The taste of gooseberry can not be compared with anything. They always want to enjoy, and not only in the warm season. Therefore, the desire to preserve unusual berries for the future often occurs. Now you will learn how to achieve this.
How to pick gooseberries
Gooseberries, which is intended for storage, are collected in a container prepared in advance: boxes or baskets. Capacity is better to choose small: it will protect the integrity of the berries. This is especially important for fruits with a thin peel.
Like all berries, gooseberries need to be collected on a dry and clear day.
We should not forget that most varieties have thorns. Therefore, it is worthwhile to take care of suitable clothing with long sleeves and wear gloves.
Fully ripe berries should be removed from the bush along with the stem.
Plucked fruit should not be poured from one container to another: it can damage them.
General notes on storage
Drying and freezing are basic ways to protect the gooseberry from spoilage. But premature, loose and damaged fruits are not suitable for storage. Also, overripe berries are not suitable for this, which, when dried or frozen, quickly lose their beneficial properties.
However, you can do without freezing and drying, simply placing the fruit in a cool room. True, in this case, they can be saved very long. For example, freshly harvested mature intact fruits in such conditions are stored no more than 4-5 days. As for the immature, they remain edible a little longer - up to 10 days. But only in containers whose capacity does not exceed 5 kg. Ripe gooseberries make delicious jam and jam.
Freezing gooseberry
For a simple freezing procedure, yellow-red berries are best suited.
- First and foremost, we carefully sort through them, remove all the stalks.
- After this, wash the fruit under a good stream of water, then dry them, putting them on paper.
- After drying, put the gooseberries on a plywood board of suitable size or cardboard, and put them in the freezer.
- When the berries are frozen, pour them into bags (preferably polyethylene) or put them in small sealed dishes made of plastic. Close it tightly and place it back in the freezer.
If the temperature in the freezer is not more than zero degrees, and the relative humidity of the air does not exceed 90%, then the fruits will remain edible for 2 months and will not lose 70% of their beneficial properties. If the temperature is minus 3 degrees or below, they will not deteriorate for half a year.
Before eating, berries need to hold for 5-6 hours in the upper compartments of the refrigerator. The temperature should be no more than 5-6 degrees. Then they can begin to eat.
How to dry gooseberries
- For drying, you need to select the most ripe and completely intact fruits. Then rinse them under a good pressure of water and clean from all sepals and remnants of the stalks.
- After this, the berries should be put in a perforated container and held for a few minutes over boiling water. This procedure is called blanching. It protects the gooseberry from darkening, accelerates its drying.
- After its completion, the berries should be spread on a baking sheet or sieve as thin as possible, and then put in an oven or drying cabinet.
- First set the temperature to 30-35 degrees. After some time (after 8-10 minutes) it is increased to 65-70 degrees. In no case can not begin to dry the fruit immediately at too high temperatures, otherwise they will be covered with a crust and become inedible.
- During drying, the oven or oven should be ventilated from time to time to get rid of water vapor harmful to the gooseberry. It is also desirable to gradually close the door, otherwise the berries can be worn out. We must not forget about the mixing of drying fruits. The average drying time is approximately 5-7 hours.
- When the procedure is over, the berries should be poured into bags of fabric, paper or gauze.
Edible they remain for 2 whole years.
Dried gooseberries are perfect for compotes and baking. He perfectly replaces the raisins.
Gooseberry berries - a rich source of various vitamins. And most importantly, they have an unsurpassed taste. Just follow the simple tips above, and the fruits of this bush will delight all year round.
