dogwood jam: 9 recipes

In early March in the Crimea, the Caucasus, Moldova and Central Asia, the sunny inflorescences of a wonderful tree blossom. The dogwood is in bloom. It is one of the first to open its flowers, welcoming the rebirth of life. In early autumn, bright scarlet, purple or almost black fruits with smooth skin hiding sweet flesh with a characteristic sourness ripen. Many treats are made of it, but the most popular and unusually delicious was and remains jam.

The dogwood secret

There are a total of four known species of dogwood. They differ in the shape of the fruit and the place of growth. The plant in the wild is found in the Crimea, Moldova, Transcarpathia. Vast areas overgrown with this tree or multi-stem shrub, spread in the Caucasus, some varieties grow in the Primorye. The berry is purposefully cultivated in Japan, Central Asia, China, and Eastern European countries.

The dogwood grows in a tree form, reaching 4-6 m in height, or as a shrub with numerous trunks from a single root. The root system is taprooted, superficial, so it does not tolerate strong frosts and grows only in regions with mild winters. The bark of horizontal branches is almost black, and leaves are small and elongated in a boat shape.

The dogwood is considered a medicinal berry, and the history of its cultivation goes back to prehistoric times. At one of the ancient sites dogwood pips were found, more than 5 thousand years old. Cooks have created many recipes based on the juice and pulp of dogwood.

There are especially many cornel bushes in the Crimea. There is a legend that explains the unrealistically long period of maturation of the fruit. No other plant has such a long period, 5-6 months, to form the ovary and reach ripeness. For this peculiarity, dogwood is often called "shaitan's berry".

According to legend, the Creator lay down to rest after completing his work, but people, seeing the abundance, began to divide the berries and fruits. Everyone tried to get a special benefit. The Almighty, aroused by the noise and the spores, commanded him to choose one plant at a time and to eat only its fruit all his life. The cunning Shaitan, attracted by the loud shouts, crept closer and asked for a dogwood. He was enchanted by the early blossoms and decided that he, too, would get his harvest before anyone else. But it didn't work out. The other trees and bushes had long since been harvested, but the dogwood was still green and hard. In frustration, the demon scorched it with his fiery breath. The result was not good; the peel of the cornel was reddened, but he was still unable to eat it. Offended, Shaitan gave the dogwood to the humans. They patiently waited for the first frosts and gathered a generous crop of sweet healing berries.

In retaliation, Shaitan arranged for a long winter of bitter cold to follow. And until now, people believe in the omen that the abundant fruit-bearing of dogwoods is a sign of a harsh winter.

It follows from the legend that only fully ripe berries have a unique set of useful properties, are full of vitamins and can bring great benefit to the human body.

Composition and calories

Types of dogwoods differ in shape and color of the fruit, but their taste is very similar, as well as the basic ratio of vitamins and minerals. Each berry contains:

• vitamins A, C, E, P;
• pectins;
• organic acids;
• tannins;
• phytoncides;
• nitrogenous substances;
• flavonoids;
• natural sugars;
• essential oils;
• succinic, malic, citric acid;
• magnesium;
• iron;
• potassium;
• calcium.

The caloric value does not exceed 41 kcal, but it is not recommended to eat berries uncontrollably. They are called "shaitan" for a reason; they can cause allergies, constipation or diarrhea, so it is necessary to know the measure.

Useful properties of dogwood jam

It is not necessary to boil berries for a long time, in their ripe form they quickly gellate the syrup. Under such conditions, dogwood retains most of the useful substances and properties inherent in the fresh fruit. The jam is justifiably called therapeutic.

1. It strengthens the immune system, makes up for the lack of vitamins and minerals, maintaining strength and giving energy in the winter cold.
2. General tonic properties are very useful during epidemics of influenza and a massive attack of colds. The high content of vitamin C will help to withstand the ordeal with honor, while applying an unusually tasty way of protection.
3. Fresh berries strengthen the structure of blood vessels, while maintaining the elasticity of the walls. After boiling, this ability is retained.
4. Regular use of jam in reasonable amounts helps to reduce the risk of sudden spikes in blood pressure, gradually bringing the indicators to normal.
5. With impaired memory function, reduced attention, the appearance of absent-mindedness and forgetfulness, dogwood is recommended in a shocking dose. It prevents the formation of cholesterol plaques, stops atherosclerotic changes, and normalizes blood flow in small vessels.
6. The enveloping effect of fresh berries and jam comes in handy for gastrointestinal diseases, soothing irritated mucosa and reducing inflammation.
7. Pectin and tannides bind and remove toxins, decay products. This helps reduce the time of rehabilitation after poisoning, eating disorders, diarrhea.
8. Scarlet berries are considered an excellent antidepressant and retain their properties even in the form of jam. And it enhances the mood not only the taste, but also the very smell of the delicacy.
9. Cornelberries are sometimes called the male berry because of the ability to increase desire and potency.
10. The combination of a large amount of iron and vitamin C, which contributes to its absorption, helps to improve health in anemia and blood disorders.
11. Cornflower jam belongs to the few desserts recommended for people with endocrine disorders and diabetes.

Contraindications

Despite all the benefits and uniqueness of the composition, the delicacy will have to limit those who adhere to certain diets aimed at weight control, diabetics, young children, pregnant and lactating women. You will have to postpone a vase with jam for the period of taking antibiotics, aspirin, calcium medications.

It is forbidden to eat the dessert with hyperacidity, exacerbation of ulcers and gastritis, chronic constipation. It is not necessary to eat the delicacy at night. Cornelis gives a burst of energy, which can give rise to persistent insomnia. But in combination with heated wine, the jam can prevent colds in case of severe hypothermia.

How to choose dogwoods for jam

In order not to get into trouble, keeping in mind the peculiarities of fruit ripening, you must be sure to follow the rules of product selection.

Important: The red color is not a guarantee of the ripeness of berries.

The criteria are:

• size, and the larger the better;
• The color, light red berries are not ripe;
• The dry undamaged surface of the fruit;
• correspondence to the season, coming in mid-autumn.

Experts warn that the sweetest berries themselves should fall from the branches and lie for at least a day. Another secret to quality shopping is that you should buy fruits only by weight. When buying by the bucket, good specimens will be on top, and near the bottom - spoiled or underripe.

How to boil dogwood jam: recipes

For any method of cooking jam, there are general rules. Only fully ripe berries are used, preferably collected after the first night frost. Then they will not be so tart, and less sugar is needed. The dogwood is carefully selected.

As a side note: If there is the slightest doubt about the quality of the berry, put it aside. A few bad fruits will spoil the whole batch of delicacies.

After washing and removing the ends, each one must be pierced on two sides for better separation of the juice.

One of the subtleties of cooking is to cook the dessert a little at a time, but in several instalments. One of the peculiarities of berries is that with prolonged cooking they become tough. To preserve its shape, dogwood is first placed for 30 minutes in water with 1 teaspoon of baking soda. Then it is rinsed and proceeded to cooking.

Classic

In this version, only dogwood, granulated sugar and a little water. For 1 kg of berries you will need 1.2 kg of sugar. To it add 0.5 liters of purified water and boil the syrup. As soon as the sugar has dissolved completely, the liquid is poured over the prepared berries. They have to cool down and soak in the syrup. This will take about 4 hours. The dogwood will give juice and you can continue the process.

The next step lasts about 12 minutes. The mixture is kept on low heat, stirring regularly. To prevent the berries from falling apart, it is more convenient to use a wooden spatula or do without tools at all, occasionally rocking the container with the dessert from one side to another. Then it is quickly poured into jars, corked and left to stand under the insulation for twenty-four hours. After soaking the dessert is removed to a storage place.

Five-Minute .

This is the most popular way of cooking, where the berries remain intact and the benefits are preserved to the maximum. To store such a dessert, you will need a cool place, or better yet, put the jars on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.

The proportions and composition are classic: 1 kg of berries, 500 ml of water, 1.5 kg of sugar. The peculiarity of cooking is that the water is heated to boiling and at first just pour the berries for 5 minutes. Then pour the liquid into a separate container with a thick bottom, add sugar and boil the syrup. As soon as the sugar has dissolved, pour the dogwood into the pot and after boiling, immediately remove from the stove for 2-3 hours. It will take two more approaches. For the third time, the jam is kept boiling for 5 minutes and immediately poured into jars.

With the bone

Separate from the berry the bone is difficult, in this case the structure of the fruit is completely broken. Many housewives leave it inside, the more so that in the kernel lies a lot of useful substances, including fatty acids. To get more juice while standing under a layer of sugar, the berries are pricked. The jam is then cooked according to the classic recipe.

No pips

In this variant, you will only get a pasty mixture. It will taste great, but the aesthetics will be quite different. To remove the seed, you need to blanch the berries for 3-4 minutes in boiling water and rub them through a sieve. Boil such a mass by the classical or five-minute recipe, but in 1 approach. Proportion of berries and sugar the same - 1:1,5.

Caucasian

A little trick helps to keep the berries whole, elastic, soaked with juice. For this, for 2 kg of dogwood take 2 liters of water and dissolve 10 g of baking soda in it. After 2 hours, the fruit is rinsed in running water, lightly dried with a towel and placed in a saucepan. Pour 500 ml of clean water, they are steamed under a lid for 10 minutes. Then 2.5 kg of sugar is poured into the boiling mass, bring to a boil and set aside until morning. After 12 hours, a lot of slow cooked on low heat until desired thickness and immediately packed in jars for storage for the winter.

With Fructose

Dogwood lowers blood sugar levels, but it becomes useless for diabetics when using fructose. The situation can be corrected by making a dessert with fructose. You will need only 10 grams of fructose per 300 grams of fresh berries. They are poured 130 ml of water, immediately add sweetener. Cook no more than 5 minutes over a very low heat. The mixture cools and put back on the fire. As soon as the boiling process begins, the pot is removed from the stove and the dessert is poured into storage containers.

Honey surprise

Before the advent of sugar, many treats were brewed on honey or grape juice. This tradition can be continued, the characteristic sour taste of dogwood combines wonderfully with the honey flavor. For the preparation you need berries and honey in equal proportions. Water will replace the berry juice.

Half of the fruit is put aside, the other half is kneaded, pits are removed and once again crushed to a mashed state. Whole fruits are poured into the mixture, slowly heated and brought to a boil. Then carefully and slowly pour honey into the mass, stirring constantly until the jam is homogeneous, and immediately remove it from the fire.

Important: If the honey has sugared and does not flow, then it is dissolved in a water bath and only then added.

To achieve readiness you will need two more approaches of 5 minutes with complete cooling of the mixture between boiling. Before the end of cooking a shot of brandy is poured into the mass, stirred and immediately placed in jars.

With apple

It turns out a very interesting combination, in which some of the dryness of berries is complemented by the juiciness of fruit. Jellying properties of dogwood allow you to get a thick consistency without a long time of boiling. The proportions are 1 kg of each ingredient, including water, and only the sugar rate is increased to 1.2 kg.

For this recipe, it is better to remove the pips immediately, so it will be more convenient to eat the treat. The apples are peeled, the areas with seeds are cut out and diced. In a saucepan put the fruit and berries, pour the boiling syrup, keep on the fire for 7 minutes and leave until it cools down. So have to make four approaches, and then you can unpack in jars.

Winter Tale

To maximize the shelf life of the dessert, it is prepared without water. In the recipe, only sugar and berries in equal proportions. The result will be a thick, delicate and very fragrant treat. For cooking, the ripest berries are selected. Knead a quarter of them, remove seeds from the mass. The rest covered with sugar for 2-3 hours. Each berry is pierced with a wooden toothpick. Metal accessories and utensils should not be used.

Then put the berry puree in a saucepan, stir the mass and put it on a low heat. After boiling, it takes 5 minutes, while boiling be sure to remove the foam. The sweet mass should infuse under a towel for 5-6 hours, you do not need to cover it with a lid, condensation will get in. The next boil continues until the syrup is thick. You can check it by a drop on a plate. If it retains its shape, then it's time to transfer the delicacy into jars and seal it for the winter.

Interesting facts about dogwood

1. The berries are used in cooking for the preparation of desserts, sauces and gravy.
2. In folk medicine recipes, the fruit and leaves are equally valuable.
3. The oldest pips of the plant found at one of the ancient sites are over 5,000 years old.
4. The plant is able to protect against scurvy thanks to its high vitamin C content.
5. If roasted or processed properly, the kernels have the same flavor as coffee beans.
6. The fruits ripen for five months.
7. Among the valuable species of wood, which decorated the palaces of St. Petersburg, was dogwood.
8. The second name of the plant is "shaitan's berry.

Unusual and very tasty dogwood jam with a slight sourness and bright flavor will keep off colds and will be a great addition to any holiday or a quiet family evening.

Photo of dogwood jam