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Cranberries are a great way to strengthen your immune system during the cold season. In terms of vitamin C content, this product is considered one of the leaders. Cranberry compote has a pleasant taste and a huge range of useful properties. If you freeze the product for the winter, you can make a healthy drink at any time.
Preparing cranberries
For freezing, you must use strong, whole berries. After coming home, the collected or purchased berries must be sorted. Immediately weed out sick, wrinkled and damaged specimens. After this, the fruits are washed in running water and dried naturally. You can blot it with a paper towel.
Then distribute into small plastic bags. One package should contain such a portion of swamp berries that it is enough for one use, since defrosting and freezing several times negatively affects both the appearance and the content of beneficial properties.
It is recommended to release the air from the bag and shape the package into a pancake so that the berries lie in one layer.
When freezing cranberries, some housewives sprinkle them with sugar, but this is not an acquired taste. For patients suffering from diabetes, this is an unnecessary procedure.Sugar does not affect the quality of storage; frozen cranberries are perfectly preserved for 1–2 years, sometimes more.
If you don’t freeze it yourself, you can buy already frozen berries in the store. It should be in bulk. If a cranberry in a store bag looks like a block of ice, it has been defrosted several times, which indicates a violation of storage technology.
Benefits of cranberry compote
Cranberry compote is useful not only as a source of vitamin C and group B. It is a complete natural antibiotic that helps with colds, various inflammations and fever. Cranberry compote will not just quench your thirst, but strengthen your immune system and help fight infections and respiratory diseases.
For pyelonephritis, cranberry compote is recommended to be used as an antibacterial and at the same time a diuretic. Cranberry compote has a pronounced analgesic property, and also prevents the emergence and development of cancer cells.
Cranberries are among the foods that strengthen blood vessels and remove harmful cholesterol from the body.
Cranberry compote can also improve digestion and increase appetite. This is important because with colds and various infectious diseases a person often does not want to eat, and food is necessary to give strength and strengthen the body. In this case, compote will help as an appetite enhancer.
All useful substances are released from the berries into the water during heat treatment. Moreover, in liquid form they are much better absorbed by the body.
But the product also has its contraindications. It is worth using carefully, even in compotes, for those who have complex gastritis with high acidity, as well as problems with the duodenum.Eating the berry itself in unlimited quantities leads to damage to tooth enamel.
How to cook cranberry compote - a recipe for the winter
For the winter, it is possible to prepare a recipe directly from fresh berries without any freezing. This preparation will perfectly last all winter and will always be at hand. The ingredients are:
- 1 kg cranberries.
- 1 liter of water.
- sugar 1 kg.
You need to prepare compote like this:
- Sort and wash the berries, separate all diseased and damaged specimens.
- Place in jars, which are pre-washed with baking soda and sterilized.
- Boil water and add sugar to it.
- Cook the syrup until the sugar is completely dissolved, be sure to stir.
- Cool to 80°C.
- Pour the resulting syrup over the berries and place boiled lids on the jars.
- Place the jars in a large saucepan with a wooden circle or towel on the bottom. Pour water so that it reaches the jars with compote hangers.
- Sterilize the jars for 10–40 minutes depending on the container. The larger the container, the longer it will take to sterilize.
- Remove the compote and seal it with airtight lids. You can use boiled nylon lids.
- Turn over and cover with a blanket to cool slowly.
How to cook frozen cranberry compote
For a frozen berry drink you will need the following ingredients:
- 1 cup frozen cranberries;
- 2 liters of clean water;
- 150 g sugar.
The recipe is simple:
- Boil water, add sugar and wait until it boils again.
- The amount of sugar may vary depending on taste.
- Add raw materials (no need to defrost).
- Bring to a boil and reduce heat.
- Cook over low heat for 35 minutes.
The drink is served chilled, and therefore after preparation it needs to be placed on the windowsill for 20 minutes.
Cranberry and strawberry compote
The drink with the addition of strawberries has a sweeter taste and a pleasant aroma. You can use both fresh and frozen berries. For compote you will need: 25 grams of each berry and 300 grams of granulated sugar.
Cooking algorithm:
- Boil 4.5 liters of water.
- Add berries; if they are frozen, no defrosting is required.
- Bring to a boil and add sugar to taste.
- Remove from heat and cool the drink.
- The drink is infused under the lid to preserve the aroma.
This compote can be consumed both hot and cold.
How to make cranberry compote with lingonberries
Lingonberry is another northern berry with a wide range of vitamins and beneficial properties. When combined with cranberries, you get an excellent anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and strengthening agent. For compote you will need 2 types of frozen berries, sugar, water, and 1 lemon. You can take 650 g of lingonberries, and 100 g of cranberries is enough.
Recipe:
- Squeeze juice from lemon.
- Pour water into a saucepan and boil it, throw in the lemon peel.
- Add sugar and wait until the syrup boils again and the sugar dissolves.
- Add frozen cranberries and lingonberries.
- Remove from heat after 5 minutes.
The drink must be infused under the lid and then poured into the carafe. Excellent taste and aroma will allow you to serve the drink not only for everyday lunch, but also for the holiday table.During illness, this is a complete medicine and a substitute for pharmacy vitamins. The drink will quench your thirst, strengthen your immune system, and also give you strength to fight infection.
Cranberry compote made from cranberries and apples
For a drink with cranberries and apples you will need the following components:
- frozen berries - 300 g;
- two fresh medium-sized apples;
- sugar to taste;
- orange zest.
The sequence of preparing apple compote is no different from previous recipes:
- Place a pan of water on the stove.
- Add sugar.
- Cut apples with peel into small pieces.
- As the water boils, add apples, cranberries, and orange peels to the pan.
- Cook the compote over low heat for 15 minutes.
It is also important to remember that the cranberries in the compote do not need to be mashed, otherwise the drink will have to be strained. Some housewives do this so that the berries better convey their beneficial properties. But under the influence of temperature, cranberries will give up all their vitamins to the compote; there is no need to mash them.
Conclusion
Cranberry compote is considered a classic homemade antipyretic drink. At the end of summer and autumn, this berry is harvested, but you want to have a healthy drink on the table all year round. Therefore, it is advisable to freeze the berries in portioned bags and then cook delicious and aromatic compotes all winter. These drinks can be made not only from cranberries, but also with the addition of lingonberries, apples, blueberries and other healthy products. Cooking time is 15 minutes, and the benefits are invaluable. It is important to remember that frozen cranberries should not be thawed more than once.