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One of the most delicious winter desserts that you can delight your family and friends with is pine cone jam. This exquisite Siberian dish made from cedar buds contains a rich set of all kinds of vitamins necessary for a person accustomed to wintering in the harshest cold conditions. How to choose the right ingredients and follow the recipe for pine cones and nuts is worth considering in detail.
What are the benefits of jam made from pine cones and nuts?
A pine cone is filled with tree seeds. Among the northern peoples of Russia, it has long become synonymous with all the most useful things that nature has given to man. To produce a living tree, a small cone contains the entire set of necessary elements.
Cedar jam contains the following elements:
- vitamin C, B, PP, K;
- ascorbic acid;
- lipids;
- phytoncides;
- essential oils;
- linoleic acid;
- bioflavonoids.
Using a natural preservative – sugar, cooks preserve all the beneficial properties of pine wood.The product recipe does not contain starch or thickener. All you need to preserve pine nuts and cones is the fruits themselves, sugar and citric acid.
Benefits of pine cone jam
It is difficult to overestimate the benefits and effect of taking pine cone jam. It is not only a sweet and sour dessert for tea, but also a cure for many diseases. This product has long been used in the treatment of:
- colds;
- gastrointestinal disorders;
- of cardio-vascular system;
- interseasonal hypochondria;
- viral diseases;
- low hemoglobin;
- hypertension.
In addition, it is used as a prophylactic composition against cancer and as a diuretic and expectorant. Jam has no contraindications, except that a person may be allergic to certain components.
Benefits of pine nut jam
Pine nuts can not only be fried and dried for the winter, they can also be used to make jam. It is as good as pine cone jam and has the unique taste of nuts in pine syrup. Pine nut jam is also popular in medicine among taiga healers and local people. Pine nuts are known even abroad as a powerful source of energy, both physical and spiritual.
Nut jam is used as a medicine in the following cases:
- as an immunostimulant;
- to improve the functioning of the stomach and restore the mucous membrane in case of peptic ulcers;
- with a lack of iron in the blood;
- in the treatment of tuberculous lung disease;
- for skin rejuvenation and renewal of the epithelial layer;
- in inflammatory processes of various origins;
- as a prevention of cancer.
Cosmetics for hair and nails are even made from nuts, and nut oil can treat skin diseases. A few tablespoons of pine nut jam will provide lasting immunity throughout the winter and spring.
Which pine cones are suitable for cooking?
The collection of pine cones begins in July-August. To choose the right cone, you need to pay attention to its color and density. The younger and softer the fruit, the more suitable it is. A cone ripe for jam should not be overripe or hard. The unsuitable one is already beginning to open up and become stale. We need to pick the bud at the stage between ripening and opening. It should be small and green, soft to the touch. Only during this period is it edible and useful - before it produces seeds and becomes woody.
How to make jam
There are many recipes for making jam from pine cones and nuts. Some housewives boil the pine cones, others simply prepare syrup. Someone grinds fruits with sugar. The ingredients include various spices, for example, cinnamon, vanilla, ginger. When cooked, the cone jam acquires a color from bright red to dark brown. Regardless of the recipe chosen, it should be taken into account that the cones and nuts are rolled up whole, without crushing or disturbing the structure. For jam, you need to choose whole fruits picked from a healthy tree.
Cone jam with pine nuts
A festive assortment of pine cones and nuts in the form of jam is prepared in compliance with some recommendations regarding the ingredients themselves. It is necessary to choose the right nuts. They should be fresh, not dry, slightly soft.Only such fruits contain still fresh essential oil, which will appear if you lightly press the fresh nut.
Ingredients:
- water – 1 l;
- pine nuts – 800 g;
- pine cones – 1 kg;
- sugar – 1 kg.
Cooking method:
- First, prepare the nuts. Select uniform fruits, wash, dry and fry until fragrant. Do not allow darkening.
- Prepare syrup. Mix sugar with water and cook until completely dissolved.
- Add nuts and cones and cook for 2 hours, skimming off the foam.
- Pour hot jam into jars so that there is more liquid than fruit and roll up.
- Wrap a blanket around the jars to cool slowly.
Instead of sugar, you can add honey in an amount of 500 g. Boiled honey will not have the same beneficial properties as regular honey, but it is an alternative for people with diabetes.
Pine nut jam
Making jam with pine nuts is as easy as making jam with pine cones. It is worth considering a recipe with honey to replace sugar. You must also choose nuts carefully, but this time without roasting.
The ingredients are as follows:
- 500 g honey;
- 100 ml water;
- 400 g nuts.
You need to prepare it like this:
- Wash the sorted nuts and let dry.
- In a deep bowl, you need to crush the nuts a little, but do not break them; this should be done so that the fruits begin to release essential oil.
- Mix honey with water and bring to a homogeneous mass, then add nuts.
- Cook everything for 5 minutes.
- After this, let the jam cool and repeat the cooking process 3 more times.
- Having finished the third cooking, pour hot jam into sterile jars and roll up.
This delicacy is used mainly for colds.Honey with nuts has always had a high vitamin content, and the absence of sugar made the jam natural for a long time.
How to use it correctly
If you use pine cone jam as a medicine, then its intake should be rational. It is better to take it on an empty stomach, since absorption into the blood increases on an empty stomach, and the desired effect is achieved more quickly. For sore throat or flu, take 1 teaspoon of jam three times a day, without washing it down, so that the healing syrup coats the throat, absorbing into its walls. After taking it, you should refrain from drinking for an hour.
You should not consume too much pine cone jam as a sweet. Due to the presence of essential oils in it, it can cause allergies by accumulating in tissues, especially if a person has problems with kidneys that do not have time to remove substances.
Contraindications
Despite the rich benefits, cedar jam also has contraindications. People who have had food allergies, especially to nuts, should not take cedar jam or try it in very small doses. Pregnant and nursing mothers should avoid this delicacy, and it is also not recommended to give it to children under 12 years of age.
Other contraindications are:
- kidney disease;
- exacerbation of stomach and duodenal ulcers;
- hypertension;
- hepatitis of various forms.
Otherwise, cedar dessert is healthy and nutritious. Even if it is consumed by a person with the above diseases in small doses, it will have a calming effect on the nervous system.
Terms and conditions of storage
Any jam is nutritious and healing if you store it in a dark place, protect it from direct sunlight and do not leave it unopened in the refrigerator for a long time. Opened jam may become moldy.
It is also important to ensure that the product is sealed correctly. The dessert will be stored for two years without losing vitamins. There is an opinion that after this period has expired, the jam should be thrown away, but there are recipes for making wine from expired jam. This will give him a second life.
Conclusion
Jam made from pine cones - the ability to preserve the product for future use. By choosing this option, the housewife will provide her family with homemade medicine for almost all diseases for the whole year. And if the jar is beautifully decorated, it can become a pleasant and elegant gift.
