Hawthorn: winter recipes

Many people do not know or do not remember about the fruits of hawthorn until health problems begin. And then an unsightly-looking tree-shrub, growing everywhere, begins to interest. It turns out that it’s not for nothing that there are so many drugs in pharmacy chains that contain hawthorn. But harvesting hawthorn for the winter is not at all as difficult as it seems. And in addition to standard dried hawthorn fruits, you can prepare a lot of all kinds of healing delicacies from it, so that you don’t have to run to pharmacies in winter, but have a pleasant time at home.

What can be made from hawthorn

In today's very fussy and stressful times, hawthorn and preparations made from it are recommended for almost everyone - because they make it easier to get through stressful situations, calm the nerves, and relax. Well, if you have any problems with the cardiovascular system, it’s hard to imagine a better medicine than hawthorn.

But those with a sweet tooth need to be careful, since any preparations from this plant, no matter how attractive they look and taste, can only be consumed in very limited quantities. After all, hawthorn is a rather strong remedy and you shouldn’t get carried away with it.

And the variety of recipes for cooking from hawthorn berries is really great. These can be whole berries with seeds, infused or boiled with sugar and pureed jams, confitures, jelly and marmalade.

Many healthy drinks are prepared from the fruits of this plant, from juices to fruit drinks and kvass, and even alcohol tinctures.

There is also a wide range of sweets made from this healthy berry: marshmallows, marmalade, candied fruits, and candies.

Even a sauce for meat or fish dishes is prepared from the fruits.

It is interesting that all these numerous preparations for the winter can be made both from large-fruited garden hawthorn and from its small wild forms.

Hawthorn with sugar for the winter without cooking

Among many other recipes, this is the easiest way to prepare hawthorn for the winter.

For 1 kg of berries you will need about 800 g of granulated sugar.

Preparation:

1. Most of the sugar prepared according to the recipe is ground to powdered sugar in a coffee grinder.
2. The fruits are washed, freed from tails and stalks and dried on a towel.
   Attention! It is necessary that the hawthorn fruits be completely dried, without a drop of moisture on their surface.
3. Powdered sugar is poured into a deep bowl and the hawthorn is rolled into it in small parts.
4. The finished fruits are transferred to a clean and dry jar with a wide neck. When laying the jar, shake it periodically to increase the density of the berries.
5. In the upper part of the glass container, leave a space about 4-5 cm high, where ordinary granulated sugar is poured in a continuous layer.
6. The neck of the jar is covered with a paper or fabric lid, tightened with an elastic band so that the workpiece “breathes”. For the same reason, polyethylene caps are not used for sealing.
7. The berries can be considered ready after about two months.

Hawthorn pureed with sugar for the winter

Another delicious hawthorn preparation for the winter at home is berries ground with sugar. The most unpleasant procedure in this case is removing the seeds. But the process can be made easier if the berries are first steamed until softened.

For 1 kg of hawthorn, according to this recipe, add about 2.5 cups of sugar.

Preparation:

1. The washed and dried fruits are placed in a small amount of boiling water or in a colander over steam for a few minutes.
2. Then they are ground using a metal sieve - softened, they will pass through the holes quite easily, while the bones will remain on the sieve.
3. Then granulated sugar is added to the crushed berries, mixed and heated to approximately + 80 ° C. So that the mixture does not boil, and all the sugar melts.
4. Distribute the workpiece into clean jars, sterilize for about 20 minutes and roll up.

Hawthorn with lemon without cooking

For those who find the sweetish taste of hawthorn too cloying, it is recommended to use the following recipe for the winter.

You will need:

• 1 kg of hawthorn;
• 800 g granulated sugar;
• 1 large lemon.

Preparation:

1. As in the previous recipe, the fruits are steamed for several minutes to soften, after which they are ground through a sieve.
2. The lemon is scalded with boiling water, cut into several parts, the seeds that can impart bitterness are removed and crushed with a knife or blender.
3. The ground hawthorn mass is mixed with lemon puree and sugar is added.
4. After thoroughly mixing, leave for several hours in a warm place for complete interpenetration of all components.
5. Place in dry containers, twist and store in the cold.

Hawthorn with honey for the winter

Hawthorn with honey is in itself a very healing preparation for the winter, and the following recipe produces a real cure for high blood pressure and headaches with a mild calming effect.

You will need:

• 200 g each of hawthorn, sea buckthorn and red rowan berries;
• 100 g of fresh or 50 g of dried herbs: calendula, motherwort, mint, sage;
• about 1 liter of liquid honey.

Preparation:

1. Finely chop fresh herbs or grind dry herbs.
2. Grind the berries with a masher or grind with a blender.
3. Mix berries with herbs in a single container and pour honey.
4. Mix, put into jars and seal tightly.
5. Store in a cool place: in the refrigerator or in the basement.

Hawthorn juice

Despite the fact that hawthorn has not at all juicy, but rather mealy pulp, it is used to make tasty and healthy juice for the winter. True, the drink produced according to this recipe can be called more like nectar. However, it retains most of the beneficial properties of this plant.It is especially easy to prepare rich-tasting juice from large-fruited hawthorn for the winter.

You will need:

• 1000 g of fruits;
• 1 liter of water;
• a pinch of citric acid;
• 100 g sugar.

Preparation:

1. The hawthorn is washed, poured with water so that it only slightly covers the fruit, and cooked over low heat for about an hour.
2. Rub the softened berries through a sieve.
3. The resulting puree is diluted with water, sugar and citric acid are added and heated until boiling.
4. Pack the boiling juice into sterile containers, seal it tightly and, turning it over, wrap it until it cools.

If you have a juicer, then with its help, if desired, you can prepare absolutely natural juice from hawthorn berries at home without pulp and even without diluting with water.

The cooking process is as follows:

1. The fruits are washed and chopped using a meat grinder.
2. The resulting mass is loaded into the raw material receiver, water is poured into the lower section and the juicer is placed on the fire.
3. The process of obtaining juice can take almost an hour.
4. It is drained, filtered through cheesecloth, heated to + 100 ° C and poured into sterile glass containers.
5. Immediately seal hermetically for the winter.
6. If such juice is supposed to be stored indoors, then it is better to additionally sterilize it before sealing. For 0.5 liter containers, 15 minutes is enough, for liter containers – 20 minutes.

Hawthorn juice in a juicer

It’s even easier to make hawthorn juice using a juicer. The fruits are washed, dried and passed through this device. The juice is obtained with a large amount of pulp and has a very thick consistency. The flavor is also rich with some honey-cinnamon aftertaste.

To preserve it for the winter, it is sterilized in the standard way.And when using it, it is recommended to dilute it twice with filtered or spring water.

Hawthorn fruit drink

Morse differs from other similar drinks in that it is obtained by diluting fruit grounds with water, and the puree content in relation to the added liquid must be at least 15%.

Thus, to make a hawthorn fruit drink recipe for the winter you will need:

• 500 g of fruits;
• 2-2.5 liters of water;
• juice from half a lemon (optional);
• 300 g sugar.

Manufacturing:

1. Prepared berries are boiled in a small amount of water until soft, then cooled and rubbed through a sieve.
2. The fruit mass is mixed with sugar and heated almost to a boil.
3. Water is added, heated again to almost + 100 °C and immediately packaged in sterile containers and sealed hermetically for the winter.

Hawthorn in syrup for the winter

Considering that hawthorn seeds also contain considerable benefits, the following recipe turns out to be very tasty and healing.

You will need:

• 1 kg of hawthorn fruits;
• 700 g sugar;
• 200 ml water.

Manufacturing:

1. A syrup is prepared from sugar and water, which must be boiled for at least 5 minutes to completely dissolve the sugar.
2. The hawthorn is peeled from the stalks, washed and, after drying, placed in boiling syrup.
3. Boil the berries in syrup until the foam stops releasing and the fruits themselves become almost transparent.
4. The workpiece is distributed into sterile jars, sealed hermetically and stored for the winter.

Homemade hawthorn syrup recipe

A preparation such as hawthorn syrup for the winter is very popular among housewives because it is universal in use and the method of preparing it is completely simple. The syrup is easy and convenient to add to tea or coffee. You can dilute it with cool water and get a healthy and at the same time refreshing drink. In addition, it is convenient to use for impregnation of confectionery products and to improve the taste of various fillings.

You will need:

• 1000 g of fruits;
• 1000 g sugar;
• 5 g citric acid;
• 1 liter of water.

Manufacturing:

1. The fruits are placed in a pan of boiling water and cooked until they are quite soft.
2. The resulting drink is filtered through cheesecloth and sugar is added to it.
3. Heat the syrup until it boils, add citric acid and pour it hot into sterile bottles or other containers.

Recipe for hawthorn jelly for the winter

Since hawthorn berries, like apples, contain a considerable amount of pectin, the process of making jelly is very similar in technology to making syrup.

You will need:

• 500 g berries;
• about 70 ml of water;
• about 200-300 g of sugar.

Manufacturing:

1. The berries are steamed in boiling water until soft and ground in a colander with a piece of strong gauze placed inside.
2. The juice is finally squeezed out using gauze, and the cake is thrown away.
3. Add the required amount of sugar to the juice, heat until boiling and cook for about 10-15 minutes.
4. The juice may not thicken when hot, but after cooling the jelly will be quite dense.

This hawthorn jelly is usually stored in the refrigerator in jars under parchment paper.

Hawthorn marmalade

The technology for making hawthorn marmalade is based on boiling the released juice, so the first stages of preparation completely coincide with the description in the previous recipe.

For 1 kg of fruit take 100 ml of water and about 400 g of sugar.

Preparation:

1. The juice is squeezed out of the steamed berries and boiled over low heat until its volume is reduced exactly by half.
2. Add sugar, heat again until boiling and cook for another 10-12 minutes.
   Attention! When cooking hawthorn juice with sugar, it is important to constantly remove the resulting foam.
3. The boiled mass, when hot, is laid out on deep trays in a layer no more than 2 cm thick.
4. Containers with drying marmalade are covered with linen cloth or gauze and left in a warm room for several days.
5. After that, the layers of marmalade are cut into conveniently shaped pieces and, if desired, sprinkled with powdered sugar.
6. Store the sweet preparation in cardboard boxes in a cool place.

Making hawthorn sweets

You can also make very tasty candies from the hot marmalade preparation.

You will need:

• 1 liter of juice obtained from softened berries;
• 0.5 kg sugar;
• 100 g starch;
• 50 g powdered sugar;
• 100 g peeled and chopped nuts.

Manufacturing:

1. The juice from the fruit, boiled twice, is mixed with the same amount of sugar by weight and, after heating to a boil, is boiled for about a quarter of an hour.
2. Starch is dissolved in cold water, poured into a saucepan with juice and mixed thoroughly.
3. Add chopped nuts.
4. The resulting mixture is spread in a thin layer on a flat surface.
5. Dry either in a warm room for several days, or in a slightly heated oven (+ 50-60 ° C) for several hours.
6. Cut out figures of any shape, sprinkle with powdered sugar and place for storage in a dry jar or cardboard box.

Hawthorn confiture for the winter

Simply and quickly, without prolonged boiling, you can create a delicious confiture from hawthorn if you use agar-agar.

You will need:

• 1.4 kg hawthorn;
• 0.5 kg sugar;
• 1 tsp. agar-agar;
• 1 lemon;
• 1 cinnamon stick.

Preparation:

1. Steam the hawthorn fruits in the standard way under a lid in a small amount of water and rub the mixture through a sieve.
2. Add sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and cook the fruit mixture over low heat for 20 minutes.
3. 5 minutes before the end of the process, pour a small ladle of the mixture into a separate ladle, put agar-agar there and cook for a couple of minutes.
4. Pour the contents of the ladle back into the pan and stir.
5. Place the hot mixture in sterile jars, roll up and cool quickly.

Candied hawthorn for the winter

You can also preserve hawthorn for the winter by making candied fruits from it.

You will need:

• 1.5 kg of hawthorn berries;
• 1.8 kg sugar;
• 400 ml water;
• 2 g citric acid.

Manufacturing:

1. Syrup is prepared from water and sugar.
2. Hot syrup is poured over washed and dried berries and left overnight.
3. In the morning, place the berries in syrup on the fire and after boiling, cook for 15 minutes.
4. Allow the workpiece to cool again until the evening, when the whole procedure is repeated.
5. Then the berries are removed from the syrup, allowed to drain and laid out on a baking sheet covered with parchment.
6. Roll the finished candied fruits in powdered sugar and dry them either in the oven or in a warm room.
7. Store in a glass container with a tightly closed lid to prevent it from getting damp.

Hawthorn sauce

It is also easy to make a sauce from hawthorn fruits for the winter, similar to the one made from lingonberries.

For this you will need:

• 0.5 kg of hawthorn;
• 0.2 kg sugar;
• 0.2 liters of water.

Preparation:

1. Hawthorn is dipped in boiling water and cooked for 10-15 minutes until soft.
   
2. Rub the mixture through a sieve to remove the seeds.
3. Add granulated sugar, stir and heat slightly to dissolve the sugar.
4. Distribute into jars and seal for the winter.
5. To store the product outside the refrigerator, it is advisable to further sterilize the jars.

Preparing the filling for apple and hawthorn pies

You will need:

• 1 kg of hawthorn;
• 0.8 kg sugar;
• juice from half a lemon;
• 3-4 g cinnamon.

Preparation:

1. To prepare this recipe for the winter, it is advisable to remove the seeds from the hawthorn fruits from the very beginning. To do this, the washed fruits are cut into two halves and the pit is picked out with the tip of a small knife.
2. After that, the fruits are covered with sugar, poured with lemon juice, cinnamon is added and put on low heat.
3. After boiling, cook with constant stirring for about 20 minutes.
4. The hot workpiece is distributed into sterile jars and rolled up.

How to prepare hawthorn for the winter without sugar

According to the simplest recipe, hawthorn berries are simply boiled in a small amount of water, rubbed through a sieve and placed in sterile jars. It is advisable to sterilize the workpiece or store it in the refrigerator.

You can also use stevia leaves instead of sugar. This is an excellent and completely harmless sweetener. Add 15-20 dry leaves per 1 liter of preparation.

Is it possible to freeze hawthorn?

Freezing hawthorn will make it very simple and high-quality to prepare almost any quantity of berries for the winter. In addition, with this harvesting technology, all the beneficial substances present in the fruits are preserved for 6 to 12 months.

Freezing hawthorn for the winter

You can arrange whole washed and dried berries in one layer on a tray and place them in the freezer for several hours. Then take it out and put it into portioned bags.

Sometimes it is more convenient to immediately remove the seeds from the berries and freeze the already peeled fruit halves.

How to use frozen hawthorn

Whole frozen berries can be used to make compotes, fruit drinks, or added to tea and other drinks.

Frozen seedless berries are convenient to use for preparing fillings for pies and for adding to any jam.

Harvesting hawthorn: drying

Drying berries is the most traditional way of harvesting hawthorn for the winter. And this is completely justified, because dried berries can be used anywhere.

1. Healing decoctions are often prepared from them or simply brewed as tea.
2. From crushed dry berries you can also prepare a unique drink, somewhat reminiscent of coffee.
3. Finely crushed berries can be added to the dough when baking bread or pies. They give the dough an attractive creamy hue.

Rules for storing hawthorn preparations

The description of each recipe mentions the exact conditions under which this or that hawthorn preparation should be stored. Hermetically sealed glass jars are stored under normal room conditions.

Conclusion

Harvesting hawthorn for the winter will not take much time and effort.But, given the healing properties of this plant, every home should have at least a small supply of its fruits in one form or another.

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