In the summer, at the time of plenty of berries and fruits, everyone is trying to replenish their bodies with vitamins, often buying raspberries, currants, strawberries, cherries. And also prepare them for future use in the form of jam or freshly frozen berries. Frozen cherries are very popular among hostesses, as it is not only tasty, but also very useful, because when frozen, all the nutrients remain in the berries safe and sound.
Useful properties of cherry
- Cherry fruits contain glucose, fructose, vitamins A, C, PP, citric and malic acid, tannins, as well as copper, magnesium, potassium, and iron.
- Cherry has an expectorant, antiseptic, laxative effect.
- Cherry improves digestion, appetite, quenches thirst.
- Cherry decoction (the same compote) has a calming effect on the nervous system.
- Fruits of cherry and milk are useful for arthritis.
Caution. In the pits of cherries, there is a glycoside amygdalin, which can cause poisoning, since, once in the intestine, it secretes prussic acid. This should be taken into account by harvesting cherries with stones for future use.
How to prepare a cherry for freezing
Cherry is harvested in dry, but cool weather. It is carefully removed from the tree, putting the stairs or ladders. So that the cherry does not have time to spoil and does not begin to ferment, it cannot be left for a long time without further processing.
- Cherry is cleared of debris, leaves, cut off the stem, while removing the wormy and dried berries.
- Then the berries must be washed, thus protecting themselves and their loved ones from possible infection with an intestinal infection. The berries are put in small portions in a colander and washed under running water. You can also fold the berries in the bowl and, turning over their hands, wash.
- Then the berries are laid on a sieve or left in a colander and wait for the water to drain completely.
Pure berries are ready to freeze. Cherry is frozen with pits, without stones, in sugar, without sugar, in syrup.
How to freeze cherries with bones
- The washed fruits of the cherry are poured onto paper towels for final drying.
- Then dry berries are laid in one layer on the tray so that they do not touch each other, and placed in the freezer for several hours.
- As soon as the cherries harden, they are taken out of the freezer and poured into dry plastic containers with lids prepared in advance.
- Then the berries are placed in the freezer for permanent storage, without fear that they stick or juice.
Pre-frozen cherry berries can be folded into small plastic bags of food film. Packages must be strong so that they do not break during storage. Otherwise, the berries, being next to frozen meat, fish or bell peppers, will absorb extraneous odors. Ideally, of course, they recommend storing the berries separately from other food products, but in practice, in the absence of large refrigerators, this is problematic. If the cherries are frozen for compote, after drying, the berries can be immediately put into containers. Even if the berries stick together a little, it will not greatly affect the quality of the finished dish.
Cherry can be immediately folded into dense plastic food bags, but pack them in small batches (for one recipe) so as not to expose the whole berry to defrosting, since frozen products are not subject to re-freezing.
How to freeze pitted cherries
Very often, frozen cherries are used as a filling for pies or for making sweet desserts. In this case, it is better to freeze cherries without stones, because after defrosting, removing the stones will be problematic.
- Bones are removed from the clean and dried cherries, making sure that the berries lose as little juice as possible.
- Then the berries are placed in a colander or on a sieve and wait until the juice is drained.
- Then the berries are laid out in a single layer on trays and placed in a freezer for pre-freezing.
- When the berries have hardened, they are poured from trays into plastic containers, tightly closed and removed again in the freezer for further storage.
How to freeze cherries in sugar
Washed and dried berries of cherries with pits are put into containers, sprinkled with sugar in layers, and put into a freezer for freezing.
Pitted cherries are poured with sugar after the juice is drained from the berries. This berry is also stored in plastic containers that are well closed.
How to freeze cherries in sugar syrup
Cherry can be frozen in sugar syrup.
- First, boil the syrup at the rate of 1.5 kg of sugar per 1 liter of water. The syrup is cooled.
- Pure berries are placed in plastic containers and poured over two-thirds of the syrup as the syrup will increase in volume and take up the remaining space.
- Filled containers are kept at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
- Cover with lids and place in the freezer.
With proper storage, any frozen cherries will not lose their beneficial qualities throughout the year.
How to defrost a cherry
In whatever form the cherry is frozen, it cannot be subjected to quick defrosting, because many useful substances are lost, and the type of product is significantly deteriorated.
Therefore, frozen cherry berries need to shift from the freezer to the refrigerator and leave there until complete thawing.
