Many people know about the healing properties of sea buckthorn. Its berries contain carotenes, carotenoids and a large amount of vitamins. Characteristically, sea buckthorn fruits do not lose their benefits even after processing, which is why they are often harvested for the winter.
The benefits of sea buckthorn
Sea buckthorn has been known since ancient times and is mentioned in Chinese medical books and manuscripts in Tibet. Unfortunately, in the Middle Ages, this miracle berry was forgotten.
In Russia, sea buckthorn was cultivated in the St. Petersburg Botanical Garden at the beginning of the 19th century, but the first varietal berry appeared only in the 30s of the 20th century in Altai.
When doctors discovered the miraculous properties of this plant, there was a "sea buckthorn boom" in the country. It happened in the 80s of the last century. Remarkably, sea buckthorn oil was a real shortage, and huge queues lined up in pharmacies to buy this "magic" medicine according to special prescriptions from a doctor.
Sea buckthorn berries contain a large amount of vitamin C (more than lemon), the entire group of vitamins B, K, P, PP and E.
Sea buckthorn contains 15 different trace elements:
- calcium;
- sodium;
- manganese;
- iron;
- magnesium;
- aluminum;
- silicon;
- titanium and others.
Fruits contain beta-carotene, organic acids, sterols, flavonoids, alkaloids, phospholipids, leukoanthocyanins, phenolic acids, serotonin, inoside, rutin, choline, betaine, coumarins, pectin substances.
All this literally means that sea buckthorn is a berry charged with the most valuable substances for health and beauty. Enough 100 grams of fresh berries or sea buckthorn juice for the body to receive the daily rate of substances useful for it.
Sea buckthorn fruits effectively relieve inflammation, treat burns, promote the restoration of liver cells, strengthen the immune system and saturate the body with vitamins.
By including sea buckthorn in your menu, you can stabilize blood cholesterol levels.
In folk medicine, sea buckthorn oil is very popular. It is used to treat various skin lesions:
- cuts;
- burns;
- frostbite;
- bedsores;
- cracks.
Harvesting time for sea buckthorn
Ripe sea buckthorn berries have a rich orange color. Fruits usually ripen in late summer - early autumn. Harvesting is not an easy task.
The fruit stem of the berries is tightly connected to the skin and the berries are easily crumpled, and the thorns hurt the skin and make it difficult to harvest.
The berries literally shower the branches, and therefore collecting them one by one is a long and monotonous work. There are several ways to harvest sea buckthorn.
If you plan to freeze the berries, it will be more convenient to cut the branches with the berries, put them in the freezer, and later it will be easy to separate the frozen fruits from the branches. However, in this case, you need to be careful, otherwise there is a risk of damage to the tree.
The second method of harvesting sea buckthorn is the use of special devices. There are many interesting inventions for easy "picking" berries from the branches.
One of the simplest and most readily available items at hand is an ordinary table fork with conveniently folded prongs.
You can also cut the sea buckthorn with garden shears or just pick it up carefully with your hands.
Remember, sea buckthorn juice can irritate the skin, so be sure to work with gloves.
The berries are harvested from the top to the very base of the branch.
Methods for harvesting berries for the winter
For the winter, sea buckthorn is harvested in different ways. Compotes, fruit drinks, mashed potatoes, jams, preserves, wine and oil are made from it.
To maximize the preservation of the beneficial qualities of sea buckthorn, its berries must be harvested entirely. Freezing is an excellent option. To do this, you need to carefully sort out the fruits from the leaves and debris, put them in bags or plastic containers and store them in the freezer.
For several months, the berries can be stored outside in the cold without removing them from the branches. To do this, you need to cut off the young branches together with the fruits and hang them in a room with a maintained temperature of 0 to +4 ° С. In this form, the berries do not lose their benefits and can be used as needed.
In order for the berry to stand until spring, it is worth sprinkling it with sugar one to one and putting it in the refrigerator. Sea buckthorn prepared in this way retains its taste and is perfect as a useful additive to pancakes, cereals, and cottage cheese.
In the following way, you can prepare a whole berry or grated with sugar. To do this, ripe clean berries need to be heated or chopped with a blender, add sugar, pour into sterilized jars and close with lids. 1 kg of berries will need 1-1.5 kg of sugar. Store such a delicious sea buckthorn medicine in a dry, cool and dark place. Due to the large amount of sugar, sea buckthorn puree does not deteriorate for a long time.
Sea buckthorn fruits can be dried. For such a preparation, you will need whole berries. They need to be sorted out, washed, dried and spread out in a thin even layer on a tray or any horizontal surface. If you want to speed up the drying process, use a special electric dryer for fruits and vegetables.
Sea buckthorn can also be dried in a conventional oven. The main thing is not to overdry the berries, otherwise they will lose not only taste, but also useful qualities.
First, you need to set the temperature regime to 35-40 degrees, then after three hours increase it to 60 degrees. Open the oven slightly to allow condensation to evaporate.
Cool the finished sea buckthorn berries and leave for several days in an open container, then sprinkle them in bags or jars with lids.
Sea buckthorn jam
Ingredients:
- sea buckthorn berries - 1 kg;
- sugar - 1, 250 kg;
- water - 1, 3 l.
Sort the berries and wash, cover with sugar and cook over low heat. After dissolving the sugar, increase the heat, and stirring the berry mass regularly, cook until tender.
Pour the finished jam into clean jars and roll up the lids.
Sea buckthorn compote
Ingredients:
- sea buckthorn - 300 g;
- sugar - 400 g;
- water - 1 l.
For compote, it is better to take slightly unripe berries. Sort the fruits thoroughly, rinse with cold water and discard in a colander. Then dry the berries on a towel.
Then put the sea buckthorn in sterilized jars for about 2/3 of their volume.
Prepare syrup from sugar and water. Pour the berries with hot syrup almost to the top of the jars and pasteurize in a saucepan with boiling water. The pasteurization time for 0.5 liter cans is 10 minutes, and for 1 liter cans - 15 minutes.
Roll up the finished compote with lids and store in a cool place.
Sea buckthorn honey
Ingredients:
- sea buckthorn berries - 1 kg;
- honey - 1 kg.
Grind honey with sea buckthorn until smooth with a blender and put in clean glass jars.
This cooking option allows you to save almost all the useful components of sea buckthorn.
Sea buckthorn juice
Ingredients:
- sea buckthorn fruits - 1 kg;
- boiled water at room temperature - 0.8 l.
Rinse the sea buckthorn, crush with a wooden crush, add water. After 15-20 minutes, mix the resulting mass well, squeeze the juice, pour it into bottles and sterilize.
Delicate sea buckthorn jam
Ingredients:
- fresh large sea buckthorn berries - 1 kg;
- sugar - 1.5 kg.
Wash dried berries, mash by hand with a wooden crush or beat in a food processor until smooth.
Cover the resulting berry mixture with sugar and mix gently. Leave for 40-60 minutes until the sugar is completely dissolved, then stir again.
Put fresh jam into sterilized jars with a volume of 0.5 - 1 liter, add sugar on top, in a layer of 1 cm. This is necessary so that the jam is preserved longer and does not sour. Close the jars with clean plastic lids and store them in the basement. In this form, sea buckthorn jam can be stored for up to two years.
Helpful hint: inside the juicy berries there is a tough, tasteless bone. It can be taken internally and contains beneficial oils and trace elements. Once in the body, it absorbs harmful substances and naturally brings them out. If you do not like the seeds, you can grind them, then the jam will become even more delicate in consistency.
Apple - sea buckthorn jam
Ingredients:
- sea buckthorn berries - 500 g;
- 3 green apples;
- sugar - 600 g;
- cinnamon, vanillin - to taste.
Sort the sea buckthorn berries and add water to get rid of small debris. Throw the sea buckthorn in a colander, and then pour into an enamel bowl (large basin or saucepan).
Cover the berries with sugar and mix well. Leave to infuse for 1-1, 5 hours, the berries should be juiced.
Wash the apples, peel and cut into cubes. Put the present sea buckthorn on the fire and add chopped apples to it. Cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, for 20-30 minutes.
Set aside the jam, cool slightly and grind the warm mixture with an immersion blender until smooth.
Then add vanillin and cinnamon to the berries and cook over low heat for another 15-20 minutes.
To check the readiness of the product, you need to take a little jam in a spoon and drip it onto a saucer. If the jam does not spread, then it is ready.
Spread the hot jam in sterile jars, seal with lids and cover with a towel until it cools completely.
Sea buckthorn oil
Homemade sea buckthorn oil is slightly different from the factory oil, but it is not inferior to it in terms of useful qualities.
To prepare it, you need to grind the sea buckthorn and squeeze the juice from the resulting mixture. The resulting juice is filtered and left to infuse. Over time, an oil film forms on the surface, it must be collected in a separate dish.
The remaining pulp must be dried, chopped and filled with refined vegetable oil.
After 3-5 days, an orange layer forms on the surface, it must be collected and filled with another portion of fresh cake. Repeat this procedure 4 times until the oil turns a bright orange color.
Sea buckthorn oil (simple recipe)
Grind the berries in a blender or grind thoroughly with a wooden mortar. Add extra virgin olive oil and leave in a dark place for 3-4 days.
Then, through a sieve or cheesecloth, separate the thick residues, and store the resulting juice in a glass container. This is sea buckthorn oil, made with your own hands.
Sea buckthorn jelly
Ingredients:
- sea buckthorn juice - 2 liters;
- sugar - 1 kg.
Mix berries with sugar and simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes. Transfer the jam to sterilized jars and close with iron lids. Keep cold.
Puree "Sea buckthorn happiness"
In winter, sea buckthorn puree is used as an additive to tea, various sauces and desserts.
Ingredients:
- sea buckthorn berries - 1 kg;
- sugar - 700 g;
- water - 100 ml.
Pour water to the berries, heat the berry mass to + 60 ° С and then rub through a sieve. Add sugar, mix gently and cook at + 90 ° C for 5 - 7 minutes. Put the finished puree in sterilized and heated jars and roll up.
Puree "Sea buckthorn + Hawthorn"
Ingredients:
- mashed sea buckthorn berries - 1 kg;
- pureed hawthorn - 650 g;
- sugar - 700 g.
Sort the sea buckthorn berries thoroughly, wash in cool water, pour into a colander and let the water drain. Then rub the berries through a fine sieve. Blanch the hawthorn fruits for 2-3 minutes, then roll them through a meat grinder.
Mix the grated berries and sugar. Mix the resulting berry mass and cook at 70 ° C for 3-5 minutes. Arrange in hot sterilized jars and pasteurize. Pasteurization time: 0, 5 liter cans - 20 minutes, 1 liter - 30 minutes. Roll up the finished puree with iron lids for canning.
Rules for storing sea buckthorn blanks
In the storage room for sea buckthorn blanks, the temperature should be kept within 2-6 degrees Celsius. A slight frost will not harm canned food, but heat can lead to fermentation and damage to the workpieces.
It is better to store the blanks in a dark room; in the light, they can change their taste and color.
Excessive moisture can cause the iron lids on the cans to rust.
Optimal storage conditions for berries:
- dryness;
- darkness;
- cool.
Whichever method of harvesting sea buckthorn you choose, you will end up with a delicious miracle remedy to strengthen the immune system and saturate the body with vitamins. In the cold season, sea buckthorn will not only strengthen your strength, but also help in the fight against colds and viral diseases.
