How to cook strawberries in your own juice?
Strawberry blanks are in great demand in winter, because the fragrant berry is both healthy and tasty. Many delicious preparations are made from strawberry fruits: jams, jellies, preserves. Berries are dried and frozen. You can also prepare them in your own juice.
This method is time consuming, however, the result rewards all efforts. The final product is obtained in color and taste as close as possible to the fresh summer version.
Our recommendations will help you properly boil the berry in your own juice for the winter. We will provide the best recipes.
Preparing for the cooking process
The first thing to do is prepare a glass container. It is most convenient to use jars that have a capacity of half a liter (liter can also be used, but no more). Glass containers are thoroughly washed using soda, rinsed. Then they are sterilized in the oven or under steam.
Lids are also thoroughly washed and sterilized.
Strawberry berries are best taken not too large, but not a trifle. The best option for this kind of blanks is medium-sized fruits. They are sorted out, the stalks are removed. Get rid of damaged and rotten specimens. Since strawberries grow on the beds, leaning towards the ground itself, they are often soiled with earth.In this regard, it does not hurt to wash the fruits twice under a good pressure of running water. Peeled berries are laid on the canvas to dry.
In the future, they will be placed in a deep container. They are covered with sugar for at least 12 hours (it is advisable to do this at night). During this time, the berries secrete a sufficient amount of juice.
Methods for preparing strawberries in their own juice. canning
Method one
Two hundred grams of sugar is taken per kilogram of strawberries (it is necessary to observe the proportion of five to one).
With these two ingredients, the following sequence of actions is carried out:
- Whole sorted fruits without fruit legs are laid out in a dry, sterilized glass container.
- Sugar is added to it.
- Fruits with granulated sugar are infused in the refrigerator throughout the night.
- By morning, the berry settles (reduces in volume), releasing juice.
- The berry, which has given up part of the juice, takes up less space, therefore, strawberry fruits are redistributed according to the glass containers at the disposal of the hostess.
- After such a redistribution of filled jars, there will be less, since the laid out fruits should reach the level of the jar hanger.
- Jars are covered with clean, dry lids.
- Further, they are placed in a wide cooking container (this version of the dishes will allow you to place more jars of fruits). The saucepan is filled with warm water: the water level in the saucepan should not exceed the shoulders of the glass container.
- Initially, the pan is placed on a large fire.
- The water is brought to a boil.
- The flame of fire is made minimal. The jars placed in water should boil: the sterilization process takes about five minutes.
- Banks are removed from the water and closed turnkey.
- If there are suspended sugar crystals, the glass jar is turned upside down until they are completely dissolved.
Method two
For 600 grams of strawberries, you will need one and a half glasses of granulated sugar.
- Scrupulously sorted fruits without fruit legs pour cold water (fifteen minutes are enough to soak them).
- Drain and rinse with running water.
- Throw the washed fruits in a colander.
- A couple of tablespoons of granulated sugar is sent to prepared jars.
- Strawberries are located on top, which are covered with a new layer of sugar (take one and a half spoons).
- Alternating a layer of sugar with a layer of strawberries, fill the entire jar.
- In order to fill the existing voids, the jar is covered with a lid, turned over and gently shaken.
- The glass container with the product is covered with a piece of gauze cut.
- The contents of the jar are left to infuse for 3-4 hours.
- After this time, the fruits will give off juice and settle, granulated sugar will dissolve a little.
- Covered with lids, glass jars are sterilized for half an hour over low heat (do not allow violent boiling).
- Roll up the cans, turn upside down. They do not need to be wrapped. After the natural cooling process, store in a cool place.
Method three - using citric acid
Ingredients: sugar in the amount of 350 grams, strawberries - 1 kilogram, 5 grams of citric acid.
- Carefully washed berries are determined in a deep bowl, sprinkled with sugar.
- The fruits insist all night.
- The resulting strawberry nectar is drained into a free container.
- This container of juice is heated, the juice is brought to the point of boiling, but it should not boil, so it is important to remove the pan from the heat in time.
- Lemon is added.
- Strawberries are laid out in prepared jars. The hot nectar with which it is poured should not reach the edge of the container by about a centimeter.
- At the bottom of the pan (you should take a wide container), you need to lay a cloth. Pour water into the container, which is brought to a boil.
- Jars with berries are placed in a bowl, sterilized for fifteen minutes.
- Glass jars with the product are rolled up and cooled. You don't need to flip them.
- Storage is carried out in the basement or other cool place.
Method four - with lemon juice
For 0.7 kg of fruit, take 0.2 kg of sugar, 0.1 l of water and half a lemon.
- A high-quality berry (in this case, large fruits are used) is sorted out and prepared for the cooking process.
- Cut fruit into halves.
- Put in one layer in the basin. Sprinkle with sugar. Next, repeat the procedure for alternating layers until the entire berry is laid out. It should not be forgotten that only half of the allocated sugar rate is used for pouring berries.
- A bowl of strawberries is covered with cling film.
- This dish is placed in a place where the sun's rays penetrate well.
- After 1.5 hours, enough strawberry juice will stand out.
- Strawberries with juice are placed in a cooking container, water is added.
- The rest of the sugar goes in there.
- Half a lemon, cut into cubes, is added to the strawberries.
- The pan goes to the oven and languishes over low heat for 15 minutes. Water should not boil.
- After that, the lemon slices are removed and discarded. The role of the lemon is to release the juice and give the product a citrus note.
- The contents of the pan are distributed in sterile jars, which are closed on a turnkey basis. Closed jars are wrapped in a warm blanket.
- Store in a basement or cool room.
Method five - sugar-free preparation
If you want to get the most natural product, you can make a blank without adding sugar.
For such a preparation of a strawberry product, only the fruits of the above berry will be required.
- Jars that have been previously sterilized are filled with strawberries.
- They are placed in a water bath. Under the influence of high temperature, the fruits will gradually become smaller in size, which is associated with the return of juice.
- As the size of the berries decreases, new fresh fruits are added.
- The berries should be simmered over low heat until they settle.
- With a sufficient filling level of the container, the final cooking is carried out within fifteen minutes.
- Banks that have undergone sterilization are turned on a turnkey basis.
Another option for harvesting without sugar is that strawberries are poured with the juice of the same name: you should take a glass of juice per kilogram of strawberries.
- The juice is boiled for about 15 minutes.
- Berries are poured with boiling juice and pasteurized for ten minutes.
Storage of such a product is possible under conditions that a refrigerator can provide.
The above methods of harvesting strawberries in their own juice will help a zealous housewife provide her household with delicious dessert dishes in the autumn and winter seasons, a period when the body is in dire need of vitamins and trace elements to increase immunity and resistance to colds.
A berry prepared by one of the proposed methods, depending on taste preferences and family traditions, can be used for cooking compotes and jelly, used for baking pies and muffins, soaking cake layers, added to ice cream or eat just like that.
See below for how to cook strawberries in your own juice.