Ripe viburnum has an original bitter-tart taste and is perfect for making jam, marmalade, liqueurs and liqueurs. You can come up with your own variations on the basis of classic recipes, experimenting with sweeteners, spices and other additives.
Viburnum blanks: useful properties and cooking features
Viburnum is a berry shrub that grows wild and is grown in home gardens. The plant is very productive; during the harvesting season, several kilograms of berries are removed from one bush. Doctors recommend including viburnum in the diet of heart disease, immunocompromised patients, people prone to internal bleeding. Berries are rich in ascorbic acid, vitamins A, E, R. Ripe viburnum contains a lot of potassium, phosphorus, zinc and iodine, as well as glucose and fructose.
The peculiarity of viburnum is an unusual, slightly tart taste with bitter notes. Not everyone is ready to eat fresh viburnum, but proper preparation can turn the disadvantages of the berries into advantages. To make the taste softer, it is better to collect viburnum after the first frost. An important condition for novice cooks is to strictly observe the proportions of the ingredients indicated in the recipe. Too much or too little sugar can spoil the taste, and the pieces can become sugary or too sour.
From viburnum, you can make different types of jam, jam, marmalade. A beautiful and unusual marshmallow is obtained from it, which can also be prepared for the winter. Kalina is actively used for making homemade wines, liqueurs and liqueurs. Additional ingredients will help to diversify the blanks: honey, spices, other berries and fruits.
Steamed viburnum: a proven folk recipe
Steamed viburnum will be an excellent filling for homemade pies, it can be added to muffin dough, used for spreading cakes. Unusual bitter-spicy taste will add sophistication to baked goods. Kalina can be eaten without additives, it is especially useful in the season of colds. The easiest way is to cook berries in a slow cooker. The product will not burn and will not require constant attention from the hostess.
Ingredients:
- 500 g of ripe viburnum;
- 5 tbsp. l. natural honey.
Sort the viburnum, removing small debris, damaged, moldy or dried berries. Rinse the raw materials in several waters, put them in a colander and dry them by sprinkling them on a towel.
Put the berries in the multicooker bowl, close the lid and set the "Stew" program. Kalina should be steamed for an hour. Add honey, stir and cook for another 1 hour with the lid open, this will help the juice evaporate faster. Arrange the steamed berries with honey in clean dry jars, cool and put in the refrigerator.
If you plan to use the blanks for a long time, it is best to sterilize the product. The jars are placed in a pot of boiling water with a wooden circle at the bottom. After 10 minutes, the containers must be removed with tongs and immediately rolled up with metal lids. After cooling, the jars are removed to the pantry.
Quick viburnum jam: step by step preparation
Anyone planning to make winter preparations from viburnum should try several jam recipes, and then choose the one that they especially like. The simplest option does not imply cooking, all vitamins and minerals are preserved. It is better to store such jam in the cellar or in the lower compartment of the refrigerator, where it does not deteriorate for 3-4 months.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of ripe viburnum berries;
- 1 kg of granulated sugar.
Remove the berries from the branches, discard dried or spoiled ones. Rinse the viburnum under running water and put in a colander. When all the liquid is drained, roll the berries through a meat grinder or puree in a blender. Add 2/3 of the sugar, stir well to completely dissolve the crystals.
Divide the mixture into pre-sterilized jars, pour the remaining sugar on top. Close containers with clean and dry plastic or rubber lids, cool and put in the refrigerator.
Traditional seedless jam
Fans of guelder-rose preparations are divided into 2 camps: some prefer jam with seeds, others like a more delicate product without foreign inclusions. Cooking seedless jam takes more time, but a well-cooked ready-made delicacy can not be put in the refrigerator, but stored in an ordinary pantry or kitchen cabinet.
Ingredients:
- 800 g of viburnum;
- 800 g of sugar.
Prepare the berry: sort out, rinse thoroughly. If small debris is found in the viburnum, it is recommended to fill the raw material with water, the litter will float up. After washing, the berries are dried on a towel.
Put the berries in a bowl or saucepan, cover with sugar and leave for 8-10 hours. During this time, the berry will release abundant juice. Place the saucepan on the stove, bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, uncovered. The jam should thicken, but not burn; during cooking, you can shake the pan several times.
Remove the mass from the stove, cool slightly and rub through a sieve. The skins and bones will remain on the net, the puree must be returned to the pan. Bring it to a boil and cook for another 10 minutes. If the workpiece has been welded correctly, the drop dropped onto the cold saucer will retain its shape.
Arrange the hot jam in sterilized jars and immediately roll up the lids. Leave containers to cool completely and store.
Viburnum jam with orange and lemon
The delicacy prepared according to this recipe has a pleasant sour-citrus taste and rich aroma. Ready-made jam looks very beautiful in photos, it can be served with tea or added to homemade cakes.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of ripe viburnum berries;
- 1.5 kg of granulated sugar;
- 2 sweet oranges;
- 1 small lemon;
- 400 ml of water;
- 8-10 g vanilla sugar;
- 20 g of salt.
Sort the viburnum and lower it into a solution of salt and water. After a couple of minutes, drain the saline solution, pour the berries with plain cold water and leave for another 5 minutes. Throw the viburnum in a colander, let the liquid drain.
Put half of the sugar in a saucepan, add water, bring to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The crystals should completely dissolve, and the liquid should become thicker and more viscous.
Pour the prepared berries with syrup, leave for 8-12 hours. Remove the viburnum with a slotted spoon, add lemon and oranges, cut with the zest, to the syrup. Add remaining sugar, bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Put the viburnum in a saucepan, stir, cook for 10 minutes and remove from heat. Leave the jam to infuse at room temperature.
After 3-4 hours, return the pan to the stove, bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat and cook until tender (about 15 minutes). Pour hot jam into sterilized jars, roll up the lids, wrap with a thick towel and leave to cool slowly. Put the completely cooled cans into the pantry or kitchen cabinet.
Viburnum jam: tenderness in a jar
Thick, rich jam made from ripe viburnum is an excellent filling for open and closed pies, donuts and other pastries. It can be prepared during the berry picking season and used throughout the winter. An interesting option is pumpkin jam, which has a particularly delicate texture and delicate original taste.
Ingredients:
- 500 g of ripe viburnum berries;
- 500 g pumpkin pulp (preferably orange varieties);
- 1 kg of sugar.
Wash the pumpkin, peel and seed. Cut the pulp into pieces, put in a thick-walled saucepan, add a little water. You do not need to add too much liquid, otherwise the puree will turn out to be watery. Simmer pumpkin over medium heat until soft, cool slightly, purée with an immersion blender.
Rinse the viburnum, dry, rub the berries through a sieve with a wooden spoon. Ripe berry is well crushed even without heat treatment. You do not need to throw away the peel and bones, they will be useful for making homemade fruit drinks and compotes.
Add the mashed berries to the pumpkin puree. Bring the mixture to a boil, add sugar, stir. Cook the jam over moderate heat until the sugar crystals thicken and dissolve completely. Divide the finished product into clean, dry jars, close with lids.
Viburnum marmalade: tasty and healthy
Those with a sweet tooth will surely like homemade viburnum marmalade: dense, bright, with a spicy bittersweet taste. To achieve the desired density of the dessert, apples should be added to the viburnum. The best option is a fragrant late Antonovka. It contains a sufficient amount of pectin, the finished marmalade will keep its shape well.
Ingredients:
- 600 g of viburnum berries;
- 800 g of peeled apples;
- 1 kg of sugar;
- powdered sugar for sprinkling.
Sort ripe viburnum, rinse in several waters, dry, sprinkling on a towel. Put the berries in a fireproof container with a lid and place in a preheated oven. When the viburnum is steamed, rub it through a sieve, separating the skins and bones.
Peel the apples and bake in the oven. Rub the mass through a sieve. Mix the viburnum and apple puree, put in a saucepan and boil until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Spread the boiled mass on a baking sheet covered with baking paper, level with a wide knife or spatula. The layer should be thin enough. Place the baking sheet in an oven preheated to 60 degrees. It will take at least an hour to dry.
Cut the finished marmalade into small pieces, sprinkle with powdered sugar. It is convenient to store a treat in a hermetically sealed box; it is better to put it in the refrigerator. The same marmalade can be prepared from a mixture of viburnum with sea buckthorn, peaches, chokeberry.
Viburnum tincture: classic version
Not only preserves and jams can be made from tart bright red berries. Kalina can become the basis for delicious alcoholic beverages: tinctures and liqueurs. The berries insist on alcohol, moonshine, vodka or brandy. A few bottles prepared for the winter will certainly come in handy for winter gatherings in a friendly circle.
Ingredients:
- 500 g of ripe berries;
- 200 ml of water;
- 0.5 liters of vodka;
- 150 g sugar;
- a pinch of ground cinnamon;
- citric acid on the tip of a knife.
Sort the viburnum, remove twigs and small debris. Rinse thoroughly and dry the berries, pour them into a large dark glass bottle. Pour the raw materials with high-quality vodka, the liquid should completely cover the berries.
Combine water and sugar in a saucepan, place the container on the stove and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, stirring occasionally, cook the syrup until the granulated sugar is completely dissolved and the mass thickens. Add citric acid and cinnamon, stir. Pour the syrup over the berries in a bottle, shake the contents and leave for a month. The tincture should remain in the dark, the intensity of the taste depends on the aging time.
After 30-35 days, take out the tincture, strain through a double layer of gauze, squeeze the berries. Pour the drink into sterilized bottles, seal and store. You can taste the liqueur in 3-4 days.
