09/08/2018 Anna Letova 0 comments
Cranberry is a sour berry that has become a symbol of health; in folk medicine it is considered extremely useful for prevention and an effective remedy for treatment. But since her taste senses in their original form leave much to be desired (not for everyone), cranberry juice can rightfully be considered the healthiest and most delicious drink that every housewife must be able to prepare. Cranberry juice has many interpretations worthy of your attention.
It’s not for nothing that the best recipes are referred to as “grandmother’s cookbook” - such classic dishes as fruit drinks, as a rule, are carefully tested by time. Even in pre-revolutionary times, warm berry drinks could be seen on the table in almost every family. They have long helped parents and elders in the family to raise their children to be hardened, healthy, capable of work and learning. It was thanks to proper nutrition that new generations, one after another, grew up healthy and successful.
Due to the fact that the current young generation suffers from frequent colds, and adults are not particularly hardened, cranberry juice will be a good addition to the diet of any person. Its healing properties are simply obvious. Well, if everything is in order with your immunity and your children’s, then cranberry juice is an excellent treat!
The benefits of cranberry juice
The natural drink has a positive effect on the body’s vital functions, improves well-being and restores body functions, stabilizes the functioning of important systems.
Among the benefits of cranberry juice, the following can be noted:
- maintains the beauty of the skin, rejuvenates it and tightens it;
- improves the condition of hair and nails;
- replenishes the supply of vitamins and minerals, supports the immune response;
- relieves viral and colds, reduces fever, eliminates headaches, redness and inflammation in the throat;
- helps cleanse the blood, liver and kidneys of toxic substances, actively removes waste products;
- eliminates excess cholesterol, fatty plaques;
- removes excess fluid, prevents swelling, normalizes sweating;
- has a tonic effect, quenches thirst, which is necessary after intense physical activity;
- lifts your mood, stabilizes sleep patterns, increases endurance;
- strengthens the nervous system;
- normalizes iron levels in the blood, which is especially important during menstruation;
- serves as a prevention of heart and vascular diseases, reduces the likelihood of developing hypertension, atherosclerosis, and heart attacks.
Cranberry juice is a powerful antifungal and antibacterial agent that can be used both for internal blood and lymph cleansing and for local treatment of wounds.
The berry rarely causes an allergic reaction, so it is quite suitable for most people as a medicinal and prophylactic agent.
Is cranberry juice suitable for pregnant women, nursing mothers and children?
The cranberry berry is one of the leaders among other fruits in the list of useful vitamins and elements in its composition. Therefore, doctors often recommend using it as a fruit drink for pregnant, nursing mothers and children.
Cranberry juice for pregnant women
The natural elixir contains::
- organic acids ( malic, quinic, citric, benzoic, phenolcarboxylic )
- vitamins ( B1, B6, B2, PP, B9, E )
- calcium , iron , potassium , magnesium , phosphorus , sodium
- carotene , flavonoids , tannins , polyphenol
- fiber , pectin
Cranberry - composition of berries
Benefits of cranberry juice for pregnant women
- When a woman is in an interesting position, the immune system is often weakened, problems with gums and teeth appear. Cranberry drink is a natural antibiotic and antiseptic. If you drink it regularly, your gums will stop bleeding and caries will not develop.
- To avoid the risk of developing postpartum depression and psycho-emotional disorders, you need to drink fruit juice. Thanks to it, nervousness will not develop and brain activity will improve.
- Cranberry is an excellent natural diuretic and prevents the growth of all kinds of bacteria during stagnation of urine.
- Mors lowers blood pressure in hypertension, increases the elasticity of your blood vessels
- This drink reduces the risk of infectious pathologies and removes swelling of all kinds.
- If you have toxicosis, then cranberry juice reduces vomiting
- The benefits of the drink in the fight against varicose veins have been noticed.
The benefits of cranberry juice during pregnancy
What are the restrictions for consuming cranberry juice?
- If you have gastritis with high acidity, ulcers or liver disease, then it is better to drink fruit drink, well diluted with water, in small quantities
- When breastfeeding, you should gradually introduce fruit drink into the diet and monitor the baby to see if she is allergic to this drink; the same should be done when introducing the drink into the child’s diet.
- Do not drink cranberry juice with sulfo preparations
- Use juice with caution if you have urolithiasis
What are the contraindications for pregnant women when drinking cranberry juice?
Contraindications for cranberry juice
Contraindications for taking cranberry juice exist in the following cases:
- Increased acidity, heartburn.
- Exacerbation of chronic kidney and gastrointestinal diseases.
- Taking antibiotics.
If you drink cranberry juice in moderation and do not ignore the prohibitions, then the healing drink will not cause discomfort.
Heartburn, discomfort in the intestines, toothache are obvious reasons to refuse or stop consuming cranberry juice.
Making cranberry juice for children
Before making cranberry juice for a child, you should know that children are only allowed to eat cranberries from a certain age. Also, the age of the child affects the form in which these berries are allowed to be consumed.
As a hint, mothers can rely on the following data:
- 0-1 year. At this stage of life, children are prohibited from eating any brightly colored berries earlier than other foods, and also before six months. Thus, children who are fed artificially can eat cranberries for up to six months. But if the child is only breastfeeding, then it is not recommended to give him cranberries until he is one year old. Also, children falling under this age range should eat cranberries only after heat treatment no more than 2 times a week;
- 1-3 years. A child of this age can eat up to 20 g of cranberries per day. However, it is not recommended to give them raw berries. For children under 3 years old, it would be more optimal to prepare fruit juice or compote. During colds, it is allowed to increase the stable dose up to 3 times;
- From 3 years. If the child’s health is positive, then he can eat cranberries in any form: raw, in the form of a smoothie, fruit drink, compote, jelly, or with the berries added to tea. It will be better if the cranberries do not undergo heat treatment before consumption, so they will retain more beneficial properties. The consumption of cranberries from the age of 3 years has absolutely no restrictions.
However, it is also worth considering that cranberries contain many acids, including citric and malic. That is why it is advisable for children to dilute cranberry juice with water. It is also better to use a minimum amount of sugar when cooking, replacing it with honey. Thus, you can make a simple recipe for cranberry juice for children using the following ingredients:
- Granulated sugar – 2 tablespoons;
- Frozen cranberries – 200 g;
- Clean drinking water – 2 liters;
- Honey – ½ tablespoon per 1 glass of fruit drink.
Preparing fruit juice for children is not very different from the classic recipe, although it has its own characteristics in the choice of ingredients. So, the recipe contains the following steps:
- Preparing berries. At this stage, as in the classic recipe, you need to defrost the berries;
- Push-ups. You should squeeze the juice from the berries using a blender, juicer or crusher by hand;
- Squeezing juice. This stage is carried out using a fine strainer or gauze; the juice must be squeezed out very carefully;
- Cooking. All that remains is to pour the juice into hot water and add sugar, cook until the water boils. You must remember to let the fruit drink brew. After this, all that remains is to pour the fruit drink into the carafe through a sieve, stirring with hot water in a ratio of 1:2.
Give cranberry juice to a child at room temperature with half a tablespoon of honey added to the glass.
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Calorie content of cranberry juice
Cranberry juice is usually made from one berry, but sometimes you can find a drink with lingonberries, blueberries, cherries, cloudberries and raspberries. These berries have approximately the same energy value.
The calorie content of pure cranberry juice is no more than 26 Kcal
in 100 ml, and adding sugar and honey increases this figure by 10-14 units.
The main nutritional value of fruit juice is made up of natural carbohydrates, which are easily absorbed by the body: glucose, fructose, sucrose.
Cranberry juice also contains:
- vitamins (B, C, A, E, PP);
- minerals (iron, copper, zinc, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium);
- organic acids (citric, malic, quinic, glycolic, oxalic);
- flavonoids.
This drink is a good alternative to high-calorie sweets. It is often prescribed by doctors and nutritionists for weight loss, as well as for people with diabetes. Aromatic fruit juice saturates the body, controls appetite and reduces the likelihood of fat storage, promoting weight loss.
How to make cranberry juice
Of all the abundance of options for cranberry preparations, many prefer fruit drinks, since the process of creating the drink involves preserving the maximum amount of biologically active substances.
To make classic cranberry juice you will need:
- 2 cups cranberries;
- 1 liter of water;
- ½ lemon (optional)
Manufacturing algorithm:
- Wash the berries and place them in a sieve placed over a bowl.
- Using your hands or armed with a pestle, mash the cranberries, squeezing the juice out of them, which falls into a pre-installed container.
- Place the remaining cake in a saucepan, add a liter of water and boil, turning on low heat. Then boil for 10 minutes.
- Remove the container from the stove and leave to steep under the lid closed for 20 minutes.
- Filter the resulting broth and combine it with previously squeezed natural juice.
- If desired, squeeze lemon juice to improve taste.
The drink is usually served warm or chilled, depending on personal preference.
Step-by-step recipe for cranberry juice from frozen berries with rose hips
Cooking time: 35 minutes. Kitchen utensils: blender, gauze, multicooker and thermos.
For 10 glasses:
- frozen cranberries – 1 kilogram;
- sugar – 8 tablespoons;
- rose hips – 200 grams;
- water – 4 liters.
Cooking process:
- Thaw the cranberries and wash them. Grind the berries in a blender.
- Squeeze out the juice through cheesecloth.
- Pour water into the multicooker and turn on the “Cooking” option.
- Let the water boil, add juice and sugar.
- Bring to a boil and leave to steep for 2-4 hours.
- We sort out the rose hips and wash them.
- Place in a thermos and fill with boiling water.
- Mix fruit juice and rosehip decoction together. We filter.
Frozen cranberry juice
Frozen cranberry juice is practically no different from the classic recipe. The berries should be removed from the freezer in advance and placed on the top shelf of the refrigerator. After 8-9 hours, the fruits will be completely ready for use.
Ingredients:
- 250 g frozen cranberries;
- 2 liters of water;
- sugar as desired.
Cooking method:
- Bring properly thawed berries (without additional intervention of high temperatures) to a homogeneous mass using a wooden or plastic spatula.
- At this stage, you can add sugar or another sweetener and dilute the resulting mixture with water. To correctly adjust the amount of sweetness in the drink, you should try the composition.
- Place the container on the stove and boil. Boil for 2 minutes to preserve valuable substances.
- Remove from heat, cover the aromatic drink with a lid and let it brew.
- Strain the finished mixture through cheesecloth and can be served.
A fruit drink made from frozen cranberries is as healthy as a drink made from fresh fruits. Therefore, you can leave a few bags of healthy berries in the freezer for the winter.
Cranberry juice recipes
General recommendations
How to make fruit drink from frozen cranberries? We present proven methods for processing raw materials, but first we recommend that you familiarize yourself with general tips.
Rules that will help preserve the beneficial substances of cranberries as much as possible and diversify the taste:
- unquestioning adherence to the proportions of components when brewing a drink. The amount of freshly squeezed juice in the fruit drink should be ≥ 30%
- honey is placed in a warm drink, otherwise it will quickly lose its medicinal properties
- Before putting the berries into the blender, you must first defrost them. Thawed water is poured out
- lemon balm, rosehip, lemon and other fruit additives dramatically change the aroma of fruit juice, and also expand its range of useful elements.
So, how to make cranberry juice from frozen berries? Step by step instructions.
Classic recipe
Compound:
- 5-6 full tbsp. spoons of sugar
- 200 g frozen cranberries
- 2 liters of water.
Frozen berries at room temperature are instantly covered with snow-white frost. The beauty is indescribable, just right to take pictures. You can't crush the ice beads by hand, so they are left in a bowl to thaw. To speed up the process, you can pour cold water over the berries for a quarter of an hour. After making sure that the product is soft, the cranberries are washed in a colander. Then it is ground into a paste (puree) using a masher or blender.
At the next stage, the juice must be squeezed out of the raw materials. You will need a fine sieve or a piece of gauze folded in 2-4 layers. Here you will have to try to squeeze out all the liquid from the berries to the last drop. You can't do without a pusher. The finished natural juice is poured into a glass container. You can't drink it. It's too sour and concentrated. The remaining cake is poured with cold water and brought to a boil. You need to cook the pomace for no more than a minute. As soon as the water boils, add sugar and stir. Remove the pan from the burner. The decoction is infused for at least half an hour.
All that remains is to strain it using a fine strainer and combine it with natural juice. Fruit juice prepared according to the classic recipe is ready. You can invite guests, take a sample.
Interesting! Gourmets add turmeric, cinnamon and other favorite spices to the drink.
Cranberry + rosehip
The variety of taste of the drink is achieved thanks to companion products. This cranberry juice recipe contains rose hips. Is it worth emphasizing that the benefits of such an alliance are doubled? Rosehip is also a valuable medicinal berry, indispensable during the cold season, swelling, and weakened immunity.
Compound:
- 2 liters of water
- 5-6 tbsp. Sahara
- 500 g cranberries
- 100 g rose hips.
The beginning of preparing the drink is non-standard and comes down to processing the rose hips. Dry fruits are washed thoroughly, poured into a thermos with a liter of water (at a temperature close to boiling water), and allowed to brew for a day.
Next you should defrost the berries. The cranberry pulp should lend itself easily to a blender or masher.
Traditionally, pure juice is squeezed out using gauze or a strainer. It can be sweetened immediately.
Bring the cake to a boil in a liter of water and cook for 1-2 minutes. After removing from the heat, the resulting compote is filtered into a container with sweet cranberry juice. The infused rose hips are also poured there (with the help of a sieve, of course).
A healthy fruit drink made from frozen cranberries and dry rose hips is ready.
Important! Prolonged heat treatment of berries destroys valuable substances. You should not cook food or prepare fruit drinks for future use. It is better to prepare a fresh drink for 1-2 days.
Cranberry + lemon + honey
The smell of citrus fruits will give any berry drink such a unique aroma that your mouth will involuntarily begin to water. Cranberry juice is no exception.
Compound:
- glass of frozen berries
- half a lemon (lime)
- 2-3 tbsp. honey
- liter of water.
Getting started with cranberries is standard.
The ice beads are thawed and softened to be crushed into a puree. Remove the seeds from half a lemon. The product along with the zest is cut into pieces and crushed in a blender.
Combine cranberry and lemon pulp and season with honey.
The aromatic mass is left to infuse for 1-2 hours, after which it is poured with hot water. While the fruit drink is cooling, stir it periodically.
The chilled drink is filtered in any convenient way, poured into glasses, decorated with a slice of lime and crushed ice.
Cranberry + orange + cinnamon
The benefit of this cranberry juice is to tone the body. Orange is generally credited with the ability to improve mood. Need to cheer up? Remember the recipe.
Compound:
- 300 g cranberries
- 2 large oranges
- 1.5 liters of water
- 5 tbsp. Sahara
- cinnamon stick.
The oranges are washed, peeled, and the thick, homogeneous juice is squeezed out in a convenient way.
The cranberries are thawed, ground using a blender to a puree, and passed through a sieve.
The strained juices are combined together and placed in the refrigerator to cool.
The orange zest and pulp are poured with water and brought to a boil. Pour in sugar and throw in a cinnamon stick. After 1-2 minutes, remove the broth from the heat and leave to infuse until it cools completely.
Next, pass the cranberry pulp with zest through a sieve. The resulting compote is combined with natural juice. Orange-cranberry juice is ready. Bon appetit.
On a note! You can use tangerines or grapefruit in this recipe. The latter product will give the drink a spicy bitterness.
Cranberry + ginger
Ginger root is indispensable during the ARVI season. The hot spice stimulates the immune system well, and in combination with cranberries it makes the body completely invulnerable.
Composition of the fruit drink:
- 250 g cranberries
- 20-30 g ginger root
- liter of boiling water
- 2-3 tbsp. liquid honey.
Frozen cranberries are placed in a colander to thaw. Excess water will drain, and the soft product will be prepared for further kneading. The berries are ground with a regular spoon or masher, literally squeezing out the ruby juice.
Freshly squeezed liquid is passed through cheesecloth. The pomace is poured with boiling water and placed on the fire to simmer.
The peeled root is grated into shavings. Ginger is placed in boiling water.
After 2-5 minutes, remove the broth, cool, and filter through cheesecloth into a jug. Natural cranberry juice and 1-2 thin ginger sticks are also sent there.
It is better to sweeten the fruit drink with honey after it has cooled completely. This will preserve all the valuable microelements of the product.
Cranberries + carrots
Frozen cranberry juice with carrots is also very healthy. Caring mothers can take note of this recipe and prepare a drink for their beloved children. There is no need to talk about the value of carrots for a growing body. This is the prevention of anemia, loss of vision and many other ailments.
Composition of the fruit drink:
- glass of frozen cranberries
- ½ kg carrots
- sugar to taste
- 4 glasses of water.
Working with cranberries is similar to all the recipes described above. If desired, you can put the cake aside altogether, and use only squeezed berry juice (then 1 glass of water is enough).
Peeled carrots are grated, pressed with a masher or passed through a juicer.
Combine the juices, add sugar (honey). Spice lovers add anise stars or a little cinnamon to this cranberry juice.
Fruit juice recipe without cooking
Doctors are categorically against defrosting cranberries, much less boiling the berries. They believe that only quick freezing and vacuum storage can preserve the valuable substances of the product. The following drink will bring maximum benefits to the body.
Frozen hard cranberries are crushed in a blender. The gruel is poured into water at room temperature and stirred well. Sugar and honey are added to taste. You should drink fruit juice after about an hour, when the berries transfer valuable substances to the water.
On a note! Repeated freezing of cranberries will lead to a partial loss of vitamins and other microelements.
Fresh cranberry juice
Fresh cranberry juice is an excellent way to quench your thirst and give you a boost of energy in the summer. The season of ripening berries motivates many people not only to freeze more fruits, but also to saturate the body with all the valuable components before the autumn vitamin deficiency with the help of healing fruit juice.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 tbsp. fresh cranberries;
- 1 liter of water.
Cooking method:
- Sort through the fruits and rinse them thoroughly.
- Using a mortar, crush the berries in a deep bowl until smooth and filter the resulting mass through cheesecloth.
- Pour water over the cake, boil and cook for 5 minutes.
- Wait until it cools down and strain the mixture again, and then boil the liquid again.
- Pour the pure cranberry juice extracted earlier into the hot mixture.
If desired, you can add 2 tbsp to the hot fruit drink. l. honey or other sweetener. The main thing is not to miss the moment, since it will not dissolve well in cold liquid.
Cranberry and lingonberry juice
Cranberry and lingonberry juice has a pleasant taste, a rich hue, and can lift your spirits and relieve depression. The product is especially useful in autumn and winter to protect against viral and colds.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 tbsp. cranberries;
- 0.5 tbsp. lingonberries;
- 2 liters of water;
- 6 tbsp. l. Sahara.
Cooking method:
- Rinse the fruits under running water, add sugar and a little water.
- Use a blender to bring the mixture until smooth.
- Boil water separately and add the crushed mixture to it.
- Wait for the fruit drink to boil again, turn off the stove and let it cool.
The quick cooking method does not involve straining. But if the sediment formed at the bottom of the container bothers you, you can pass the mixture through a sieve before serving.
Cranberry juice with orange
A cranberry juice recipe for those who don’t really like the taste of this berry. Orange will not only increase the amount of vitamin C in the drink, but will also add a citrus note.
Required Products:
- 500 gr. cranberries;
- 1 tbsp. Sahara;
- 1 large orange;
- 1.5 liters of water.
Cooking process:
- Wash the cranberries, chop them, combine with sugar.
- Wash the orange, squeeze out the juice and grate some zest.
- Boil water, add grated cranberries, juice and orange zest. Cover and let sit for eight hours.
- Strain and you can consume.
Cranberry juice is an incredibly healthy and tasty drink. It’s not difficult to prepare; anyone can do it. But since each person has his own taste preferences, the amount of certain products can be varied. Also, don't be afraid to experiment. After all, you can always get a new tasty and healthy recipe.
Cranberry and sea buckthorn juice
Fruit juice made from cranberries and sea buckthorn turns out to be spicy, aromatic and fortified, which is especially necessary during the season of autumn and winter vitamin deficiency.
Ingredients:
- 300 g cranberries;
- 300 g sea buckthorn;
- 2 liters of water;
- ½ lemon;
- sugar and spices to taste.
Cooking method:
- Place water on the stove over medium heat, add spices and chopped lemon.
- Rinse the fruits and puree in a blender.
- After boiling, add the berry mass into the water, then turn it off and leave for 15 minutes under a closed lid.
- Strain the resulting drink and sweeten if desired.
The rich drink is served heated in the cold season, and chilled with ice cubes in the summer.