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Exotic fruit feijoa appeared in Europe relatively recently - only a hundred years ago. This berry is native to South America, so it loves warm and humid climates. In Russia, the fruits are grown only in the south, because the plant can withstand temperature drops only down to -11 degrees. This amazing berry is valued for its extremely high content of iodine, vitamins and microelements; the fruit also contains fruit acids, pectin, and delicate fiber.
It is difficult to overestimate the influence of the South American fruit on human health and immunity, so many today try to eat as much as possible feijoa per season. The season for fruits is considered to be from September to December; it is at this time of year that they can be found on the shelves. Feijoa can be stored fresh for only a week, so housewives use all methods to prepare the valuable fruit for future use. What can be prepared from feijoa for the winter can be easily learned from this article.
Recipes for preparing feijoa for the winter
The best preparations for the winter from any berries and fruits are, of course, jam. However Not only jams are made from feijoa, this berry is added to a variety of dishes. For example, salads with feijoa are very tasty, the fruits are often used to make sauces for meat or desserts, and wonderful jellies and healthy vitamin compotes are made from the exotic berries.
But the most popular preparation is jam. You can make raw jam from feijoa, which must be stored in the refrigerator; there are many recipes that involve heat treatment of the preparations. Feijoa goes well with citrus fruits; there are many recipes for making jam with the addition of apples or pears, walnuts and almonds. You need to experiment to create your own recipe for winter preparation from aromatic fruits!
How to make raw feijoa jam
The popularity of raw jams is explained by the extreme ease of preparation, as well as the preservation of all the valuable vitamins and minerals contained in berries and fruits. To prepare raw feijoa jam for the winter, you will need the berries themselves and sugar.
The cooking technology is quite simple:
- First, the berries should be washed well. Then dry and cut off the ends of each fruit.
- Now each fruit is cut into four parts.
- Sprinkle the fruits with sugar and mix well. It is better to leave the workpiece in this form until it releases juice and the sugar begins to dissolve.
- Now, using a submersible blender or a meat grinder, the mixture of berries and sugar is crushed to a homogeneous puree.
- The finished jam is transferred into sterile jars and closed with lids.
It is best to store raw feijoa in the refrigerator.
How to make feijoa compote
This compote will be very aromatic and very healthy. You can drink the drink immediately after preparation, but many housewives use this recipe to prepare compote for the winter.
To implement this recipe you will need:
- 0.5 kg of mature feijoa;
- 2 liters of water;
- 170 g granulated sugar.
Prepare feijoa compote for the winter like this:
- Wash the berries thoroughly and cut off their ends with inflorescences.
- Jars for compote are sterilized with boiling water or steam. The fruits are placed in still hot jars in dense rows, filling the container to about a third of the volume.
- Make syrup from water and sugar. Pour sugar into boiling water and boil the syrup until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Now you should pour the hot syrup over the fruits in the jars. After this, the jars are covered with lids and the compote is left to infuse for a day.
- The next day, the syrup is drained from the jars and simmered over low heat for 30-40 minutes.
- Pour the feijoa with still hot syrup and roll up the workpiece with lids.
Feijoa fruits prepared for the winter in syrup
In this case, feijoa is harvested whole; the berries are not cut or crushed. That is why the fruit retains more nutrients and vitamins; this preparation turns out to be healthier than ordinary jam.
To implement this recipe you will need the following ingredients:
- 3 glasses of water;
- 1.1 kg granulated sugar;
- 1 kg of berries.
So, to prepare healthy fruits for the winter, you should:
- First of all, sort through the feijoas, choosing only whole and undamaged berries. The fruit should be ripe, but not too soft.
- Now the berries are blanched in water whose temperature is about 80 degrees. Blanch fruits for no more than 5 minutes.
- Syrup is made from 2 glasses of water and 0.7 kg of granulated sugar.
- In another container, a stronger syrup is prepared in parallel, consisting of a glass of water and 0.4 kg of sugar.
- The finished syrups are combined, boiled again and poured over the berries.
The feijoa will be soaked in syrup in about 5-6 hours - after this time you can taste the preparation. When the syrup has completely cooled, the jars with the preparations are sealed and sent to the basement or refrigerator.
Jam made from whole berries and cognac
And yet, it is most convenient to prepare feijoa in the form of jam - such preparations are stored for a long time and are made very quickly. Adding cognac will make ordinary jam more piquant, similar to exquisite confiture. A Whole berries can be used to decorate baked goods or as a filling.
You need to prepare:
- 0.5 kg of fruits;
- a glass of granulated sugar;
- 0.5 l of water;
- ½ teaspoon cognac.
Making jam is simple:
- Fruits should be washed and lightly dried.
- The peel is cut off from the fruit and collected in a separate container - it will be useful later.
- The peeled fruits are poured with cold water to prevent them from turning black. Berries that are too hard can be pierced with a fork in several places.
- Pour sugar into a thick-bottomed saucepan or frying pan, add a spoonful of water, and mix the mixture. Turn on low heat and cook the caramel, stirring constantly.
- Turn off the heat and pour 0.5 liters of boiling water into the caramel and stir quickly.
- Pour the feijoa peel into the caramel syrup and cook it for about 7 minutes. After cooling, the syrup is filtered and the peel is discarded.
- Pour the berries into the strained syrup and boil them for about 45 minutes over medium heat with constant stirring.
- A minute before it’s ready, pour cognac into the jam, stir, turn off the heat.
- Now all that remains is to pour the mixture into sterile jars and seal.
Store prepared feijoa jam in the basement or in a cool pantry.
Results
To the question of what to cook from feijoa, you can find a lot of interesting answers. This berry perfectly complements salads, both fruit and vegetable or meat. Syrups and sauces are prepared from the fruits, which are ideally combined with meat.
But most often feijoa is used for desserts: cakes, pies, muffins, jellies and various mousses. To prepare valuable berries for the winter, jam or compotes are made, and they also make excellent tea.