What can you make from red bird cherry for the winter? Recipes for making jam, preserves, and juice.

The scarlet bird cherry berries are rich in vitamins and microelements beneficial for health. Their medicinal properties have inspired home cooks to create a variety of winter recipes using red bird cherry. Here are the most interesting options: from simple jam to bird cherry flour. The fruit contains substances that require special attention and precautions. Therefore, certain rules should be followed when preparing and storing this Virginia berry.

Tips for preparing bird cherry for the winter

Bird cherry berries are a vitamin cocktail with multifaceted healing properties. They are used to boost immunity against infectious diseases, as well as for intestinal ailments and diarrhea. They contain tannins, which alleviate this unpleasant affliction. Astringent decoctions are drunk for heart and nervous system ailments.

Bird cherry treats have a mild aroma and a tart flavor. The caffeic acid in the berry inspired home cooks to add it to coffee, creating a healthy and invigorating drink. Bird cherry flour is used to make kissels and baked goods. However, bird cherry requires careful handling.

Products made from it are more considered folk remedies than tea sweets. This is due to the hydrocyanic acid and alkaloids it contains.

The elements contained in berries require adherence to certain rules when preserving them:

1. Canned bird cherry should be stored for no more than 6 months. The pits contain high concentrations of hydrocyanic acid, which is toxic to the body. You can extend the shelf life by removing the pits.
2. Dishes and lids require sterilization.
3. Depending on the cooking recipe, a storage location is selected: a refrigerator, a cellar, or a warm living space.
4. It is better to cook in enameled or ceramic-coated cookware.
5. Dried fruits and flour can be stored for 2-3 years.
6. Juice and syrup are stored only in the refrigerator and for no more than 2 months.

Bird cherry is contraindicated for infants, pregnant women, and nursing mothers. The alkaloids it contains are dangerous in high concentrations.This is an important point to remember. Often, due to ignorance of these properties, medicinal infusions are recommended to new mothers and pregnant women as a means of boosting immunity.

Selecting and preparing the main ingredient

First, you need to collect the berries, then the preparations will be stored for a long time:

• When picking bird cherry, leave the stalks on so the berries remain undamaged.
• Wash them together with the stalks so that the juice does not leak out.
• Rinse the red berries 3-4 times, placing them in a colander.
• After washing, dry the fruits by laying them out on a thick cloth.
• Virginia berries can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week, but it is best to process them in the first few days to preserve their freshness and vitamins (the longer they are stored, the fewer beneficial properties they will retain).
• The ripeness of the berries affects the flavor of the jam. Red bird cherry contains more vitamin A, resulting in a tart jam. Ripe black cherries produce a fragrant, delicate sweetness.

Bird cherry jam recipe

This tart sweetness will brighten up cold winter evenings and give you strength. Making jam is easy. Just take equal parts berries and sugar.

Recipe:

1. Place the washed bird cherry berries in a saucepan and cover with water. The water level should be a couple of centimeters above the berries.
2. When the water boils, wait two minutes and turn off the heat.
3. Strain the cooled broth through cheesecloth, rub the pulp, then combine everything.
4. Weigh the mass: for the resulting volume, take the corresponding amount of sugar.
5. Add sugar, return the pan to the heat, and bring to a boil. The jam is ready.

Place the cherries hot in sterilized jars. Wrap them in a blanket, lids facing up. The simplest method takes little time, but the end result is a delicious treat. For this recipe, the amount of sugar is calculated based on the volume of mashed berries. Rinse and dry the bird cherry berries and grind them in a meat grinder. Then add sugar and simmer for one hour. The finished mixture is then placed in sterilized jars.

Bird cherry and red currant compote

You can make a fragrant, rich-red compote with the addition of currants. The combination of these healthy fruits creates a true vitamin cocktail.

You will need half a kilo of berries and sugar, as well as filtered water:

1. Prepare three-liter jars and lids in advance: sterilize.
2. Fill clean jars with fruit, filling them about a quarter full.
3. Prepare syrup: 500 g of sugar, 3 liters of water.
4. Pour the syrup into jars in equal quantities.
5. Fill the remaining volume with clean water.
6. Cover with metal lids.
7. Place the jars in a sterilizer (this can be done in the oven if you select the lowest setting; the sterilization time is half an hour after the contents have boiled).
8. Take out the jars and roll them up.
9. Prepare a blanket and wrap the compote in it with the lids facing up.

Bird cherry juice

Vitamin juice will fill you up in winter and give you strength.

A simple recipe to help:

1. Wash and dry the bird cherry.
2. Transfer to a saucepan and boil in a water bath for 15 minutes.
3. Drain the resulting juice.
4. Squeeze the berries through cheesecloth.
5. Add sugar to taste.
6. Boil the juice for 5 minutes.
7. Pour into containers.

This drink can be stored in the refrigerator for six months. However, it likely won't last that long, as the temptation to try it is too great.

Delicious jelly

Jelly is a worthy addition to any dessert table. It's both beautiful and delicious. How do you make a delicious bird cherry treat for the winter?

You will need:

• sugar (800g per 1 kg of berries);
• bird cherry;
• water.

Pour water over the bird cherries until they are completely covered. Cook until softened. You can gently mash the berries with a wooden pestle right in the pan to release the juice. Squeeze the juice from the resulting mass using cheesecloth. Return the red berry juice to the heat. Reduce the liquid until the volume is reduced by a quarter.

Roll the hot jelly into jars that have been prepared according to all the rules.

Coffee made from bird cherry flour

The Virginia berry imparts a tart aroma to coffee and imparts vitamins and beneficial properties. It contains caffeic acid, so bird cherry flour is often added to coffee. A perfect drink to invigorate long winter evenings!

To prepare the drink, you'll need freshly ground coffee and 1 teaspoon of bird cherry flour. You can add sugar and milk, if you prefer. Combine all ingredients in a Turkish coffee pot, add clean water, and bring to a boil. The coffee is ready!

Jam

Simple jam is very easy to make, while the aroma and taste remain excellent:

1. Prepare berries - 1 kg.
2. Make syrup: for 750 ml of water you will need half a kilo of sugar.
3. Place the bird cherry in a colander into the boiling solution for several minutes.
4. Transfer the scalded berries into a clean saucepan.
5. Add another 750 g of sugar to the syrup.
6. Combine the berries and syrup and bring to a boil.
7. After 15 minutes the jam is ready to be rolled up.

Syrup

Baked goods and desserts with bird cherry syrup are delicious and healthy. Creating this delicacy is not difficult, but it does require patience and time. First, you'll need to make the red berry juice. The recipe can be found above.

Then, reduce the juice by half and add sugar. The ratio is 200 grams of white granulated sugar per 1 liter. Cook for another 5 minutes and pour into clean containers. Store the syrup in the refrigerator.

Flour

Red berry flour is a kind of semi-finished product. It's added to coffee, baked goods, and used to make jelly. If prepared correctly, the flour can have a shelf life of several years.

Making the flour is very simple. Grind the dried berries in a coffee grinder. Store in a dry, dark place. Glass containers with tight-fitting lids are recommended.

Dried bird cherry

This is the easiest way to preserve fruit for the winter without cooking. You can dry bird cherry in the attic, in the oven, or in an electric dehydrator. The latter method is the easiest and takes only 4 hours.

To dry, use the lowest oven setting and leave the oven door open. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

How to freeze

Freezing berries is even easier. Simply prepare the berries: wash and dry them. Then, place them in clean containers. The frozen product can be used for making decoctions, baked goods, kissels, and other delicious treats.

It's best not to remove the stems, as this will keep the berries safe and will make them easier to separate once frozen.

Storage

The shelf life of bird cherry preserves depends on the preparation method. The pits contain high concentrations of hydrocyanic acid, which is hazardous to health. Therefore, it is recommended to consume canned bird cherry preserves within six months. Juice, syrup, and freshly ground bird cherry can be stored in the refrigerator for one to two months. Bird cherry flour retains its properties for two to three years.

Diseases for which the berry is used as an auxiliary remedy:

• diarrhea;
• gastrointestinal problems;
• women's diseases;
• to improve immunity;
• as a preventative measure against viral infections;
• for diseases of the cardiovascular system;
• for nervous diseases.

Bird cherry treats should be consumed with caution. They are more of a folk remedy than a sweet. The jam or preserves have a cloying, slightly bitter taste and a weak aroma.