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Probably, any person in his life has at least something, but heard about Kalina. And even if he mainly admired the bright red fire of ripe berries, symbolizing the very height of autumn, he probably heard something about the healing properties of this ornamental plant. Well, those lucky ones, on whose sites this miracle tree-healer grows, are simply obliged to use its medicinal properties for the benefit of their health and their family. Moreover, the medicine is really tasty. Although many are confused by some peculiar taste contained in the fruits of viburnum, it goes away if you know some secrets of collecting and harvesting viburnum berries for the winter.
Kalina for the winter is not only and not so much a traditional jam and jams, these are, first of all, numerous blanks in which heat treatment is not even used. Since viburnum is remarkably preserved even without long cooking, but at the same time not a single valuable element from its composition is lost.
Valuable properties of viburnum and contraindications for admission
It is rather difficult to argue about whether viburnum is a useful berry or not, since almost the entire table of elements of Mendeleev is present in it. In addition, there are many acids important for the functioning of the human body, and, of course, almost all known vitamins.
One list of diseases for which viburnum really helps would take a whole page.
And most often, viburnum blanks are actively used for problems with the stomach and upper respiratory tract, with increased pressure, with skin and gynecological diseases and diseases of the central nervous system. Viburnum berries have found their use in cosmetology.
Nevertheless, like any plant product with such a rich composition, viburnum can be harmful, especially if consumed in excessive quantities.
- The most obvious thing is that there may be an individual intolerance to viburnum berries and a subsequent allergy to it, which will be expressed in the appearance of red spots.
- You should refuse to use viburnum during pregnancy, since it contains a female hormone, which can adversely affect the development of the child.
- Naturally, you should not abuse viburnum with low blood pressure, as well as with increased blood clotting.
- Increased acidity of the stomach and joint pain are also a reason to reduce the use of viburnum to a minimum.
Of course, in all these cases, except for pregnancy, a small amount of viburnum is not capable of causing tangible harm, but care must be taken.
Collecting and harvesting viburnum: features
Traditionally, it is customary to collect and harvest viburnum, as well as buy it in the markets after the first frost. Under the influence of frost, some bitterness and unpleasant taste leave the berries. But in our time of advanced technical progress, any housewife in the kitchen can freeze harvested or purchased viburnum berries for several hours in the freezer and get exactly the same effect.
So if you have a chance to stock up on viburnum before the frost, do not miss it. In cool conditions, for example, on the balcony, viburnum in bunches will be quite preserved for several months, until you get your hands on its preparation for the winter.
Among the many recipes for blanks of viburnum for the winter, you can find those in which the berries are freed from seeds, and exclusively viburnum juice with pulp is used. And in other recipes, the berries remain intact or kneaded, but together with the peel and seeds.
If they are removed, rinsed, dried and fried in a pan, then after grinding in a coffee grinder, they can be used to make a drink similar to coffee. It is used to recuperate after illness and to strengthen the immune system. Remember this if, according to the recipe, you need to extract the seeds from the viburnum.
Recipes without heat treatment
It is clear to everyone that in order to obtain the maximum therapeutic effect, it is advisable to use recipes for preparing viburnum berries for the winter without heat treatment. Since it is in such blanks that the maximum amount of nutrients is stored.
Sugar-coated berries
The most elementary way to preserve viburnum for the winter and at the same time to obtain a tasty and healthy syrup is to sprinkle the berries with sugar. According to this recipe, 700-800 grams of sugar is taken for 1 kg of viburnum berries. First, you need to sterilize the required number of cans, and then dry them.
Before as cook viburnum berries in sugar, they must be sorted out and freed from twigs and other plant debris.
After the final rinsing, the viburnum must certainly be dried by sprinkling it in a thin layer on a paper or cloth towel.
Cover the bottom of the prepared jars with a layer of sugar, then lay out a layer of viburnum, about 2 cm thick, again sprinkle the berries well with sugar and so proceed to the very top of the jar. The last layer of berries should be so abundantly covered with sugar that the berries underneath should not even be visible. Then close the jars with tight lids and put in a cool place.
After a few days, the viburnum berries should absorb almost all the sugar and give abundant juice, so that the jar will be filled to the brim with delicious syrup, which, if desired, can be added to tea instead of sugar or prepared on its basis compotes or jelly. Such a blank can be stored in the refrigerator until spring, and the berries from it can be used as needed for medicinal purposes.
Viburnum with honey
This recipe is especially useful for the treatment of various diseases, since the beneficial qualities of viburnum are enhanced by the unique healing properties of honey.
Fresh berries must be crushed with a wooden mortar and rubbed through a sieve to remove the seeds and skin. Then mix the chopped viburnum pulp with honey in equal proportions by weight.
Sterilize small jars, up to 0.5 liters, and fill with viburnum-honey mixture. Cover with plastic or metal screw caps and let the mixture sit for a week at room temperature. Then it is advisable to store it in the refrigerator.
This healing mixture can be taken a tablespoon three times daily before or with meals and has the potential to heal many diseases.
Raw viburnum jam
Before making raw jam, you need to thoroughly rinse and dry the viburnum berries as described in detail above. For 500 grams of berries already peeled from twigs, exactly the same amount of sugar is taken.
This will affect the safety of the jam only in a positive way.
Even before adding sugar, viburnum berries must be crushed in a plastic or enamel bowl with a wooden pestle. It is undesirable to use a blender, mixer and other metal devices for these purposes.After all the berries are mashed, add the right amount of sugar and mix everything. Keep the container with berries and sugar warm for 6-8 hours, and then put the raw jam in dry sterile jars and keep cool.
Among other recipes, there is a method of making raw jam from seedless viburnum. In this case, at the stage of crushing the berries, they are additionally rubbed through a plastic sieve, removing the seeds and peel. Of course, it is much more convenient to do this with pre-blanched berries, but in this case absolutely all vitamins are preserved.
Heat-treated viburnum blanks
Perhaps the most versatile, simple and quick to prepare is viburnum juice.
Viburnum juice
It can be obtained in various ways, but if you have any model of juicer, the easiest way to squeeze the juice is with it. Of course, this produces quite a lot of waste of pulp with bones.
If there is no juicer, then they act differently. The washed and sorted out viburnum berries are poured with a small amount of water, brought to a boil and then rubbed through a sieve. Blanched berries are much easier to grind than raw ones, and the process itself does not take much time.
The juice from the viburnum obtained in one way or another is heated again, without boiling, and immediately poured into sterile bottles or jars. To store it outside the refrigerator, containers with juice are sterilized in boiling water for 15-25 minutes, depending on the size of the containers.
Viburnum syrup
Many medicinal drinks are made from viburnum juice in winter: compotes, jelly, fruit drinks. But the most popular preparation in which juice is used is viburnum syrup. Usually it is added to tea one spoon at a time, but it can be consumed daily and just like that, on an empty stomach, as a delicious therapeutic and prophylactic agent.
To make it, you only need 1 liter of viburnum juice, 1.8 kg of sugar and 10 g of citric acid. First, heat the juice almost to a boil, gradually adding sugar as it warms up. After boiling, it is necessary to remove the foam that appears and add citric acid. Boil for about 10 more minutes over low heat and pour hot into sterile jars and seal tightly. Opened jars require refrigeration.
Jams and preserves
To prepare viburnum in such a form that cans with it can be easily stored outside the refrigerator, use a variety of jam recipes.
Classic jam is made from whole berries boiled in sugar syrup. If you crush the berries with sugar and boil them, then you get jam. And if you want to boil the viburnum juice with sugar for at least half an hour, you will get a unique jelly made exclusively from berries with sugar without any additives.
To make jam from 1 kg of viburnum berries, first boil sugar syrup, dissolving 1-1.5 kg of sugar in 300 g of water.
Dip the viburnum berries in boiling water for 5 minutes, or better yet, toss them in a colander.
Then pour hot syrup over the berries and leave to soak for 10-12 hours. After the allotted time, heat the jam and cook it for about an hour, stirring and skimming. When it thickens, place it in clean, dry jars.
Viburnum goes well when making jam or jelly with a variety of fruits and berries. So you can use its berries in a mixture with apples, rowan berries, plums, lemons and oranges. Usually use equal proportions of fruits or berries with viburnum.
Conclusion
As you noticed, recipes for blanks of viburnum for the winter are very simple, even a beginner can handle them.Therefore, do not miss the opportunity to stock up on a valuable natural medicine for the winter, and at the same time practice making delicious and healthy dishes.
