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Probably every person has heard at least something about viburnum in their life. And even if he mainly admired the bright red fire of ripe berries, symbolizing the very height of autumn, he probably heard something about the healing properties of this ornamental plant. Well, those lucky people on whose plots this miracle healing tree grows are simply obliged to use its medicinal properties for the benefit of their health and their family. Moreover, this medicine is really tasty. Although many are confused by some peculiar taste contained in viburnum fruits, it goes away if you know some of the secrets of collecting and storing viburnum berries for the winter.
Viburnum for the winter is not only and not so much traditional jam and jams, these are, first of all, numerous preparations in which heat treatment is not even used. Since viburnum is remarkably preserved even without long cooking, but not a single valuable element from its composition is lost.
Valuable properties of viburnum and contraindications for use
It is quite difficult to argue about whether viburnum berry is healthy or not, since it contains almost the entire periodic table of elements.In addition, there are many acids important for the functioning of the human body, and, of course, almost all known vitamins.
One list of diseases for which viburnum really helps would take up an entire page.
And most often, viburnum preparations are actively used for problems with the stomach and upper respiratory tract, high blood pressure, skin and gynecological diseases and diseases of the central nervous system. Viburnum berries have also found their use in cosmetology.
However, like any plant product with such a rich composition, viburnum can also cause harm, especially if consumed in excessive quantities.
- The most obvious thing is that there may be an individual intolerance to viburnum berries and a subsequent allergy to it, which will be expressed in the appearance of red spots.
- You should avoid drinking viburnum during pregnancy, as it contains a female hormone that can adversely affect the development of the child.
- Naturally, you should not abuse viburnum with low blood pressure, as well as with increased blood clotting.
- Increased stomach acidity and joint pain are also reasons to reduce the consumption of viburnum to a minimum.
Of course, in all these cases, except pregnancy, a small amount of viburnum cannot cause significant harm, but caution must be exercised.
Collection and preparation of viburnum: features
It is traditional to collect and prepare viburnum, as well as buy it in the markets after the first frost. Under the influence of frost, some bitterness and unpleasant taste disappear from the berries.But in our time of advanced technological progress, any housewife in the kitchen can freeze collected or purchased viburnum berries for several hours in the freezer and get exactly the same effect.
So if you have a chance to stock up on viburnum before frost, don’t miss it. In cool conditions, for example, on a balcony, viburnum in bunches will be preserved for several months until you get around to storing it for the winter.
Among the many recipes for preparing viburnum for the winter, you can find those in which the berries are pitted and only viburnum juice with pulp is used. And in other recipes, the berries remain untouched or are kneaded, but along with the peel and seeds.
If you extract them, wash them, dry them and fry them in a frying pan, then after grinding them in a coffee grinder you can prepare a drink similar to coffee. It is used to restore strength after illness and strengthen the immune system. Keep this in mind if the recipe requires you to remove the seeds from the viburnum.
Recipes without heat treatment
It is clear to everyone that in order to obtain the maximum therapeutic effect, it is advisable to use recipes for preparing viburnum berries for the winter without heat treatment. Since it is in such preparations that the maximum amount of useful substances is preserved.
Berries in sugar
The most basic way to preserve viburnum for the winter and at the same time obtain a tasty and healthy syrup is to sprinkle the berries with sugar. According to this recipe, 700-800 grams of sugar are taken per 1 kg of viburnum berries. First you need to sterilize the required number of jars and then dry them.
Before as prepare viburnum berries in sugar, they must be sorted out and freed from twigs and other plant debris.
After the final rinsing, the viburnum must be dried by sprinkling it in a thin layer on a paper or fabric towel.
Cover the bottom of the prepared jars with a layer of sugar, then lay out a layer of viburnum, about 2 cm thick, again sprinkle the berries well with sugar and continue this way until the very top of the jar. The last layer of berries should be so generously covered with sugar that the berries underneath should not even be visible. Then close the jars with tight lids and place in a cool place.
Within a few days, the viburnum berries should absorb almost all the sugar and give abundant juice, so that the jar will be filled to the brim with delicious syrup, which, if desired, can be added to tea instead of sugar or prepared compotes or jelly based on it. This preparation can be stored in the refrigerator until spring, and the berries from it can be consumed as needed for medicinal purposes.
Viburnum with honey
This recipe is especially useful for treating various diseases, since the beneficial qualities of viburnum are enhanced by the unique healing properties of honey.
Fresh berries must be crushed using a wooden mortar and rubbed through a sieve to remove seeds and skin. Then mix the crushed viburnum pulp with honey in equal proportions by weight.
Sterilize small jars, up to 0.5 liters in volume, and fill them with viburnum-honey mixture.Cover with plastic or screw-on metal lids and let the mixture sit at room temperature for a week. Then it is advisable to store it in the refrigerator.
This healing mixture can be taken a tablespoon three times a day before or during meals, and it can heal you from many diseases.
Raw viburnum jam
Before making raw jam, you need to thoroughly rinse and dry the viburnum berries as described in detail above. For 500 grams of already peeled berries, take exactly the same amount of sugar.
This will only have a positive effect on the preservation of the jam.
Even before adding sugar, viburnum berries must be crushed in a plastic or enamel bowl with a wooden pestle. It is not advisable to use a blender, mixer or other metal devices for these purposes. After all the berries have been pureed, the required amount of sugar is added and everything is mixed. Keep the container with berries and sugar warm for 6-8 hours, and then spread the raw jam into dry, sterile jars and keep cool.
Among other recipes, there is also a method for making raw seedless viburnum jam. In this case, at the stage of chopping the berries, they are additionally ground through a plastic sieve, removing the seeds and peel. Of course, it is much more convenient to do this with pre-blanched berries, but in this case absolutely all the vitamins are preserved.
Viburnum blanks with heat treatment
Perhaps the most versatile, simple and quick to prepare is viburnum juice.
Viburnum juice
It can be obtained in different ways, but if you have a juicer of any model, then the easiest way to extract the juice is with its help. Of course, this results in quite a lot of pulp waste with seeds.
If there is no juicer, then they act differently. The washed and sorted viburnum berries are poured with a small amount of water, brought to a boil and then ground through a sieve. Blanched berries are much easier to grind than raw ones, and the process itself will not take much time.
The viburnum juice obtained in one way or another is heated again, without bringing to a boil, and immediately poured into sterile bottles or jars. To store it outside the refrigerator, containers with juice are sterilized in boiling water for 15-25 minutes, depending on the size of the containers.
Viburnum syrup
In winter, many healing drinks are made from viburnum juice: compotes, jelly, fruit drinks. But the most popular preparation in which juice is used is viburnum syrup. Usually it is added to tea one spoon at a time, but it can be consumed daily or just like that, on an empty stomach, as a tasty therapeutic and prophylactic remedy.
To make it, you only need 1 liter of viburnum juice, 1.8 kg of sugar and 10 g of citric acid. First, heat the juice almost to a boil, gradually adding sugar as it heats. After boiling, it is necessary to remove the foam that appears and add citric acid. Boil for about 10 minutes over low heat and pour hot into sterile jars and seal tightly. Opened jars require refrigeration.
Jams and preserves
To prepare viburnum in such a form that jars of it can be easily stored outside the refrigerator, use a variety of jam recipes.
Classic jam is made from whole berries boiled in sugar syrup. If you crush the berries with sugar and boil them, you will get jam. And if you want to boil viburnum juice with sugar for at least half an hour, you will get a unique jelly made exclusively from berries with sugar without any additives.
To prepare jam from 1 kg of viburnum berries, first boil sugar syrup by dissolving 1-1.5 kg of sugar in 300 g of water.
Place the viburnum berries in boiling water for 5 minutes, or better yet, blanch them in a colander.
Then pour hot syrup over the berries and leave to soak for 10-12 hours. After the allotted time has passed, heat the jam and cook it for about an hour, stirring and skimming off the foam. When it thickens, place it in clean, dry jars.
Viburnum goes well when making jam or jelly with a variety of fruits and berries. So you can use its berries in a mixture with apples, rowan berries, plums, lemons and oranges. Usually equal proportions of fruits or berries with viburnum are used.
Conclusion
As you noticed, the recipes for preparing viburnum for the winter are very simple, even a beginner can handle them. Therefore, do not miss the opportunity to stock up on valuable natural medicine for the winter, and at the same time practice making delicious and healthy dishes.
