How to freeze gooseberries for the winter?

Gooseberry is a tasty and healthy berry that is consumed in different forms. But frozen fruits are not as popular as many others. But they are rich in vitamins C, P, iron, pectin. If you use the product for a year, this will help maintain immunity in excellent condition. How to freeze gooseberries for the winter, described in the article.

Gooseberry benefits

Fruits have a beneficial effect on the human body:

1. Strengthening blood vessels.
2. Reducing the risk of hemorrhage, hypertension, diabetes.
3. Recovery of metabolic processes.
4. Stabilization of the emotional state.
5. Strengthening the immune system and restoring the body after illness.
6. Digestion acceleration.
7. Removal of radionuclides.
8. Removal of inflammation.
9. Acceleration of production and outflow of bile.
10. Slowing down aging.
11. Regulation of cholesterol, glucose.

Useful is fresh juice. Together with honey, it is taken during vitamin deficiency and anemia. The drink has a cleansing effect on the intestines, eliminates toxins from the body, has a refreshing and tonic effect.

Harm

The berries have few contraindications. Harm is caused by excessive use. Caution to take the product for people with:

1. An ulcer during exacerbation.
2. Inflammation of the digestive tract, which is accompanied by diarrhea.

It should be borne in mind that due to the unlimited consumption of berries, hypervitaminosis, which is considered a serious disorder, may occur. Eliminate it by medical treatment.

Berry selection

There are many varieties of gooseberries. Outwardly, it differs only in color. Ripe fruits can be light, red and green. Sometimes maturity is established with the appearance of spots. The benefits of berries depend on the color of the variety. If it is greenish or white, then this is a sign of great utility. Red and brown fruits are usually the sweetest. Do gooseberries freeze for the winter? This type of blank is often used.

First you need to select ripe and hard specimens. Spoiled or unripe berries should not be selected for harvesting. Ripeness can be determined by touch. If gooseberries are very hard, then they are immature. Softness confirms stale or overripe. It is advisable to choose elastic fruits.

If the frozen gooseberry will be stored for a long time, then berries with stalks should be selected. This will save valuable properties. It is important that the product is dry, moisture should not accumulate. This protects against decay and spoilage. Fresh berries should be left in a dark, cool room, which is well ventilated. If you plan to store them in the refrigerator, you should not wash them beforehand. Then the product will last up to 60 days.

Training

In order to preserve the frozen gooseberries qualitatively, it is necessary to properly prepare the berries for this. They must be ripe and with stalks. On the shell, the absence of erosion is important. Unripe specimens have almost no taste and beneficial properties.

If dry freezing is to be used, it is necessary to choose a variety with a dense peel and honey pulp. Thin-coated fruits are preferably used for mashed sugar. They can still be prepared in syrup. This method preserves the integrity of the berries. If their collection is carried out independently, then it is better to do this in the early morning when there is no dew.

Before freezing, you need to sort out the berries, eliminate debris, twigs, leaves. Leave only gooseberries with a stalk. Then it must be washed with cool water using a colander. Then the fruits must be laid out on a cotton towel to dry.

Mashed potatoes

How to freeze gooseberries to maintain its beneficial properties? A great way is to mash. To cook gruel, it is necessary to take ripe berries. You need to wash them, remove the stalks, place in a blender.

For this procedure, it is advisable to use a wooden press (crush). This is necessary to maximize the preservation of vitamins. When interacting with the metal, berries are oxidized, so their valuable properties are lost.

Sugar (350 g) is mixed with fruits (1 kg). The mashed potatoes should be laid out in plastic containers, placed in the refrigerator. After 1 hour - move the mass into glass containers, close the lids, put in the freezer. On this, mashed potatoes are finished.

Sugar freeze

Gooseberries can be frozen in sugar. It must be sorted, washed and dried, laid out on cotton towels. Berries must be transferred to an enameled pan. For 400 g of sugar, 1 kg of fruit is required. The components must be mixed, and then filled with bulk food containers, which should be pre-sterilized. The dishes are tightly closed and put in the freezer.

In syrup

Gooseberries can be frozen for the winter in syrup. This method should be chosen if the fruit has a thin shell. They need to be sorted out, washed, transferred to small containers.

To prepare the syrup, sugar and water will be required in a ratio of 1: 2. It should cool, and then it is poured into containers with gooseberries. About 1.5 cm should be left to the edges of the container. They are closed with lids and placed in the freezer.

If you want to eat this delicious dessert, you need to remove the container and leave at room temperature until thawing. For cooking meals with whole fruits, thawing is not required. The benefit of such a product lasts up to 6 months.

Harvesting whole berries

Frozen gooseberries can be stored without sugar. It must be washed, dried and spread in 1 layer on a tray covered with parchment. The product must be removed for several hours in the freezer. Then it must be packaged in bags in small quantities.

If the fruit has a dense shell, after drying it can be placed in large bags. Choosing convenient storage containers, you can save space in the chamber. Berries in flat containers are quickly frozen and almost do not lose their benefits.

Temperature

For berry mixes from the supermarket, shock freezing is used - a gradual decrease in temperature. This allows you to maintain the rich color of the fruit, natural taste and aroma. In everyday life, you need to adhere to other rules:

1. For storage from 12 months, a temperature of -18 degrees and below is needed. Household cameras usually do not fall below -30 degrees.
2. If freezing has occurred from 0 to -8 degrees, then the product should be stored no more than 3 months.
3. In new refrigerators and freezers there is a "deep freeze", working on the principles of shock technology.

Useful Tips

Using these recommendations, it will be possible to harvest the fruits all year round:

1. Since the product includes water, do not freeze and thaw it repeatedly. It should be consumed immediately, so it is best to pack in small portions.
2. During sorting it is necessary to remove the spoiled and rotten berries.
3. In order for the fruits to retain taste and aroma, as in summer, you do not need to leave them next to meat and fish products.
4. Frozen berries should be stored no more than 15 months.
5. It is advisable to take green-yellow fruits, medium in hardness. From the soft gruel is formed.
6. It is better to take small containers made of plastic.

Thus, frozen gooseberries are stored for a long time, if properly prepared. At the same time, useful properties remain in it. After defrosting, berries can be used to prepare various dishes. Gooseberries are used to make compotes, preserves, jams. Billets can be added to ice cream, mousses, fruit drinks, jelly, pies and dumplings. Each of these dishes will be not only tasty, but also healthy.