Recipes for making delicious strawberry compote for the winter

Strawberries are one of the most delicious and healthy berries that can be harvested in forest glades or grown on their land. It has a pronounced aroma and light sweet-sour taste. Unfortunately, the shelf life of fresh berries is too short, after a few days it turns into mush and loses an attractive appearance.

To preserve all the benefits of fresh fruit, make various preparations for the winter. It can be different jams or jams, berry puree with and without sugar, marshmallow or homemade marshmallows. A special place among the blanks takes strawberry compote. It can be cooked exclusively from fragrant forest delicacies, or with the addition of other berries or fruits.

A small herb that grows on well-lit glades and slopes, has a height of not more than 1 cm and belongs to the family Rosaceae. In the natural environment has a bright green color of the stems and leaves, fruits small, not more than 0.5 cm in diameter, red berries. The cultivated varieties are characterized by larger berry sizes and darker green color. The nutritional value of strawberries is 41 kcal per 100 g of the product and contains 0.7 g of proteins, 0.5 g of fat and about 8 g of carbohydrates.

The chemical composition of the "inhabitant of the forest" is striking in its wealth:

• many useful macro-and microelements (sodium, magnesium, chlorine, zinc, fluorine, iron, iodine, and others);
• acids (pantothenic and folic);
• vitamins of various groups (P, B, C, E, A, H);
• pectins and bioflavonoids.

Because of this amount of vitamins and minerals, both the berries and the leaves of the strawberry have many healing properties. They are used in food, on the basis of which they prepare various decoctions and ointments. Ripe pulp is often used in both domestic and industrial cosmetology, and strawberry flavor is included in some perfumes. With the help of this berry treat:

• diseases of the musculoskeletal system (gout, rheumatism, arthritis);
• diseases of the cardiovascular system (hypertension, anemia);
• viral and catarrhal diseases;
• neurological ailments.

It is possible to use this plant for food or be treated by almost everyone, starting from 3 years. Exclude strawberries from the diet is allergic and diabetics, as the berry contains large amounts of sugar and acts as one and the strongest allergens. Pregnant and lactating women should limit its consumption and consult with your doctor. There are no other contraindications to the use of berries.

Compote of healing strawberry berries brewed on the same principles as any other. The walkthrough is as follows.

• Fruits get over, all the rotted, crushed and spoiled berries are thrown away, as they can spoil the drink. Strawberries are cleared of leaves and sepals, in some cases, and the stalk is harvested, but sometimes it is left. The billet is rinsed with cold running water and allowed to drain.
• Banks and covers are washed and sterilized in boiling water. In them the steeped down peeled berry is poured.
• Water is poured into a saucepan and sugar is poured, and liquid syrup is cooked.
• Ready syrup filled banks with strawberries, twisted and turned upside down. On top of the banks covered with a blanket or blanket, and left for several hours until completely cooled. To compote has not lost its color and freshness, it must be stored in a dark cool cellar or pantry.

It is not always possible to pre-sterilize the cans. Someone does not have enough space, someone does not have time. However, there is an opportunity to make compote without preliminary processing of the container, which will allow the drink to remain fresh and safe. To do this, in a clean jar to fill the berry and pour boiling water. After 15 minutes, the water is filtered into a saucepan, sugar is added to it and the liquid syrup is cooked. Ready syrup is poured the same jars of strawberries, spin them and clean under the towel to cool.Such heat treatment is quite enough to keep the compote for a couple of years.

For those who have restrictions in the use of sugar, there are recipes compote of strawberries without the addition of sugar. You can replace it with honey, add cinnamon or mint, or just pour boiling water over the berries. The taste of this drink will be softer, but the compote itself will become healthier. In addition, quite often make compotes from a mixture of various berries and fruits. In order to better shade the bright taste and aroma of strawberries, you need to add more acidic or more tart fruits.

For the preparation of such a delicacy you will need 1 kg of strawberries, 0.5 kg of ripe blueberries, 0.5 kg of granulated sugar and 3 liters of water. The process itself is no different from the walkthrough. The color of the finished compote is obtained in a rich purple hue, and the taste will shake even the most real gourmets.

For cooking such a compote you will need 1 kg of strawberries, 0.3 kg of raspberries, 0.5 kg of granulated sugar and 3 liters of water. Banks must also be sterilized beforehand, the syrup is boiled from water and sugar. Raspberry perfectly complements the sweetness of strawberries, and its flavor can compete with the aroma of wild berries by its strength. This drink is often prepared in the villages, so for many it will become a reminder of childhood and rest at a visit to the grandmother.

Currant - is one of the most common berries, found in almost every cottage and in each garden. Sour currants will be an excellent "neighbor" of sweet wild strawberries. The color of this compote is richer than a drink from one berry, but the aroma will be much softer. For the preparation you will need 1 kg of strawberries, 0.5 kg of currants (preferably, if it is a mix of several varieties), 0.5 kg of granulated sugar and 3 liters of water.

Perfectly shade the sweetness of the forest berries can any juicy fruit, having in its taste a little sour. These can be apples, oranges and tangerines, a juicy pear or plum. The preparation will require 0.7 kg of strawberries, 0.3 kg of any acidic fruits, 0.5 kg of sugar and 3 liters of water. In order for soft fruits not to turn transparent compote into puree, it is necessary to cut them into large slices. The color and taste of the finished drink depends on the combination of fruits chosen.

Before you achieve the perfect taste and aroma of a sweet drink, you will have to spend more than one hour in the kitchen and spin more than a dozen cans. Any skill comes with experience and each hostess has its own secrets and tricks. However, there are certain rules, adhering to which you can bring the finished result to the desired.

• Some varieties of strawberries can produce a slight bitterness when processed by high temperatures. To avoid this, it is enough to slightly freeze fresh berries. No need to bring them to the state of ice, but to crush your fingers with this berry should be difficult.
• To save more benefits of strawberries, you can first grind fresh berries with sugar and put them in storage in the freezer. When winter comes and you want fresh fruit compote, strawberry puree is defrosted and a sweet drink is brewed from it. To make it more transparent, the broth can be filtered through a sieve or cheesecloth.

• So that the berries in the compote are more dense and elastic, you can boil them in sugar syrup and only after that spread them out in cans. And if all the collected berries are too soft for compote, then you can not use them entirely, but simply squeeze the juice. Such juice is replaced with part of the water when cooking syrup, there will be no fruits in the finished drink, and their taste will remain. To strawberry compote had a brighter color, you can add a small pinch of citric acid.
• Regardless of whether pre-sterilization of the container is necessary, the preparation of the compote itself is quite simple. With such recipes cope as an experienced chef, and a novice in the kitchen. You can adjust the recipes to your taste, change the quantity and type of ingredients, mix different varieties of strawberries, add different spices.

How to make a delicious compote of strawberries and strawberries, see the next video.