Cowberry compote recipes
Lingonberry is considered the berry of immortality, its benefits were known in ancient times, when it was used to treat intestinal disorders, colds. It is recommended to drink lingonberry decoction when you suffer from rheumatism or have diseases of the liver and kidneys. Fresh berries will help to cope with beriberi, however, not only fresh fruits are useful, but also frozen ones: mousses, juices, compotes are prepared from lingonberries.
The fruits of this plant lend themselves perfectly to the canning process. Cooking does not destroy microelements, lingonberry compote turns out tasty and fragrant. In the summer it will refresh, quench your thirst, and in the winter it will give vigor and protect against colds. We will talk about various recipes for lingonberry compote.
General cooking advice
We start cooking with the choice of dishes. You need to cook compote from fresh lingonberries in an enamel pan, ceramic or stainless steel dishes, but not aluminum. Simple rules will help keep all the useful elements in the drink.
- Better choose the same berries in size and ripeness. In this case, all the fruits will need the same time for cooking in order to give their useful elements to the liquid.
- It is important not to digest lingonberry compote, excessive heat treatment can destroy vitamins and reduce the value of the drink.
- Compote is not boiled over high heat, after boiling, it is enough to make a small wick on the burner, turn it off after 3-5 minutes, let the drink brew.
- If other fruits or berries are added to lingonberries, then such a compote is prepared in 2 stages, thus, it will be possible to prevent the digestion of lingonberry fruits.
If the compote is cooked according to all the rules, the berries will remain intact, the broth will be transparent, there will be no sediment at the bottom. The lingonberry drink is sour in taste, so sweet lovers can increase the amount of granulated sugar when brewing. It all depends on personal preferences, you can adjust the dose as a result of routine tests. Combined with other ingredients (fruits, berries, lemon, cinnamon, ginger, etc.), lingonberry compote can be bitter, spicy, with a sweet and sour flavor accent.
If you want to get a clear drink, then dry the berries on paper napkins before cooking and add immediately to boiling water.
How and with what can you cook?
Lingonberries can be boiled alone or in combination with other fruits. There are many options for preparing lingonberry compote, recipes differ in a set of products and spicy ingredients, as well as in the way the compote is prepared: the berries are boiled, poured or rubbed through a sieve. The easiest way is boiling. For 2 liters of water, take 200 g of granulated sugar and 150 g of lingonberries (fresh or frozen berries). Remember that it is not recommended to cook lingonberry compote in aluminum dishes, otherwise it will have a metallic taste due to the oxidation process. An enamel pan is perfect for cooking. The preparation steps are as follows.
- Fresh berries are sorted out from debris and rotten fruits, washed in a colander under a cold stream of water. Leave excess moisture to glass.
- Pour granulated sugar into boiling water, stir and completely dissolve it.
- Prepared lingonberries are added to the finished syrup, boiled for 3 minutes.
- The dishes are removed from the stove, the broth is allowed to brew under a closed lid.
Such a drink will receive useful elements from berries, use it chilled or warm. For the winter, such compote is poured hot into jars, which are well clogged. Frozen fruits are also suitable for conservation, they are simply thawed before cooking.
Lingonberries go well with raspberries, in this variation the aroma of the drink will only increase. Raspberries open up well and give off their "bright" taste when cooked, and lingonberries - their useful elements. Experienced housewives recommend cooking delicious compote by adding fragrant, yellow pears of the “lemon” variety to lingonberries.. To give a fresh note, cinnamon is added to the combined decoction. Consider in detail the other most popular recipes.
with apples
Such a compote is cooked in stages. At the beginning, apples are subjected to heat treatment, then tender lingonberries are added. The drink comes out with a pleasant taste, it is suitable for children. For lingonberry-apple drink, you need to prepare:
- 1 kilogram of sweet apples and sugar (the amount of sugar is regulated independently based on taste preferences);
- 2 kg cranberries and 4 liters of water.
Lingonberries are peeled, washed, the core is removed from the apples, cut into equal pieces. Add sugar to boiling water and make syrup. After the sugar is completely dissolved, chopped apple pieces are added and boiled for a quarter of an hour. Fruit slices are taken out, lingonberries are thrown into the broth and boiled until the berries in the compote are discolored.
Such compote is very popular among housewives, it turns out to be rich, beautiful in color, fragrant and pleasant in taste, and the amount of sugar is adjusted at your discretion.. In the above recipe the ratio of apples and lingonberries is 1: 2, but you can also take 1: 1.
A small piece of ginger is added to the apple-lingonberry compote, if desired.
with cranberries
Lingonberry-cranberry combination is one of the best combinations for compote. The fruits of both cultures with a pleasant sourness and "noble" bitterness. The broth will turn out bright red and quite fortified, a small amount of sugar will give the desired sweetness, but in general such a compote will be sour. To prepare it, you need to take:
- 300 g of each berry;
- 4 tablespoons of sugar;
- zest - 1 tsp;
- 2 tbsp. l. lemon juice.
We put dishes with 1.5 liters of water on the fire and prepare the fruits. Add sugar to boiling water, stir to dissolve, and throw in the zest. We add lemon juice, after which we put lingonberries with cranberries and let it cook for a maximum of 5 minutes, leave it to brew and enjoy the chic juice.
How to prepare for the winter?
Lingonberry compote is very useful in the cold season. It is saturated with vitamins, which is so lacking in the body during this period. Cowberry compote for the winter is prepared in two ways.
- Pour the fruits with boiling water. Berries in compote remain elastic.
- By the method of ordinary cooking in a dish, and after pour into jars or bottles, cork. This option will give a richer fat.
Recipe by filling method
For a 3-liter bottle, you will need 2 cups of fresh or frozen fruits (pre-thaw and dry on a plate or towel), 200-250 g of granulated sugar. Pre-prepared lingonberries are placed in a jar and poured with boiling water. Allow the contents to brew in a closed jar for 15-20 minutes. Then the infusion is drained, again brought to a boil.
This time, before pouring, sugar is poured into the bottle. The jar is tightly corked, turned over, wrapped well and left to cool. Store cans of lingonberry drink in a dark, cool room.
Boiled compote recipe
It is boiled in the same way as regular compote for daily use, rolled up hot. Or pour berries (1.5 cups) with water (2.5 liters), put on a small fire and boil for 12-15 minutes, dissolve sugar in it and roll up. In winter, drinking such compote is recommended at the first sign of a cold or an acute respiratory infection.
Winter compotes are made from cranberries and blueberries with lemon. An apple, cranberries are added to lingonberries, and assorted are made. For example, take half a glass of lingonberries, blueberries, cranberries and raspberries. Lingonberry drink calms well, so it can be used during periods of depression and unstable neurological conditions, stressful situations, periods of disorders.
Banks with lingonberry compote need a cool place, without exposure to sunlight. Ideally, they are well stored in the basement, on the balcony, but due to the lack of a basement or the lack of the ability to store on the balcony, select a shelf in the pantry, a niche.
The easiest way is to freeze lingonberries and cook fresh compote from it at any time, when frozen, the berries remain healthy and give their vitamins to the liquid in the same way as freshly picked fruits.
How to cook lingonberry compote with apples for the winter, see the next video.