Fans of French cuisine are well aware that confitures occupy a significant place in it. The French not only use it for sweet pastries, but they also eat buns and toasts that go well with hot chocolate and coffee. Even an inexperienced housewife can prepare strawberry confiture for the winter at home. Application of this delicacy will be found.
Cooking Features
Confiture is a thick jam, the consistency of a jam. It is convenient for them to sandwich cake cake layers. They can spread bread and stuffed pies. It can be served with pancakes and pancakes. Some eat it just like that. To cook strawberry confiture for the winter, you need to know a few things.
- Confiture can be prepared from both fresh and frozen berries. If frozen fruits are used, they should be allowed to thaw out, and the juice released during this process is drained. Fresh berries are sorted out: just mashed for confiture fit, but rotten, watery, spoiled by insects will have to be thrown away. After that, the berries must be cleaned from sepals, washed and dried. Wet berries for cooking confiture can not be used: it will turn out watery and quickly deteriorate.
- Strawberry contains enough pectin to cook confiture from it, without adding thickeners. But this will require a lot of sugar. The cooking process in this case will also be longer.
- If you want the confiture to have a bright color, do not boil it for a long time, it is better to use a thickener. Starch, gelatin, pectin, agar-agar can act in its quality. The more thickener is added, the less sugar is required.
- Confiture can be cooked from whole, sliced or chopped with a blender to the state of mashed berries. The choice depends on the specific recipe.
- To make the confiture more pleasant, lemon juice, vanilla, various spices, and alcoholic beverages are often added to it. They not only make the dessert tastier, but also improve its preservation.
- Put the ready hot confiture on pre-sterilized cans. Banks roll sterilized lids. If you plan to keep the dessert for a long time, the banks turn over and wrap up, they are removed to the storage place after cooling.
It is recommended to store strawberry jam at a temperature of 5 to 20 degrees in a dark place. In this case, the shelf life of the workpiece will be 12 months. After opening the jar is stored in the refrigerator for no more than two weeks.
Strawberry confiture without adding thickener
Composition (for 2, 5-2, 6 l):
- strawberries - 1, 5 kg;
- sugar - 1, 5 kg;
- lemon - 1 pc.
Method of preparation:
- Sort out strawberries, wash, remove sepals. Spread the berries on a towel, let them dry.
- Fold the berries into the enamel basin, add sugar. Cover with gauze and leave for a couple of hours to let the berries juice.
- Put a bowl of strawberries on the stove. While warming it over low heat, knead the masher.
- Boil strawberries, stirring for 20 minutes. Be sure to remove the foam protruding on the surface.
- 5 minutes before the jam is ready, squeeze the juice out of the lemon and add to the strawberry puree. Stir.
- Pour the ready-made confiture in sterilized jars. Fill them to the very edge.
- Spin the jars, flip, cover with a blanket.
After cooling, strawberry confiture can be removed to the place of usual storage of winter supplies.
Strawberry confiture with pectin and vanilla in a slow cooker
Composition (2 liters):
- strawberries - 1, 25 kg;
- sugar - 1, 25 kg;
- pectin - 10 g;
- vanilla - 1 pod.
Method of preparation:
- Clean and dry strawberries from the sepals, cut into small pieces, put them in a multicooker container.
- Pour the vanilla out of the pod into the slow cooker.
- Pour sugar over strawberries, mix.
- Turn on the multicooker for half an hour in the heating mode.
- Stir the berry, adding pectin to it.
- Start the unit by selecting the “Baking” program. Cook in this mode for 15 minutes, stopping the operation of the device every 2-3 minutes to remove the foam and stir the contents of the multicooker.
- Spread the thick confiture over the prepared jars, seal them.
- Let the confiture cool under a warm blanket, store for storage in the pantry.
Confiture for this recipe is very thick and fragrant. If you want to get a more delicate texture, pectin can be added 2 times less. If instead of five glasses of sugar to use four, the trouble also does not happen, just confiture will turn out less sweet.
Strawberry confiture with agar-agar and cardamom
Composition (for 0, 75 l):
- strawberries - 0.5 kg;
- sugar - 0.5 kg;
- citric acid - 1 g;
- agar-agar - 5 g;
- water - 50 ml;
- cardamom is a big pinch.
Method of preparation:
- Pour the agar-agar with cool boiled water, leave it to soak.
- Wash strawberries, remove sepals. Let the berry dry.
- Place the strawberries in the bowl of the blender and grind to a mash.
- Crush sugar with a coffee grinder to a state of powder.
- Put the berry puree in an enamel bowl, mix with powdered sugar.
- Put on fire. While stirring, bring to a boil.
- Add citric acid and cardamom, mix.
- Boil over high heat for 5 minutes, stirring and removing the foam.
- Separately boil water with agar-agar.
- Pour into a container of confiture, mix thoroughly. Remove the dishes from the heat.
- Distribute the confiture to the prepared jars, close them tightly.
- Cool down under a blanket, put in a cool place for the winter.
If the confiture is not prepared for the winter and you plan to store it in the refrigerator, the amount of sugar can be reduced to 300-350 g, then the delicacy will be less calorie.
Strawberry confiture with vodka
Composition (for 3, 2 l):
- strawberries - 1, 5 kg;
- sugar - 2 kg;
- salt - a large shchipot;
- citric acid - 5 g;
- vodka - 0, 1 l.
Method of preparation:
- Berries, washed and dried, cut with a knife and put in an enamel basin.
- Add citric acid, salt and half of the sugar specified in the recipe, mix.
- Add vodka, cover the pelvis with a thin cloth, leave for 6-8 hours in a cool place.
- Dissolve the remaining sugar, stir, put the bowl on the fire.
- Cook, changing the intensity of the flame: first heat it up on high heat, but when the berries rise, reduce the flame to a minimum; when they sink to the bottom add fire again. The boiling time of confiture with vodka is 40-50 minutes.
- Distribute the confiture to pre-sterilized jars, close them tightly. Banks put the lids down, wrap.
The cooled confiture can be removed to the pantry. At a temperature not higher than 20 degrees, it will stand, without spoiling, until the next berry season.
Strawberry confiture is an exquisite delicacy that can be eaten with spoons. They can be supplemented with cottage cheese, ice cream, cheesecakes and other desserts. It is used in the preparation of cakes and pastries. If you prepare jam for the winter in the summer, this sweet dish will cost inexpensive and will delight you and your family members for a whole year. The presence of a large number of recipes will allow you to choose the option of strawberry confiture for every taste.