destroys a huge amount of vitamins and other beneficial chemical compounds. But, many housewives prefer this option for long-term storage.

The preliminary preparation of the berry is the same as in other methods - the main thing is cleaning from foreign debris and dirt. Then it must be dried on a clean cloth base or gauze fiber. Sprinkle with sugar, and then grind with a meat grinder or food processor. You can use a blender.

Now about the amount of sugar. In this case, there is never a lot of it - 1: 1. Sweet tooths will love it.

For colds in the cold winter season - a good remedy with a full set of vitamins. For flu and other viral diseases, such a berry mixture is also very useful. And it's just nice to drink hot tea with such cranberries in the cold season. It is very tasty and healthy. In general, cranberry strengthens the immune system well.

In conclusion - about thermal storage. Many people store berries in the freezer of their refrigerator. The method is quite simple and does not require any skill and culinary education. Cranberries are also cleaned, washed, dried, and put into a bag. All is ready. The only advice is to not defrost all the cranberries you have.

Take as many frozen berries as you plan to use. It is advisable to prepare initially in small portions. If you re-freeze it, it will become unusable.

Drying

Another way to store it at home is to dry it. The berry is peeled and washed. Then you pour it into a saucepan, fill it with water so that the liquid covers the cranberries by one finger. Now we take out the berry. Boil the water and throw the berry there.

When it bursts, remove it from the water and place it on a baking sheet in a cloth base. If baking paper is available, this is even the best option.

Everything you need to know:

1. The berry must be picked on time.
2. Thoroughly cleaned, sorted (spoiled berries must be removed).
3. Cranberries love coolness, a constant supply of fresh air.
4. Store cranberries in a dark place to prevent spoilage.

If you follow the advice, do everything right, then the berry you have collected will last for a long time, because you now know how to store it at home. And she will delight you with taste and healing properties.