Lingonberry is an evergreen plant that looks like a small shrub. Lingonberry berries contain a large amount of vitamins, minerals, pectins. From it, excellent preparations for the winter are obtained, which fill the body with a mass of useful substances.
Lingonberry syrup
For the winter, you can cook syrup from lingonberries. To do this, you will need:
- 1 kg of berries;
- 3 tbsp. water;
- 300 g of sugar;
- 3 tbsp. citric acid.
Sort out ripe lingonberries, rinse them in cold water and transfer to an enamel bowl. Boil the syrup from water, sugar and lemon juice, pour the berries over them and leave them to infuse for several hours. Then transfer the lingonberries to a sterilized jar. Bring the syrup to a boil and pour it over the berry, seal the container with a lid. Store the syrup in a cool place.
Lingonberry jam
Lingonberry jam has a pleasant taste and aroma, it can be used as a filling for pies, as a decoration for homemade cakes and pastries. To make the jam, you will need:
- 1 kg of berries;
- 1.5 kg of sugar;
- 2 tbsp. water.
Pour boiling water over the lingonberries and put them on a sieve after a few minutes. Place the berries in a saucepan, pour hot water and sugar syrup into it. Cook the jam for 15-20 minutes, be sure to remove the skins.
In lingonberry jam, you can add a few apples or pears cut into small pieces.
Soaked lingonberry
Another way to prepare lingonberries for the winter is to make soaked berries. Such a preparation is well suited to meat dishes; it can be added to cabbage salads, vinaigrettes.
Take 1 kg of berries, sort it out and clean it of debris, rinse well and discard it on a sieve so that the water is glass. From 1 liter of water, 2 tbsp. sugar, 1 tsp. salt, a pinch of cinnamon and a couple of clove buds, boil the syrup. You need to cook it for 10 minutes, constantly removing the foam.
To improve digestion, you can prepare lingonberry water. To do this, ripe lingonberries must be placed in an enameled can, pour cool boiled water and leave for 2-3 weeks.
Arrange the lingonberries in jars and cover with hot syrup. Cover the jars with parchment and store in a cool place.
Lingonberry jelly
A wonderful dessert that can also be served with poultry and meat dishes is lingonberry jelly. It is prepared from ripe berries, which are placed in an enamel bowl and boiled over a fire without adding water. You need to cook lingonberries until they burst. After that, the resulting liquid must be filtered through cheesecloth.
Add the same amount of honey or granulated sugar to the lingonberry juice and cook until jelly forms. The finished jelly must be laid out in sterilized jars and rolled up with lids. Store in a cool place.