Red currant is cultivated mainly for the purpose of canning for the winter. This is due to the fact that this type of currant is much more sour black.
In addition, due to the pronounced tendency to gelling, not only jam is made from red fruits, but also jam and jelly.
Red currant is very useful both in fresh and in canned form: vitamins C and P, organic acids and fruit sugar (fructose) are found in the berry. Today we offer you a classic recipe for red currant jelly, which can be prepared for the winter.
Kitchen appliances and utensils
A variety of cooking utensils and appliances help to turn a banal culinary process into an exciting creative activity.
In the process of making jelly, you will need:
- half liter glass jar;
- sealing cap;
- zakatochny key intended for hermetic sealing of glass jars for home canning;
- Colander plastic or paper towel for drying berries;
- metal tolkushka necessary for kneading the berries;
- metal sieve colander with handle to separate the skin and bones;
- enamel jelly cooking containers;
- skimmer to remove the foam from the surface of the jam;
- wooden spatula for stirring sugar syrup;
- funnel (hole diameter 6.5 cm) - special with a wide neck, facilitating the filling of the jar with the prepared broth.
Important! Pay special attention to the choice of seals; there should be no defects on them, and their structure should be uniform. The best option is considered to be a set of vacuum covers (such covers will last you much longer).
Required Ingredients
To make homemade red currant jam jelly for the winter, you need the following ingredients:
- red currant - 900 g;
- granulated sugar - 700 g
Features of product selection
Let us briefly on the features of the choice of products for jelly.
In this case, the main rule of selection of red currant fruit is the selection of large-fruited varieties, including:
Thanks to the large-fruited varieties, your preparation will turn out to be the most optimal consistency, the taste of the delicacy will be more pronounced. In addition, thanks to the relatively large size of the fruit jelly will be much easier to cook.
It is also necessary that the fruits selected for cooking for the winter, have time to ripen. And so that the product does not spoil quickly, the berries must be freshly harvested.
If you have your own harvest of berries, it is advisable to collect in dry clear weather, or wait until dew completely disappears from the bushes. As for sugar, ordinary white granulated sugar will do.
Check out the delicious recipes for making red and black currant jam.
How to cook jelly: recipe with photos
We turn to the step by step preparation of a simple recipe for red currant jelly for the winter. So that the finished jelly is beautiful in appearance and appetizing, preparation should be done according to all the laws of culinary science.
Berry preparation
Carefully sort out the fruits of red currant, remove unusable specimens. Then rinse the berries thoroughly (preferably in small pieces). Next, pour currants into a colander to drain the water, or dry with a paper towel. The next mandatory step is the removal of the stem. Only now the berries are ready for further processing.
Did you know? In Latin, the red currant bears the name "Ribes rubrum". The history of this name is interesting. The ancient Arabs had a special tradition. - they ate a large amount of rhubarb, without this herb any dish seemed tasteless to them. And the Arabs called rhubarb "ribas". In 711, when the Arabs conquered Spain, they could not find their favorite herb in this area. Then the Arabs drew attention to the red fruit with a pleasant sour taste, slightly reminiscent of rhubarb. Arabs began to call the red currant "ribas", the name stuck and became official for this plant.
Stirring with sugar
Pour currants into the pan and add a third of the sugar to it. Shake the pot lightly, thus mixing the berries with sugar.
To let the berries start the juice, press down the contents of the pot with a metal powder, then leave it at room temperature for 1-1.5-2 hours. If you want to speed up the process, then you can put the pot on the stove with very low heat.
Learn about the intricacies of harvesting for the winter lingonberries, strawberries, sea buckthorn, apples, pears, cherries, gooseberries, sunberry, melons, yoshta, blueberries, cranberries, chokeberry, cornel, viburnum, watermelons, apricots.
Separation of seeds
So, after 2 hours the mixture became liquid. Now the workpiece must be ground through a metal sieve-colander. This procedure allows you to remove the skin and bones that we do not need in jelly.
So that the cake does not disappear, transfer it to the carafe, fill it with clean filtered water (0.5 l) and leave to infuse (you will get a tasty drink).
Cooking
The guarantee of high-quality twist of red currant for the winter is the correct observance of the recipe for making sugar syrup.
The process of cooking sugar mass for jelly is quite simple. To do this, pour the drained juice into a large saucepan, put it on the stove with slow fire and gradually add the remaining sugar (in portions, stirring with a wooden spatula).
Sugar is needed not only to get sweets - it is also an excellent preservative. In a sweet environment, bacteria lose their ability to grow, which is why jam has a long shelf life.
It is necessary to look after the syrup on the fire so that it does not boil away. The fire under the container should be low, it is impossible that the syrup boils heavily. Be sure to remove the foam from the surface of the broth. However, it is not necessary to remove the foam from its very inception, since in this case it will form again and again.
It is recommended to remove the foam at the moment when the stove is turned off after a strong boil in the syrup. Sometimes stir the mass, then the foam will cease to accumulate. Remove the foam should be using a special skimmer.
So bring the broth to a boil. Let it simmer another 3-4 minutes. To preserve vitamins in the product, avoid digesting the mass. The broth brought to readiness has natural aroma and a shade of red currant.
It is necessary to learn to correctly identify the degree of readiness of the syrup: it is ready if the foam is collected in the center of the container, and the drops of decoction do not spread on the plate.
Spill and seaming
The optimal capacity for seaming jelly is a half-liter glass jar. The choice of a small jar is due to the fact that after opening it cannot be stored for a long time.
Before use, the jar must be sterilized (steamed or in water; allowed to dry in the oven at low temperature).
Important! It is forbidden to pour jelly into wet jars. You must first place them bottom up on a dry towel and wait for all the water to drain. Then do not forget to further sterilize the jars.Pour the hot jelly into sterile (steamed) jars and roll up with a sealing key. Jelly in a jar has a nice beautiful color.
Storage features
It is important not only to cook red currants correctly, but also to know how to protect them for the winter.
The question of how to keep the jelly from mildew and deterioration throughout the winter season is relevant for most of the housewives, therefore we suggest that you familiarize yourself with a few helpful tips from the experts.
It is desirable to transfer jars with jelly to a dry cool room. The best place to keep the blanks in the house is an ordinary dark pantry, the temperature in which does not reach 20 ° C.
Jam-jelly without skin and bones, cooked and rolled up using the correct technology, can be stored for several years.
Did you know? In Germany, red currants are usually used only as a filling for confectionery in combination with meringue or custard, and in the countries of Scandinavia, this berry is used as a component of puddings and fruit purees.Here is a useful recipe for jam of red currant jelly, which, moreover, is very quick and easy to prepare. Enjoy vitamins all winter and remember the hot summer!