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You can store cranberries at home in several ways, both long-tested and completely new. If stored properly, the northern berry can last for more than one month. This will allow a person to get a full set of vitamins in winter, since the northern beauty has a huge range of beneficial properties. But they are preserved only if stored correctly.
Shelf life of cranberries
The shelf life depends on the chosen method of preserving the northern berry. This could be a month or several years. For example, dried cranberries can last up to three years. It is important to properly collect and prepare the berries for storage. If the cranberries have not undergone special processing and have not even been frozen, then in the refrigerator the shelf life is possible for no more than two weeks. If the housewife is not sure that the product will be used during this time, it is better to either freeze it or preserve it in another way. In order to extend the shelf life, it is important to properly prepare the collected material beforehand, selecting strong and ripe berries.
How to prepare cranberries for storage
To prepare cranberries for long-term storage, you need to do the following:
- Sort through and separate debris and leaves.
- Remove spoiled and crushed berries.
- Remove all unripe specimens, as well as white, green and overripe ones with signs of rot.
- After selecting, wash the berries.
- Dry on a flat tray until the berries are completely dry.
Only after all the preparation is it necessary to quickly and correctly process or store the northern berries. If the berries are picked after the first frost, then most often they do not need additional preparation. But you still have to weed out the sick and depressed fruits.
When checking for ripeness, experienced housewives proceed as follows: throw the berries on the floor. If it bounces like a ball, it means it is in an ideal state of maturity.
How to preserve cranberries at home
There are several popular methods for preserving berries and their vitamins for the winter. This includes freezing, canning, and drying. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. To preserve for a long time, you can take not only the collected berries during the period of ripeness, but also slightly frostbitten ones. There is an opinion that cranberries after the first frost are much tastier and contain more vitamins. But not all storage methods are suitable for frozen cranberries. The ideal option is to freeze it even more.
Dried cranberries
Dried cranberries are successfully used in various dishes, and are also eaten fresh. Drying northern berries is easy:
- Sort and rinse the berries, getting rid of debris and defective specimens.
- Preheat oven to 93°C.
- Arrange the berries in a frying pan.
- Add sugar syrup and stir.
- Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Mix.
- Judge for 10 minutes.
- Crush with a wooden spoon.
- Place the berries on permanent paper. It is important to ensure that all the cranberries burst.
- Place in the oven at 65°C for 7 hours.
- You should change the paper towels a couple of times during cooking.
After cooking, the cranberries must be placed in a tight cellophane or paper bag and stored in a dark place. Thus, dried crops can be preserved in paper bags for up to three years.
Cranberries with sugar
This is one of the oldest delicacies in Rus'. Cooking is not difficult. First of all, it is necessary to properly prepare and sort the berries so that no crushed or diseased material gets into the workpiece.
Then carefully wash and dry large ripe berries. After this, place in layers in a clean, sterilized jar. You should lay it out like this: a layer of cranberries, a layer of sugar. The jar needs to be tapped periodically to make the cranberries sit tighter. In any case, the last layer in the jar should be sugar.
You can use another recipe as a preparation for the winter - cranberries pureed with sugar. To do this you need to do the following:
- Add sugar and cranberries in equal proportions.
- Grind with a blender or using a meat grinder.
- Place in jars and cover with parchment.
In this form, cranberries should be placed in a cool place. There will be fresh vitamins on the table all winter.
There is another way, but in this form the berries are stored for no more than two weeks:
- Boil sugar syrup.
- Wash and pierce all the berries.
- Pour the prepared syrup over the cranberries.
- Place in a cool place overnight.
- The next morning, remove the fruits from the syrup and roll them in sugar.
- Keep refrigerated.
The last recipe is very popular with children, who happily eat this delicacy instead of candy.But the method is not popular, since it cannot be stored this way for more than a month - the product spoils even in the refrigerator.
Cranberries in the refrigerator
Unprocessed cranberries do not last long in the refrigerator. But if the housewife does not want to freeze or soak them, then you just need to put dry and clean berries in a plastic container. It is important that such a container has holes to allow air to circulate.
Additionally, most different types of prepared cranberries, with the exception of canned varieties, can be stored in the refrigerator. This applies to both candied and soaked preparations.
You can simply place cranberries in sealed packages on shelves that are intended for vegetables and fruits, but in any case, such berries should be used first.
Freezing fresh berries
The main and optimal way to stock up on useful raw materials for future use is to freeze them in their entirety. The procedure is quite simple, and if stored correctly, such a berry does not lose its valuable properties for a long time.
If the raw materials are collected before frost:
- Sort and rinse so that crushed and diseased berries, as well as too small ones, do not get frozen.
- Dry on a flat surface without using heat.
- Place in an even layer in bags and release as much air as possible.
- Place in the freezer in even layers so that the frost affects all portions evenly.
If the cranberries are frozen correctly and have not been defrosted, then they will not harden in one layer in the freezer, and the berries will be separate from each other. If, after removal, the cranberry froze in one red briquette, it means that either there was water in the package, or the berry was defrosted several times.
To prevent cranberries from losing their properties, it is important to freeze them in portions and, after taking out one package, use it entirely. In this case, it will not constantly defrost and lose its nutritional and vitamin qualities.
If the northern beauty is too ripe, then it is better to freeze it simply on a pallet, without packaging it in cellophane at the initial stage. After freezing, the finished product can be portioned into bags. This way it won’t choke and will freeze well.
Soaking in water
One of the most ancient methods of preparation is a soaked product. In order to remove sourness, soak the berries in sugar syrup. Step-by-step instruction:
- Wash and dry, pre-sort.
- For 1 kg of cranberries you should add a tablespoon of sugar, as well as a pinch of salt and some spices to suit the hostess’ taste.
- Boil water and cool.
- Place the raw materials in clean, sterilized jars up to the level of the hangers.
- Pour in cooled boiled water.
- Store either in the basement or cellar, if not, in the refrigerator.
You can also store the berries on the floor on the balcony. The shelf life of such a product is one year. It should be borne in mind that when soaked, the cranberries will slightly change their taste and will not be as crunchy as fresh ones, but at the same time all the beneficial properties are preserved, which is why the method is popular.
Conclusion
Every housewife dreams of storing cranberries at home in a way that preserves all their beneficial properties. The northern berry has a huge range of vitamins, including a large amount of vitamin C. This will help strengthen the immune system in winter.But the berry cannot be preserved fresh, and therefore it is advisable to freeze or dry it. You can also soak it, as they did in ancient times. An excellent place to store crops is a cellar or basement, but a refrigerator or balcony is also suitable in an apartment. In this form, you can store useful raw materials for more than one year, but you must first select the best specimens for storage.
