How to store cranberries at home without a refrigerator

Useful qualities of cranberries

Cranberries strengthen the body's immune system and increase resistance to disease. Fruit drinks, jams, juices, and syrups are made from it, which are then used to treat flu and colds. In order for the berries to retain their positive qualities and vitamins to the maximum, they must be stored correctly. It is not necessary to freeze the fruits; there are other ways to enjoy cranberries in winter.

Many women make masks with cranberry juice. They have a rejuvenating effect. After a course of use, the number of wrinkles is significantly reduced and their depth is filled. Thanks to the procedure, the skin is nourished with vitamins and moisture. As a result, a woman becomes the owner of firm, smooth, elastic skin.

Berries are great for cleansing the skin. It is enough to scrub your face and décolleté with several fruits. The procedure will achieve softness and smoothness. With regular use, the effect will be no worse than from salon procedures.

Cranberries act as a strong natural disinfectant. Due to their high acid concentration, they quickly and effectively remove limescale from surfaces. Cranberry juice is used to wipe door handles, faucets, and locks. The effect is like after using an expensive cleaning product.

Juice squeezed from fresh cranberries is an excellent hair conditioner. After washing your hair, rub in a small amount of juice. Leave for a few minutes and then rinse. In a couple of procedures, the hair becomes smooth and silky. In addition, the juice will help get rid of dandruff. With regular use of the juice, hair will begin to grow faster.

Preparing cranberries for long-term storage

If the fruits were picked in September, they are not yet ripe. In order for the berries to ripen, they are placed in a basket or cardboard box with holes for ventilation. Cover the container with fabric in advance. The packaging is placed in a dry and warm place. After 2 weeks, check for readiness.

If it is necessary for the berries to ripen faster, place a tomato or apple in the basket. They release ethylene, which speeds up the process.

The picked berries are cleaned of particles of dirt, debris, and leaves. It is better to remove the crumpled specimens and make a puree with sugar from them or use them for preservation - confiture, compotes. The berries need to be sorted carefully.

Whole, ripe cranberries can be stored at home. They will last for several months. In an apartment or house, the product is placed in a dark place. It should be well ventilated. If there is poor ventilation, cranberries will begin to deteriorate over time. This occurs due to the accumulation of carbon dioxide.

Storing cranberries in the freezer

There are two options for storing in the freezer: freezing slightly unripe or ripe berries.

In the first case, rinse and after drying, place the cranberries in plastic bags, tie tightly and place in the freezer.

With ripe berries the process becomes more complicated. It is better to freeze the berries spread out in one layer on a prepared surface (tray or cutting board). Only after the berries have hardened are they placed into bags. Frozen cranberries retain their properties for 1-2 years at a temperature of -15-18 degrees.

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Frozen fruits can be consumed immediately after defrosting. Or you can make jelly, fruit juice or another drink. The main thing is not to boil the berries, but only warm them up a little in order to preserve their medicinal properties and many vitamins.

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Soaking in water

When considering ways to store cranberries, it is worth mentioning soaking in water. With this method, the berries will not lose their vitamins and rich taste. To preserve the product, you need to use glass containers or enamel containers.

Spring, filtered, and settled water is used as filling. First of all, it is boiled and cooled. The berries are sorted and packaged in prepared containers. The mass is filled with water so that it is completely immersed. All that remains is to close the lids. In this form, the fruits will be stored for up to 2 years if they are taken out to a cool place.

Instead of water, the berries can be filled with sugar syrup. To give it additional taste, add cinnamon and cloves.

Soaked berries are great for meat delicacies. Since the distant past, they have been prepared with fried and baked meat and poultry.

Cranberries in liquid form must be kept in a cool room - a basement, barn, refrigerator or balcony.

Recipes for the winter

Several simple methods will help you make cranberry stocks, which we will talk about in more detail later, namely:

grind the berries with sugar;
fill them with water.

Since in both cases the berries cannot be heat treated, the cranberries retain all the vitamins and remain as beneficial as possible.

Cranberry-sugar concentrate is made according to the same principle as preparing raspberries. The washed and sorted berries must be sprinkled with sugar and crushed using a potato masher to obtain a homogeneous mass. You don’t need to add a lot of sugar, just keep the ratio 1:1. For those who like a sweeter option, you can slightly increase the amount of sugar. For 1 kg of cranberries, put 1.5 kg of sugar, but no more, since the mass will turn out to be too sugary.

Next, place the grated cranberries into clean jars, cover with nylon lids and place in the refrigerator. A couple of days will pass, and the initially liquid mass will turn into a kind of jelly.

Sugar is, of course, very tasty, but not everyone likes sweets and not everyone can eat it, especially if they have certain chronic diseases, such as diabetes. However, cranberries can be stored well without sugar. To do this you will need a large glass jar and plain water.

The washed berries should be carefully and loosely poured into the jar, without compacting them, so that they remain intact. Then add water until it completely covers them. This jar is stored in a cool place, preferably in the refrigerator. Oddly enough, cranberries drenched in water can last up to 2 years. However, it won’t be possible to store it for so long - fresh, as if just picked, berries will probably be eaten much earlier.

As you can see, there is nothing complicated about preparing cranberries for the winter. Choose the option you like best and enjoy cranberry juice on cold evenings while imagining warm summers.

Juicy berries collected in the fall are suitable for harvesting. There are several methods of preservation.

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Pickled cranberries

Boil 1 liter. water, add 4 tbsp. l. sugar, black pepper, cloves, a pinch of salt. Wait until the water cools down. Wash the berries, add water, add spices. Cover with a cloth and leave in the room for a week.

After 7 days, transfer to the balcony. The temperature should not be higher than 18 degrees Celsius.

Take a whole berry or chop it, place it in a container in layers, sprinkle with sugar. For 1 kg of product, about 500 g of granulated sugar is required. Stir and place in a bowl.

You can also mix the berries with sugar in equal proportions.

The cranberries will be sweet and tasty.

Cranberry jam

Cranberries have a very specific taste, so not everyone likes to eat them fresh. A delicious jam is made from the berries.

Classic recipe:

Take 2 kg of cranberries and chop them.
Place the resulting puree in a large saucepan and add 2 kg of sugar. Leave the berries as is without stirring. Wait until they give juice and soak up the sugar. This takes about three hours.
Place the container on the fire and bring to a boil. After this, reduce the heat and cook the sugar-berry mixture for 15 minutes.
Ladle into jars and cover with metal lids.

Cranberry-apple jam:

Place 1 kg of cranberries in a cooking container, add 250 ml of cold water.
Wait for the berries to boil over the fire, boil for another 15 minutes, drain the liquid, and rub through a sieve.
Wash the apples, remove seeds and peel, and cut thinly.
Pour cranberry puree into a bowl, add apples, 3 kg of honey, 200 g of walnuts.
Cook the resulting mixture for about an hour.
Place the jam in jars, roll them up, and let them cool under the blanket.

Cranberry with orange:

Mix 700 g of frozen berries, a glass of orange juice, 3 cups of granulated sugar, a teaspoon of cinnamon, a glass of water.
Boil this mixture.
Process in a blender.

Cranberry jam:

Pour boiling water over 1 kg of fresh berries and leave in a colander until the liquid drains.
Wipe, add 2 kg of sugar, mix.

Five-minute jam:

Blanch 1 kg cranberries.
Pour a glass of water into the pan, add 2 kg of sugar, mix. You will get a thick syrup.
Add berries to the syrup and bring to a boil.

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Cranberries in their own juice:

Mash 1.5 kg of berries, heat the resulting puree, strain through cheesecloth.
Pour the juice into a saucepan.
Add 1 kg of whole berries, heat.

Another cooking option:

Fill clean jars with berries and place in a water bath.
Wait until they release juice and decrease in volume.
Add more cranberries.
Do this until all the juice has come out.

Marmalade:

Mix 1 kg of product with a glass of sugar so that the berries burst, give juice, and place on low heat.
When the mixture boils, cook, stirring, for 8 minutes.
Wipe the berries.
Add 40 g of gelatin diluted in water.
Pour the marmalade into molds and place in the refrigerator to harden.

Blueberry jam with cranberry juice:

Squeeze 2 kg of crushed cranberries through a gauze cloth.
Add 1 kg of sugar, cook the syrup.
Add 1.5 kg of blueberries and continue cooking for half an hour.
Rub the berries on the sides of the bowl and stir.

Under the sugar plug:

Grind 2 kg of berries in any way.
Add 1 kg of granulated sugar.
Place in a cool place overnight.
Divide into jars.
Cut out circles from parchment. Their diameter should be 3 cm larger than the neck of the jar.
Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar onto the parchment.
Close with lids.

In the slow cooker:

Wash and chop 1 kg of product.
Tangerines, cut apples, remove bones.
Sprinkle berry and fruit puree with sugar.
Leave to infuse for 30 minutes.
Place in a multicooker container and turn on the stew mode for half an hour.

Pear with cranberry:

Combine a glass of water and 800 g of sugar.
Add a cinnamon stick.
Dissolve on fire.
Add 300 g cranberries and boil for 25 minutes.
Be careful not to overcook the fruits.
Peel the pears, remove the core, cut into slices.
When the pear becomes transparent, the jam is ready.

Lingonberries with cranberries:

Pour 1.5 kg of sugar into 750 liters of water.
Cook until dissolved.
Add 0.5 kg of cranberries and the same amount of lingonberries, boil for 35 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon. Skim off any foam that has formed.

Some harvesting methods allow you to store cranberries for a long time, so you can use the berries throughout the year.

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Pickled cranberries

Prepare the right dishes in advance, namely glass jars or enamel pans. Rinse dishes using baking soda and dry. Boil and cool the water based on the volume of the berries. Rinse the berries thoroughly and drain in a colander. Pour it into a bowl that you prepared in advance and fill it with cold boiled water. Place a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.

Most of the nutrients are retained in the soaked berry. Among the minuses, it is worth noting the loss of brightness of the characteristic taste, as well as a change in the structure of the pulp.

Conservation

The method of canning in its own juice is especially popular. Mash and heat small-sized fruits, this will make it easier to squeeze out the juice. In a saucepan, mix whole berries with juice in a 2 to 1 ratio. Do not bring to a boil. Place into sterile jars. Sterilize for 10 – 15 minutes with lids on.

In addition, you can make jam, preserves or compote, which are consumed throughout the year.

Rules for storing berries without freezing in the basement

To keep cranberries fresh in the basement or cellar, use different containers:

glass jars, bottles;
enamel containers;
wooden boxes;
packages.

They put already fully prepared berries, washed and dried. Be sure to leave it in the dark. Berries need to be checked sometimes and spoiled ones removed. In winter, the basement must be ventilated.

In the same way, cranberries are stored on the loggia. There they may darken, but will not lose their beneficial qualities. Storage duration is 3-4 months.

Dried berries

This is not the best way, since the beneficial properties of the berry are not preserved. However, it retains its taste perfectly and is ideal for preparing desserts and drinks in the future.

Already prepared berries must be laid out on a tray and dried outside (on the balcony) for up to a month. After this, it is necessary to subject them to a short heat treatment in the oven or stove.

The main advantage of this method is that dried berries can be stored for up to three years in any convenient place without restrictions. In this case, the only condition will be that the containers are sealed to prevent insects from getting into the dried fruits.

Storing berries in sugar

The hostess can choose one of two ways:

Take any container. Pre-washed and dried berries are laid in layers, between which granulated sugar is poured. When packing, the berries are sometimes shaken so that they fit more tightly. The final layer is sugar.
Cranberries and sugar are taken in equal proportions, placed in a blender or passed through a meat grinder. The resulting mass is transferred to a jar, rolled up with a metal one or covered with a nylon lid. Store in a cool place.

Jars used for storage are sterilized in advance by any available method.

Preserving Pickled Cranberries

To prepare, you will need ordinary water and containers suitable for storage (jars, bottles, containers). A prerequisite when choosing storage containers is tightness.

Clean and dried fruits are placed in a container. Then pour boiled, cooled water. For storage they are left in a cold place (cellar, refrigerator) at a temperature no higher than 6-8 degrees.

There is a second option - it is identical to the previous one, only you need to fill it with a sugar solution instead of water. For one kilogram of cranberries there is one spoon of sugar and a little salt. Depending on preferences, favorite spices are added. The disadvantage of this option is that the berry absorbs water in such conditions, which slightly affects the original taste. The fruits will lose their hardness and crispness, but will not lose their beneficial properties.

Preservation in own juice

This is another way to preserve cranberries. To do this, take ripe and slightly bruised fruits and pound them until pureed. Then the mass is heated a little and the juice is squeezed out.

Place whole berries in a saucepan and pour juice into it in a 2:1 ratio. The mass is heated, but not brought to a boil. Then they are poured into pre-sterilized jars. Next, the jars are covered with lids and sterilized. All that remains is to wrap the containers and, after completely cooling, take them to a cool place before winter sets in.

Drying berries

Dried products are used to prepare fillings and compotes. But it is worth knowing that in this state there are few vitamins and useful elements left in the berries. Nevertheless, the method of preserving fruits is common and is often used.

Drying cranberries is carried out in the oven, electric dryer or simply in the fresh air. The latter option is preferable. Place the berries in one layer on any hard surface in a dark place and leave until completely dry.

If drying takes place in an apartment, then the cranberries are taken out to the loggia and placed so that the sun's rays do not fall on them. The finished fruits are transferred to glass containers and sealed with lids to ensure tightness. Dried fruits can be stored for up to 3 years.

The berries have a dense, hard skin. It is recommended to blanch them in boiling water before drying them in the oven. This is done in a few minutes. After the skin bursts, transfer the berries to a colander and then onto a towel. Next, spread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Turn on the oven and set the temperature to 95 degrees. After 10 minutes, the temperature is reduced to 65℃. Open the door slightly and dry it this way.

Drying the berries

There are two drying methods:

Wash the berries, peel them, place them on a baking sheet, and place in a preheated oven for 6 hours.
Peel the berries, place on a plate, add 2 egg yolks, stir. Dip the berries in powdered sugar, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment, and dry at 70 degrees.

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Cranberries prepared in this form are suitable for compotes, desserts, and baked goods. Dried berries can be stored for 5 years.

Cranberry jam

Since the fruits have a specific taste, not everyone will eat them fresh. Then you should think about making berry jam. The classic recipe looks like this.

Components:

fresh cranberries – 2 kg;
granulated sugar – 2 kg.

How to make vitamin jam step by step:

The fruits are crushed in any available way to a puree.
The resulting mass is transferred to a saucepan, and sugar is poured into it.
Allow the ingredients to stand without stirring them. You need to wait until the berries give juice and the sugar begins to melt. It will take about 3-5 hours.
Next, place the pan on the stove, turn on the heat and bring the mixture to a boil.
Next, reduce the fire. Boil the berry mixture for 20 minutes over low heat.

All you have to do is pour the jam into pre-sterilized jars with a ladle and close the lids.

Canned storage

When preserving, natural or chemical acid is used, which will preserve the taste and properties of cranberries. For 1 liter of berries you need 3 kg of sugar and a quarter liter of orange juice.

Add orange juice to the berries and mix until smooth. Sugar is slowly added there and brought to a boil. The mixture should be simmered over low heat for an hour, stirring occasionally. After cooling, pour into prepared jars and roll up the lids. It is optimal to store cranberries in the refrigerator or basement at a temperature no higher than 6–8 degrees.

Cranberry marmalade

To prepare a tasty and healthy dish you need to take:

cranberries - 1 kg;
granulated sugar - 1 tbsp;
gelatin - 40 g.

Method for preparing dessert:

The fruits are combined with a glass of sand and left for a while so that the skin bursts, the berries release juice and melt the sugar.
Place the pan on low heat and wait until the mixture boils.
Then add a mixture of gelatin and water.

The marmalade is poured into molds, allowed to cool and placed in the kitchen cabinet.

Tips and tricks for hostesses

It’s worth checking out some advice from experienced people:

When choosing an enameled container, you must first make sure that it does not have chips or cracks. If there are even the slightest cracks, flaws or scratches, dangerous metal will be visible on the surface. When combined with an acidic environment, it will cause severe food poisoning. Then the person faces intoxication, subsequently gastric lavage.
It is recommended to immediately sort the berries into storage areas, as they will spoil faster. Overripe, bruised fruits should be processed. And elastic berries are suitable for long-term storage.
If the housewife wants to preserve the fruits for a long time, then it is better to take cranberries that were harvested in September-October. Spring berries are sweeter, but they are not suitable for long-term storage. They also contain fewer vitamins and lose zinc and iron.
If the berries are a little frozen, they are still better in the freezer. This way their beneficial qualities will be preserved.

Cranberries contain benzoic acid. It increases the body's resistance to harmful and pathogenic microorganisms. For this reason, the berries do not spoil for a long time without prior heat treatment, the use of sugar or preservatives.

Note to the housewife: lingonberries have similar qualities. It is also stored outside the refrigerator.

Some housewives put other berries in cranberries - viburnum, red currants. But it’s better not to do this, because with this combination the products will quickly deteriorate. When you combine the berries, you get a delicious vitamin juice or fruit drink, but in this case you need to prepare it right away. Or the berries are dried separately.