How to freeze wild strawberries for the winter?

Strawberries are one of the most delicious berries and, due to their healing properties, help to fight many diseases, including colds and the flu.However, it is very difficult to preserve the chemical composition and nutrients of fruits before winter. Freezing the berries solves this problem and helps to preserve their nutritional and taste qualities.

Forest strawberries are very useful for the body. Regular consumption of berries stimulates anti-aging processes, removes harmful cholesterol and normalizes blood pressure. In folk medicine, strawberries are used in hypertension, various forms of beriberi and atherosclerotic diseases. Infusion of the fruit is used in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, urinary system and kidneys. Broths are used as tonic and tonic.

Use strawberries and for external use. Compresses from the infusion of fruits have a wound-healing effect and treat acne. The leaves of the plant are widely used as a basis for vitamin teas, and a decoction of dried leaflets rinse your throat with angina. In addition, strawberry tea improves intestinal peristalsis and improves the general condition of the gastrointestinal tract.

The best time to pick berries for freezing is the morning hours. It is recommended to collect fruits in dry clear weather. Harvesting strawberries after a rain can adversely affect the quality of the berries, which are likely to be loose and tasteless. It is necessary to select completely ripened, but not overripe berries of the correct form, deprived of visible defects. Then the collected fruits must be cleaned of grass, stalks and sepals and gently rinsed in cool water.

It is better to use a deep bowl for washing; it is not recommended to wash berries under running water. This requirement is due to the fact that delicate berries can be damaged under the pressure of water and limp. After washing, the fruit should be laid out on a dry and clean cloth to dry. The better the berries dry out, the higher the taste they will have.

Before choosing the method of freezing strawberries, it is necessary to determine for what purpose the freezing is carried out, and in what quality the berry will be used after defrosting. For example, if the strawberry fruit will be used to decorate cakes and desserts, then the most important thing will be to preserve their original appearance. Such a berry needs preliminary, especially careful selection and freezing of fruits at some distance from each other.

To do this, the fruits are laid out on a tray or plate, and sent for a couple of hours in the freezer. Then the fruits are removed, carefully poured into a clean and dry plastic bag and stored in the freezer for storage. Instead of bags, you can use plastic containers with lids or glass jars.

• Freeze whole berries with sugar. The method is quite simple and not labor-intensive. Berries are laid out on a plate or tray and frozen in the freezer for 2-3 hours. When distributing fruits on a plate, the main condition is to prevent the berries from touching and sticking together. After the strawberries freeze, it should be placed in a plastic bag and sprinkled with sugar on top. Then the contents of the bag should be well mixed, evenly distributing the sugar between the berries, and removed to storage. For 500 g of berries, one and a half cups of sugar is required, but its amount may vary based on the personal preferences of the hostess.
• Frozen grated berries with sugar. This method is well suited for strawberries that have lost their shape and presentation.Fruits are filled with sugar in a 1: 1 ratio and ground in a mortar. In the absence of a mortar, you can use a blender. The resulting mass is decomposed into ice forms and put into the freezer. After 7-8 hours, the molds are removed from the freezer, and their contents are decomposed into packages and removed for storage.

• Freezing berries in ice. This method is suitable for freezing small berries, which can later be used to decorate a cocktail or lemonade. To do this, distribute small dry fruits into the cells of the ice freezing container, fill each cell with cool boiled water and put into the freezer for 8 hours. In each cell should be placed 1-2 berries. After the water freezes, the cubes are poured into a plastic bag and stored for storage.
• Strawberries in syrup. To freeze the berries in this way, you need to pour two liters of water into the pan, pour half a kilogram of sugar into it and boil it. Then you need to wash 500-600 g of berries, distribute them in baking tins or ice and pour the cooled syrup. Freeze in the freezer for at least 24 hours, then transfer the molds to the bag and send to the freezer.

Frozen strawberries are used not only in traditional medicine. Berry is an independent food product and is part of many confectionery dishes. Whole fruits decorate cakes, ice cream and desserts. The grated berry is an indispensable ingredient in cake creams, and is also used to make topping for pancakes, cottage cheese, milk porridges and casseroles.

• The optimum temperature for freezing strawberries is -18 to -23 degrees. Berries harvested in this way can be stored from 8 months to a year.
• In the absence of a freezer and freezing of fruits in the freezer with a temperature of 0 to -8, the shelf life will be three months.
• Particular attention should be paid to the mode of thawing strawberries. Perform this procedure slowly. The optimum temperature for defrosting is 0 degrees. Typically, this temperature is on the upper shelves of the refrigerator, so it should be placed on them for thawing.
• As a container for long-term storage of strawberries, you must use plastic bags or plastic containers with tight-fitting lids.
• Do not leave frozen fruit in the freezer in the clear. This will lead to the freezing of the product and the loss of its taste properties. In addition, cubes of syrup or ice can be fed with unpleasant odors, for example, the smell of fish or "smell the refrigerator."

How to freeze strawberries, see the next video.