Blackthornberry Jam: 12 Recipes

A small one and a half meter bush with cherry-like leaves is well known to many dacha owners and owners of homestead plots. Black-fruited rowan is necessarily tried to plant by the fence or on the side of the street for decoration and usefulness. It delights in the spring with umbrellas of small fragrant flowers, in the fall it gives a rich harvest. The berries are known for their medicinal properties and are used in cosmetology and cooking. They are used to make desserts and treats for the winter.

Features of the black rowan

The plant stands apart, belonging neither to the dessert berries, nor to the fruit. Biological name - black-fruited chokeberry, rowan is named for the external resemblance of the fruit. They have completely different leaves and trunk structure. Aronia refers to tall shrubs. Young plants have a compact crown, which gradually becomes branchy and spreading, reaching a diameter of 2 meters. With good care, the shoots can stretch up to 4 meters.

It blooms in the second half of May and will bloom for a little over two weeks. The crop begins to ripen in late August. The ripe fruits are harvested in September, when they turn purple-black and have a light bluish patina. To make jam or jam take brush with fully ripe berries.

Aronia is native to North America. Aronia was introduced to Europe in the 18th century and came to Russia a century later. Long used only as an ornamental plant, learned about the healing properties of the plant much later. At the same time they began to use the fruit as food, estimating the sweet taste with a mild tart note.

Berries have found a wide application. They are eaten fresh, dried for the winter, made into wine, dessert tinctures, jam and rolled as a compote.

The wild form has been cultivated and about 15 varieties have been bred. The famous scientist-breeder I. Michurin drew attention to the winter-hardiness of chokeberry, recommending the culture for the northern regions of the country. From Western Siberia the plant gradually spread to the more southern regions, adapting to the long dry summer. In nature chokeberry lives along the banks of water bodies, prefers damp places with little shade, feels well in mixed forests.

Composition and calories

Berries contain a large amount of water, up to 80 g in 100 g of product. In addition to it, in the composition:

• fruit sugars;
• sorbitol;
• carotene;
• vitamins A, C, E, PP, group B;
• iron;
• iodine;
• magnesium;
• boron;
• calcium;
• phosphorus;
• potassium;
• molybdenum;
• pectins;
• tannins;
• amygdalin.

Caloric value is low, not more than 56 kcal. Berries are considered dietary.

Useful properties of black chokeberry

Small, slightly flattened berries, collected in broad brush, store many secrets. The main, widely known property of the fruit is to stabilize blood pressure and reduce meteosensitivity. In addition, chokeberry has anti-inflammatory, diuretic and disinfectant effects. It can relieve smooth muscle and vascular spasms, improve blood composition, enhance bile flow and slow down aging processes.

For women

Black chokeberry is very useful for the body of women. Magnesium and calcium support the stability of the nervous system and bone density. These same substances in conjunction with vitamins C and B are essential for the health of pregnancy, stimulate the production of collagen, which is responsible for the elasticity and attractiveness of the skin.

A handful of berries accelerates the removal of toxins and prevents the development of breast cancer. Aronia can help relieve swelling and gently lower blood pressure in hypertensive crises. Regular use in fresh form or in the form of jam will help to avoid severe vascular spasms due to the vasodilator effect.

For men

Middle-aged and older men have a significantly increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Where women can give vent to tears, the representatives of the stronger half of mankind prefer to suffer in silence, which sometimes leads to heart attacks and heart attack. A slight tartness in the taste of the chokeberry appeals to many men, they gladly indulge in desserts on the basis of chokeberry, supplying the body with potassium and a number of vitamins necessary to strengthen the heart muscle.

The second important feature of the berry for men's health is related to its diuretic and anti-inflammatory effect. It protects the urogenital system from prostatitis, supports sexual function and strengthens potency.

For children

Children are introduced to black chokeberry from the age of 2 years, introducing it into the composition of kissels, compotes and fruit mixes. The slightly tart taste is successfully offset by a spoonful of honey. Aronia is indispensable for the prevention of diarrhea in the summer, when a child has free access to fruits and berries. At the first signs of a cold, decoction and puree of berries with honey will help strengthen the immune system and accelerate recovery.

What is useful for black chokeberry jam

Most of the useful substances in winter berry preservation. Most of them remain in dried fruits, in jam or jam they are enough to stop diarrhea or reduce blood pressure values. The delicacy helps:

• Strengthen the walls of blood vessels, preserving their elasticity;
• reduce blood viscosity;
• stimulate the production of gastric juice;
• awaken the appetite;
• increase performance;
• Relieve stress and prevent its transition into a depressive state;
• stop bleeding gums;
• speed up the metabolism;
• reduce sugar levels in diabetes;
• increase immunity;
• activate thinking processes.

It is worth considering: large portions of aronia jam should not be eaten, especially with chronic hypotension.

How to choose rowanberries for jam

Only ripe juicy berries are suitable for making a delicacy. It is best to go to the harvest by yourself. In this case, there is confidence in the quality and ecological purity of berries.

Important: fruits quickly absorb salts of heavy metals, you can not collect them along the roads and in the industrial area.

The time for harvesting rowanberries is in September. The berries are dense and well held on the brush, with which they are plucked. The chokeberry acquires a completely new taste after the first frosts, but such fruits are no longer suitable for jam.

If there is no possibility to harvest the raw material yourself, then the most profitable option would be to make an agreement with the dacha owners to buy rowanberries directly from the plot. You can go to a farmer's or spontaneous market and choose black berries there. The main thing is that the berries should be whole, without any drips of juice and wrinkled sides. The fruits store well in a cool, dark place, but you should not delay processing them longer than 2-3 days.

How to boil black rowan jam: recipes

Black-fruited rowan is very interesting in taste. It is sweet, slightly astringent and tart. For children's perception it is quite ambiguous, and most adults are happy to pluck the generous brush when walking around the dacha plot. The insidiousness of the berry in the powerful effect on the body, whence come some restrictions. So, you should not be fond of the delicacy in low blood pressure and chronic constipation. The intense coloring of berries indicates a high degree of allergenicity. But when the fruit is made into compote or jam, the restrictions are reduced several times.

The treat is even available for diabetes, if brewed with the addition of sweetener.

Rowan gives a successful flavor combination with most fruits and berries. For flavor balance, it is important to respect the proportions of the ingredients.

Classic

There are no special secrets and difficulties in the preparation. For 1 kg of berries take 1.2 kg of sugar and a glass of water. Fill the fruit with half of the norm and leave it for 5-6 hours until it gets a juice. Then add the rest of the sugar and water. The treat is boiled in 2 steps. The first time the mixture is boiled for 15 minutes over medium heat and left to cool. The second time it is finished boiling, but no longer than 20 minutes. Immediately after readiness, the sweet mass is placed in jars.

With pears

Pear flavor goes well with rowanberries. For the preparation take 300 grams of pear slices for 1 kg of berries. The rate of sugar is 1.5 kg. Syrup is made from 2 cups of water and 500 grams of granulated sugar. Pour the boiling solution over the berries and leave for soaking. Do not boil the blackberries right away, they will quickly lose their shape, and the inside of the fruit will remain dry.

Pear slices without skin and berries cooked separately, for the fruit enough 6-8 minutes. Do not stir them, to move the mass in the pot jiggle or turn the container clockwise.

The berries are boiled in syrup for 15 minutes, and then allowed to stand for 4-5 hours. After that, put pears in the mixture and cook for another 10-12 minutes. If desired, you can add a bag of vanilla sugar or 5 grams of dry cinnamon.

With lemon

Citrus fruits effectively shade the sweetness of berries and almost remove the tart flavor. For 1 kg of blackberries take 1.5 times the amount of sugar and 1 large lemon. The berries are boiled in syrup by the classical method. The zest is rubbed with shavings, juice is gently squeezed from the pulp. Mix berries with sugar, add lemon and put the mass on a very low heat for 10 minutes. In the process of heating, the juice is released. If it is not enough, then 200 ml of water is poured in.

Alternatively, the lemon pulp is cut into cubes and the zest is finely shredded. The mass is boiled in two steps. After cooling it boiled until tender and placed in small jars.

With orange

When there is a little time and a tendency to experiment, it's worth trying your hand at cooking a fairly exotic jam. The berries of blackberries will serve as the basis, the fragrant addition - a ripe orange. It can be made in four different ways.

1. The main or classic variant consists of 500 grams of fruit, 700 grams of granulated sugar and 300 grams of orange pulp. Blackberries are filled with sugar, orange and zest are cut into pieces and passed through a blender. All ingredients are mixed and boiled for 30 minutes over low heat. The foam is removed. Stir the mixture with a wooden spatula to prevent it from sticking.
2. Raw jam is a grated mass with twice the sugar and the pulp of 1 orange. This method saves time and preserves all the useful substances. Instead of sugar, you can use honey. Store only in the refrigerator, from the jar set aside with a clean, dry spoon.
3. Terrific flavor jam-five minutes is prepared at the rate of 1 kg of blackberries, 1.5 kg of sugar and the pulp of 3 large oranges. In appearance, you get a mass, more like jam. The berries are crushed with a blender, juice is squeezed from the citrus fruits. The mass is boiled for only 5 minutes, using two approaches. During the second boil quickly packed in small jars and seal.
4. A piquant shade of jam will give walnuts. You need only 100 grams of peeled kernels of 1 kg of fruit. Add to them 500 grams of peeled orange pulp, cut into small cubes. All the splendor pour 1 kg of sugar and leave for 2-3 hours until the juice. When boiling, water is sometimes required. In each case it is decided separately, it all depends on the juiciness of berries and oranges. The resulting liquid is drained, boiled and then added again to the berry and citrus mass. Keep for soaking for 6 hours. Cook on low heat for 20 minutes. Nuts are added at the beginning of cooking.

In this recipe you can add cinnamon and ginger to taste.

With apples

One of the best combinations, where the freshness and sweetness of the fruit is gently offset by the tart flavor of rowanberries. Popular with all the favorite compotes and jams in this combination. The jam turns out ornate, bright, with a rich flavor. You will need:

• blackberries - 1 kg;
• sugar - 1,5 kg;
• apples - 500 g;
• water - 400 ml;
• lemon juice - 1 tbsp;
• half a stick of cinnamon.

The berries are picked, washed and dipped in boiling water for 3 minutes. Then boil a syrup of 1/3 sugar and water. Pour the rowanberries in it and put aside the container for infusion.

At this time, remove the skin and seeds of apples, cut into thin slices and boiled in water for 8 minutes. At this time, the rowan slices are put back on the stove in syrup. Apple slices are added to the berries, the mass is boiled until cooked. Lemon juice is poured into the mixture at the end of cooking. If the apples were sour, you can do without lemon.

With cherries

An excellent option for an evening tea party. The berries are similar in color, but completely different in flavor, which enriches the treat with subtle nuances. It is rare to gather the fruits of both plants together, as the timing of fruiting differs greatly. Most often to the fresh chokeberry is added frozen cherries or billet in its own juice and cooked according to the classic recipe. But cherry-flavored jam is more popular. For it take cherry leaves at the rate of 200 g per 1 kg of blackberries and 800 g of sugar. For a little sourness you need citric acid on the tip of a knife. It is added 5 minutes before it is ready.

The technology of preparing the dessert is not complicated. The basis is a syrup on the decoction of cherry leaves. They are boiled in 500 ml of water for about 20 minutes. Then the liquid is drained, sugar is added, and the mixture is brought to a boil. Pour washed and dried berries into it and boil for 5 minutes. After cooling, boil again, but the time is doubled. The last approach after cooling takes 15 minutes.

With zucchini

The interesting properties of the pulp of this vegetable are immediately revealed in the preparation of desserts. Zucchini pieces in contact with sugar take on the flavor of pineapple and perfectly harmonize with the tartness of blackberries. The ingredients, including sugar, are taken in equal proportions, and the juice of one lemon and a cinnamon stick are added to the jam 5-7 minutes before it is ready.

Zucchini is peeled from the skin, cut into fine julienne or cubes. Pieces are mixed with rowanberries and immediately covered with sugar. After 2 hours, stir the mass and leave it for another 3 hours. It is not necessary to add water, zucchini gives a lot of juice. The future jam is put on medium heat, lemon juice is poured into it at once and cinnamon sticks are placed. The boiling time is 30 minutes. There is practically no foam.

The container after boiling is removed from the fire and left for 12 hours. During this time, the zucchini pieces will be soaked in syrup and become translucent. So that the berries do not lose their shape, the mass is not stirred, but rocked from one side of the pan to the other. The second time the mixture is also boiled for half an hour, and then poured into jars and insulated for 24 hours. The next day, the finished product is taken to a place of permanent storage. The safety margin of jam is great. Jars perfectly stand even in the kitchen cupboard, just not near the stove.

With cinnamon

Spices with a sweetish flavor perfectly complement the taste of blackberries. To prepare the dessert, it is worth looking for quality cinnamon, preferably in the form of sticks. Ground spice is stored for a short time and loses the intensity of flavor. The cooking method and proportions are classic. Cinnamon sticks are added 10 minutes before cooking.

With plum

Very tasty thick jam is used as a filling for pies and as a separate dish. To achieve the right consistency, you can go two ways: boil it down or add pectin.

Either way, the taste will be amazing. Ingredients:

• rowan - 700 g;
• plum - 300 gr;
• sugar - 1,2 kg
• water for syrup - 400 ml.

Prepared berries are boiled in boiling water for 5 minutes. In the broth add sugar, bring to a boil. Put quarters of plums in it, after 3 minutes add the blackberries. The mixture is again brought to a boil and removed from the heat for 8-10 hours. At the second approach, the mass is boiled again, but already to the desired thickness. If pectin is added, not earlier than 2-3 minutes before cooking. In order not to get an insoluble lump, the thickener is mixed with 2-3 spoons of sugar and poured evenly into the boiling mass, stirring constantly. At 1.5 kg of jam need 7-10 g of pectin.

Five-Minute .

This dessert has the highest content of vitamins and trace elements. It is inferior only to freshly grinded mass. It is made from chopped fruit with sugar. Boil in one batch for only 5 minutes after boiling. Immediately placed in jars, stored in a cool place.

It should be taken into account: In the open form the jam is eaten within a day.

Vitamins .

The composition is enriched with raisins, ginger, nuts and citrus fruits. Boil no longer than 15 minutes. Proportions:

• berries - 1 kg;
• lemon and orange with a thin skin - 1 pc;
• sugar - 1 kg;
• raisins - 150 g;
• nuts - 200 gr;
• ginger - 5 g of fresh root chips.

Blanch the berries for 3-4 minutes, drain the excess liquid. All ingredients are put at once, add 100 ml of broth after blanching and keep on low heat until it boils. Next, increase the temperature to medium, boil for the allotted time and immediately packed in a glass container. Warmed for 24 hours and only then put on the shelves for storage. Full flavor and aroma of the delicacy unfolds on the 2-3rd day.

In a multicooker

Black chokeberry dessert is very convenient to cook in a multicooker, as there is no need to stir anything and the berries remain whole. For 1 kg of sugar, take an equal amount of fruit and 1 tbsp. lemon juice. The fruits are dipped in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, and then transferred to the hot syrup poured into the bowl of the multicooker. Set the stew mode for 20 minutes. The treat is cooked with the lid closed with an open valve for steam.

Interesting facts about Blackthorn berries

1. The plant appeared in Europe in the 18th century, in Russia - a century later.
2. There are 15 garden varieties.
3. Despite its name, the blackthorn and the common rowan are not close relatives.
4. Regular consumption of berries during a season reduces the risk of cancer and lowers blood pressure.
5. From the fruit are made jam, jam, marshmallow, liqueurs and wine.

Photo of black chokeberry jam