Content
It is difficult to find a garden in which this useful unpretentious berry does not grow. Most often, red, white or black currants are grown in central Russia. From one bush, depending on the variety and age, you can collect up to 7 kg of berries. They are eaten fresh, ground with sugar, jam, jelly, jelly and compotes are boiled. The berries can be frozen or dried for later use, and they thrive all winter long. Currants in their own juice are popular with housewives: this way the berry retains all the nutrients and vitamins without the use of preservatives.
Useful properties of currants in their own juice
Nutritionists recommend harvesting currant berries without boiling so that the vitamins in them are not destroyed. With such harvesting of berries, minerals important for the body are preserved in the juice: potassium, zinc, iron and magnesium, as well as vitamins of groups B, C and K. Studies have shown that the plant contains more vitamin C than citrus fruits, and the content of antioxidants is higher than blueberries. Due to the presence of such an abundance of nutrients in the juice, it is used not only in cooking, but also in cosmetic procedures.
Good currant juice for various colds, anemia, inflammatory processes. Providing a diuretic effect, the drink helps to remove from the body not only excess fluid, but also harmful toxins: mercury, cobalt, lead and other heavy metals.
Features of cooking currants in their own juice
Making a few liters of a healthy treat is easy. Berries must be sorted out, get rid of specks and crumpled specimens. Only selected raw materials go to the jar. After peeling, the currants must be washed and dried, spreading the berries in a thin layer over a clean cloth. The raw material must dry completely: for this, it can be left on the canvas overnight. Now you can start harvesting currants in your own juice.
Currant recipes in their own juice for the winter
Each housewife has her own recipe for cooking currants in her own juice, but experts distinguish three types, which are described below. With such processing, it is possible to achieve a high concentration of vitamins and useful acids in the jar, reducing losses to a minimum.
With sugar
Ingredients should be taken in equal parts: 1 kg of raw material - 1 kg of sugar. Pour a thin layer of sugar on the bottom of the container, then put a layer of currants, and so on, until the jar is full. It is best to end the alternation with sugar. This is necessary to fix the layers so that the berries do not move freely around the jar, but settle evenly during sterilization and the release of their own juice.
As soon as the preparation is completed, you need to place the jars in the pan, having previously covered the bottom with a cloth. The containers should not be in contact with each other, so they should be wrapped with a kitchen towel and covered with lids. Next, pour the bottom of the pan with water, about 3/4 of the height of the cans, and heat over medium heat.When the water starts to boil, it means that sterilization has begun. For containers up to 1 liter, the process takes 10 - 15 minutes. When the contents have decreased in volume, you can add your own currant juice from another jar and roll up the contents.
Another method of preparing canned food in its own juice with sugar is faster, since it does not involve drying the raw materials.
The washed berries are covered with sugar, mixed and laid out in jars of the required capacity. Next, cover the blanks with lids and leave overnight. After 10 - 12 hours, the jars will have enough of their own juice, while the volume of the berries will decrease. It is necessary to report to the jars the raw berry pre-mixed with sugar and again leave for 10 hours. As soon as the process is completed, the jars are pasteurized at a temperature of 80 degrees. Time depends on volume:
- 0.5 l - 20 minutes;
- 1 liter - 30 minutes;
- 2 liters - 40 minutes.
Sugarless
The technology for cooking currants in their own juice without sugar is similar to that in the first recipe. Put a cloth on the bottom of the pan, pour water about halfway and bring the resulting composition to a boil. In dry sterilized jars, you need to pour currant berries, put in boiling water and reduce the heat a little so that the water does not boil, but remains hot. Under the influence of temperature, the currant releases its own juice and settles to the bottom, boiling down in this way. It is necessary to gradually put the raw materials in the jar until the required volume is reached. As soon as the container is full, the workpieces should be rolled up.
With added juice
For this method, you need to divide the raw material into two parts. Blend half the berries with a blender and strain. Pour the resulting juice into the second part of the currant and boil in a saucepan with water according to the same principle as in the first two recipes. This method of cooking avoids prolonged heating, which means that the largest amount of vitamin C is preserved.
Calorie content
The number of calories in currants in their own juice depends on the amount of sugar added when harvesting the berry. Sugar-free in red currants 42 kcal per 100 g. In black currants - about 40 kcal per 100 g.
Terms and conditions of storage
Canned currants in their own juice under an iron lid can be stored from 12 months to three years, subject to proper conditions: in a dark, cool and dry room. At high humidity, the lids can become rusty and spoil the workpieces in their own juice. The optimum storage temperature is between 0 and 5 degrees Celsius.
Conclusion
Currants in their own juice are a very tasty and healthy preparation for the winter, which even an inexperienced housewife can handle. It is important to adhere to the basic rules for any blanks:
- Have separate kitchen utensils: sterilization containers, seamer, new lids, clean cloth, colanders or sieve, jars, new lids, spatulas and stirring spoons;
- Always check the integrity of the cans. Containers for preservation must be free of chips, cracks and cracks;
- Carefully sort out the fruits, especially before preparing canned food in your own juice. Such blanks are not brought to a boil, which means that pathogenic bacteria from damaged fruits can ruin the entire jar;
- Not only cans, but also lids are subject to washing and sterilization prior to product placement;
- Before starting work, it is necessary to check the covers: their rubber gasket must be intact, without damage, cracks and dark spots. If the gum is damaged, it will easily pass oxygen into the finished product, along with microbes.
Observing such simple rules, according to the above recipes, you can provide yourself and your family with a vitamin dessert for the whole winter.
