How to prepare rowan (aronium) black-fruited for the winter

Chokeberry (it is also called "black chokeberry") is a plant with beautiful and brilliant fruits, characterized by a pleasant, tart, sour-sweet taste. The berries are rich in vitamins C, P, E, PP and vitamins of group B. In addition, the fruit of aronii also includes carotene and a variety of trace elements, the main of which are iron, boron, iodine compounds, copper, manganese and molybdenum. Due to such a rich composition, aronia berries are widely used in traditional medicine, and considering that fresh black chokeberry is not loved by everyone, then the existence of a huge number of recipes for its preparation and storage is quite understandable. Let's look at the most popular ones.

When is it better to pick black chokeberry berries

Even if you don’t know exactly when it is time for assembling Aronia berries for harvesting for the winter, it’s easy to understand this issue.Rowan, like many other plants, begin to collect in the autumn period (September-October), because it is at this time that you will be able to collect well-ripened berries, which will later become excellent components of jam, a variety of compotes, liqueurs and other goodies.

In winter, they will be a real find, because any workpieces of chokeberry will be able to diversify the table and bring the body a lot of useful vitamins that increase immunity. If you are not accustomed to conservation, then the berries collected in the autumn are also perfect for drying or freezing. By the way, for preparing chokeberry without cooking, if you want to get a berry with the highest taste characteristics, it is preferable to collect the fruits of mountain ash after the first frost, when they reach their full perfection and are filled with the greatest amount of useful substances.

Preparation of blackfruit berries for drying

What you can do with chokeberry, you already understood, however, before moving on to conservation or drying, the collected fruits still need prepare properly.

So, before drying out the chopped aronia after frost, it must be removed from the umbrellas,Wash well under running water and sort out, separating ripe and juicy berries from spoiled or deformed specimens. As soon as the water is drained and the fruit is slightly dry, they are laid out in a thin layer on a tray or plywood shields and start drying.

There are several ways to implement our plans. You can place the tray in the oven or a special dryer, or you can leave it under bright sunlight in a well-ventilated place. Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages, which we will discuss below.

Ways of drying mountain black chokeberry

As we just noted, there is three main ways drying berries of chokeberry: using a conventional household oven, using a special electric dryer and in the open air, under direct sunlight.

Of course, for quick drying you will need the thermal effects of electrical appliances, but if you don’t hurry anywhere and you have enough space, then natural drying will be a more acceptable option.

Outdoor drying

Drying berries outdoors is the easiest and least expensive way obtain well dried fruits of chokeberry. You only need to prepare the mountain ash in the above way, sprinkle on a baking sheet in a single layer and place it in a well-ventilated place, not forgetting to stir in the drying process.

When the fruits stop shrinking and become wrinkled, it will be possible to remove them for further storage. Nevertheless, if weather conditions or any other factors do not allow you to dry the fruits of black chokeberry well in a natural way, then you can complete the process by drying the berries in the oven at a temperature not exceeding +60 ° C. However, in any case, mountain ash should not lose its characteristic color and smell.

Oven Drying

Many housewives prefer to carry out the drying of black chokeberry berries in a regular household oven. From a practical point of view, such a decision is understandable, since the time spent on harvesting fruits is much less.As in the previous version, the berries removed from the umbrellas are well washed and wait until the water is completely drained, but only before the fruit is placed in the oven, they are laid out on a dry and clean towel, which should remove the remaining liquid. After the berries have dried well, they can be sent to the oven, preheated to + 40 ° C. At this temperature, the fruit should be dried for about half an hour, after which the temperature is raised to + 60 ° C and continue the process until the berries are fully prepared.

To determine whether the chokeberry has dried up or not, pay attention to the presence of water droplets on the fruits: if they are, then the drying is not over.

As with natural drying, mountain ash is periodically mixed, not allowing a long stale on one side. In addition, you can harvest Aronia berries brushes, for which they are cut from the bush with scissors and strung on a thread, hung in the attic, veranda or on the balcony.

Drying in the electric dryer

Modern household appliances make our life much easier, and the issues of harvesting seasonal fruits or berries also apply. So, in the presence of electric dryers, you can very quickly dry black chokeberry, while retaining the maximum amount of its beneficial properties. How to properly perform the drying in such a miracle device? Prepared berries (clean, without leaves and damaged specimens) are washed in running water and give it time to drain completely. After that, the fruits are laid out on a sieve in a thin layer (as when drying in the oven, not more than a few centimeters in thickness) and placed in an electric dryer, setting the temperature to + 60-70 ° C.

Well dried chokeberry should completely get rid of water, while maintaining its natural color (fruits should not get a red-brown shade). It should also be noted that with this method of drying the berries of black chokeberry lose unpleasant tartness, and their taste becomes sweetish with barely noticeable sourness.

How to store dried berries

The storage method of chokeberry in many respects depends on the variant of its preparation. For example, laid in boxes fresh rowan Store in a dry place at a temperature of + 2-3 ° C and a humidity of 80-85%. In such conditions, the berries dry up and darken over time, but remain suitable for six months.

Slightly frozen frozen mountain ash Often strung on a string and hung in a dry and cold place (for example, in the attic or in the barn), and in areas with stable winter it is stored in this way until the spring. As for good dried berries Aronii, the best place to store them are plastic containers or glass containers tightly closed with nylon covers. You can also use wooden packaging, but the main condition - the protection of the fruit from moisture. If this requirement is met, the blank can be stored for up to two years.

Dried fruits retain a pleasant aroma and natural shine, although they look wrinkled, and when compressed in a fist wrinkle.

How to freeze black chokeberry

One of the most convenient ways to harvest berries for the winter is to use the freezer. Therefore, if your refrigerator is equipped with a volumetric freezer compartment, you should consider the option of frozen chokeberry. Such fruits always remain fresh, and the process of their preparation does not require any costs.

Of course, like any other stockpiling option for the winter, freezing chokeberry has its instruction: having touched, washed and dried berries, they are placed in portion packets (mandatory condition) and tightly tied (can be soldered). After that, chokeberry is evenly laid out in the freezer compartment and left there until it is completely frozen. In some cases, the fruit can be frozen in bulk, and only then laid in a tightly closed container.

You should not defrost the entire volume of harvested berries once again, if you need to take only a handful for making compotes or a pie. When thawing and re-freezing, they lose a significant amount of vitamins, and the more often you perform this process, the less vitamins remain.

Aronia Raisin

Another good solution for preparing aronia berries for the winter is to create raisins. To do this, you will need 1.5 kilograms of peeled berries, 1 kilogram of sugar, 2 cups of water and 1 tsp of citric acid.

First of all, it is necessary to boil the syrup from water and sugar, after which berries and citric acid are dipped in it and continue to boil for 20 minutes. After the specified time, the berries are taken out, thrown back into a colander and cooled. As soon as all the syrup is drained, the fruit should be laid out on parchment paper that is spread out on a baking sheet. As with conventional drying, the future blackberry raisins should be periodically stirred, continuing to dry for 3-4 days. Once it reaches the desired state, it is poured into a paper bag or glass jar, covering it with a gauze bandage.

In addition to the fruit, you will also have a syrup in which they are boiled.Do not pour it, because if you pour it into a sterile bowl, in the winter you will prepare tasty drinks and jelly from which.

Chokeberry Rubbed with Sugar

If you want to get a useful harvest of Aronia without heat treatment, then, perhaps, the most successful option would be berries, ground with sugar.

Such a composition will retain all the beneficial compounds and vitamins of the plant, which will be a real boon in the period of cold epidemics or the onset of beriberi. All that is needed in this case is one kilogram of berries and 500-800 grams of sugar. The difference in the amount of sugar depends on individual preferences, that is, if you prefer sweeter fruits, it is better to take 800 grams, but if you like the light natural sourness of black chokeberry berries, then 500 grams will suffice.

Before harvesting, sort the berries well, separating them from the twigs, and rinse the fruit under running water.

After light drying the mountain ash, take a blender and grind it, adding sugar. Instead of a blender, you can use an ordinary meat grinder, having twice passed berries through it. At the exit you will receive a homogeneous berry mixture, which must be given time to infuse. Then, after mixing the mashed potatoes one more time, it can be poured into hot, only sterilized jars, tightly closed with the same sterile plastic covers.

Ready cans leave to insist that the fruit let the juice out even more (during this time the sugar is completely dissolved), and then the closed containers are removed in a cool and dark place (you can use a regular refrigerator).

So, we figured out how to store black chokeberry so that you have a full supply of vitamins for the winter, and you decide which way to choose.

If it is more convenient to use dried fruits, then you can use the oven, and if you want to preserve the fresh form as much as possible (including taste and smell), then it is better to give preference to the freezing method or to rub berries with sugar.