Content
- 1 Are bird cherry frozen
- 2 How to properly freeze bird cherry for the winter
- 3 Bird cherry frozen on twigs
- 4 Freezing bird cherry berries in bags or containers
- 5 Freezing bird cherry, twisted in a meat grinder
- 6 How to freeze cherry grated with sugar
- 7 What can be cooked from frozen bird cherry
- 8 Shelf life of frozen bird cherry
- 9 Conclusion
Many people think that berries, including bird cherry, are frozen only for compotes. And after defrosting, it turns into an unsightly-looking homogeneous mass, which is difficult to use anywhere. But this is not at all the case. You can freeze the bird cherry with individual berries, or you can directly with the twigs. There are several ways to preserve the natural flavor and aroma of berries. In addition, bird cherry can be frozen almost in the form of a ready-made dish, which afterwards can be used at any time, without fear of souring or the appearance of mold on it. All this will be discussed later in the article.
Are bird cherry frozen
Eating delicious and juicy berries when a blizzard is sweeping outside the window and the frosts are getting stronger is not the dream of any summer resident and gardener. And if the jam retains, at best, an attractive aroma and some taste somewhat distorted by sugar, then frozen berries and fruits can be practically fresh after defrosting. Especially if you know some of the secrets of freezing. All of the above applies in full measure to bird cherry, although this berry does not enjoy the special love of gardeners. It is even called a bird, as if hinting that its fruits are only suitable for feeding birds.
But in fact, this berry is not only quite tasty, but also healthy. Fans of unusual dishes will definitely appreciate the very attractive taste and aroma of bird cherry in their own way. And its healing properties were recognized and used by our distant ancestors. And all these flavors and properties can be perfectly preserved in frozen berries. In addition, the very process of preparing and freezing bird cherry is very simple and takes very little time, unlike other methods of conservation.
How to properly freeze bird cherry for the winter
The most important thing that is absolutely necessary for the proper freezing of bird cherry is a freezer compartment in a modern refrigerator or a free-standing freezer. It is better if it maintains a temperature of about - 18 ° C or less. It is even better if the "shock freezing" mode is present in it, which will allow you to quickly and easily freeze the berries.
But, as for the bird cherry itself, the most important secret is that you can only freeze berries collected from bushes or trees within the next day. Berries that have been stored for a longer period after harvesting are no longer recommended to be frozen, since their taste and aroma cannot be preserved in their original form. The conclusion is quite simple - you should not mess with the freezing of bird cherry fruits purchased in the markets or even more so in stores. You need to look for cherry bushes from friends, acquaintances or relatives. Or in a nearby forest.
All damaged, wrinkled, unhealthy bird cherry fruits should be removed. This selection will help in the best way to preserve the taste and aroma of the berries remaining for freezing.
Then the bird cherry should be rinsed well. It is best to do this in cool water, in a large container, changing the water several times in order to minimize mechanical stress and not damage the rather thin shell of the berries.
The last preparation procedure for freezing is to thoroughly dry the bird cherry. The berries are scattered in one layer on a paper or cloth towel and placed in a dry and warm place for several hours. It is important to dry the bird cherry qualitatively, since the degree of safety of the berries during freezing and subsequent defrosting will depend on this.
2 hours before the start of the freezing process itself, the freezer is set either to the shock freezing mode or to the lowest possible temperature (usually - 20 ° C).
Then the bird cherry is frozen in one of the convenient ways, described in detail in the following chapters.
Bird cherry frozen on twigs
Freezing bird cherry on twigs is another way to preserve the freshness and taste of an almost natural berry after defrosting. In addition, it becomes much easier to sort out the berries. It is better to rinse the branches under a small stream of running water, but drying the bird cherry before freezing is still a mandatory procedure.
For freezing with twigs, you need to prepare flat trays that will fit easily in the freezer in size.
The trays are covered with sheets of parchment paper, dried branches of bird cherry are laid out on them and placed in the freezer for several hours.
After 12 hours, the trays are taken out, the bird cherry twigs are transferred to special plastic containers, preferably rectangular in shape for greater capacity. The containers are labeled and placed in the freezer for storage.
When defrosting, the berries of bird cherry are easily removed from the stalks and practically do not differ from fresh ones. They can be used to prepare any kind of food, including decorating pies and cakes.
Freezing bird cherry berries in bags or containers
This is one of the most popular ways to freeze bird cherry.
After picking, the berries are separated from the stalks and washed and dried in this form. In the future, they act as described in the previous chapter, only the berries on the tray are placed strictly in one layer.
Since bird cherry berries are relatively dense, you can try to freeze them by immediately pouring them into prepared containers.
But there is another secret here. In order for the fruits to retain their color and taste as much as possible, they can be frozen as a whole, sprinkled with sugar in layers. For 1 kg of fruit, you will need no more than 1 cup of granulated sugar. And the berries must be completely dry.
To do this, take a plastic container of a suitable size, pour a layer of berries, sprinkle a little sugar on top, again a layer of berries and repeat this until the container is completely filled.
Defrost bird cherry stored in the freezer in all the above ways should be in the refrigerator. Although it will take a long time, the berry will retain all its best properties in the best possible way.
Freezing bird cherry, twisted in a meat grinder
Since bird cherry is rarely used for fresh consumption, the method of preserving its berries in a milled state is very popular.
To do this, the berries only need to be sorted out and washed. They do not need to be thoroughly dried. Moreover, even mechanically damaged berries can be used. But, nevertheless, carefully weed out fruits with traces of diseases and parasites.
Washed berries are twisted through a meat grinder. You can even do this several times if the grinder holes are too large.
Then the resulting mass is laid out in small molds and frozen.If there is a desire to reuse the molds, then after a day they are taken out of the freeze by pressing lightly, pulled out of the molds and distributed in special bags. Put it back in the freezer for storage.
How to freeze cherry grated with sugar
An even better option will be obtained if sugar is added in a 1: 1 ratio to the berry mass grated through a meat grinder. The result is an almost ready-made filling for pies, pies, pancakes, casseroles or dumplings. In general, grated bird cherry with sugar is quite tasty and just like that, in the form of cold jam for tea.
By the way, if you freeze bird cherry, ground with sugar, in small ice cubes, you can get a wonderful ready-made medicine for indigestion. When such a problem arises, it is enough just to dilute one cube in half a glass of warm or hot water and drink the finished medicine.
What can be cooked from frozen bird cherry
Of course, most often various drinks are prepared from frozen bird cherry: compotes, jelly, cocktails and even alcoholic liqueurs and liqueurs. Whole berries are perfect for decorating desserts and cakes.
A variety of pastries with frozen bird cherry are popular. After all, it makes excellent fillings for pies and pies.
In addition, it can be used to add to sweet milk cereals, curd casseroles and desserts, cheese cakes, pancakes. Various desserts are also prepared from frozen mashed potatoes with sugar in the form of puddings, smoothies, jellies and others.
Shelf life of frozen bird cherry
In general, at a temperature not higher than - 18-20 ° C, frozen bird cherry can be stored for up to one year. It is advisable to use mashed berries in a shorter period of time, since they contain crushed bones, which can cause an increased concentration of hydrocyanic acid.
Conclusion
Many novice housewives do not even suspect that it is possible to freeze bird cherry in order to preserve it for the winter. But in this way they get not only a tasty addition to many dishes, but also a valuable medicine for stomach and colds.
