Pine cones jam: 7 Recipes

Pine cone jam is still often perceived as exotic. Many people remember it only from cartoons about Masha and the Bear, where the restless girl made jam from the most unusual ingredients, including the "cone" delicacy. Meanwhile, it is a delicious and very healthy dessert.

Composition and calories

The energy value of jam from pine cones is relatively low - it is only 180 kcal per 100 g, which is much lower than that of other delicacies, such as those made from berries. At the same time, pine cones, which serve as a protective shell for the seeds of this plant, contain many useful substances that are preserved in the jam. This part of the plant contains essential oils and aromatic substances, tannins that give them a viscous taste, phytoncides, fatty oils, terpene compounds, etc.

The most healthful components are phytoncides. Their very name, consisting of the Greek and Latin words "plant" and "kill", speaks of their mechanism of action. They protect the plant by killing pathogenic microflora, not only bacteria, but also fungi. In particular, pine phytoncides have been proven to kill E. coli and Koch's bacillus, which provokes tuberculosis, not to mention the weaker pathogenic microbes. This is the reason for the beneficial role of pine cones in general and jam in particular, because during the heat treatment phytoncides are still preserved.

Pine cone jam also contains the following vitamins and minerals:

1. B vitamins. These are several different substances, the effect of which on the body can be called multifaceted. On the one hand, they normalize metabolic processes, on the other hand, they have a positive effect on the cardiovascular system, and on the third hand, they are necessary for the normal functioning of the CNS. B vitamins contained in this jam strengthen blood vessels and get rid of increased anxiety, so typical for the resident of the modern metropolis.
2. Carotene. It is good for metabolism and for blood vessels, but especially important is that it provides good vision.
3. Vitamin K is involved in many vital biochemical processes, including the need to strengthen bones and normal blood clotting.
4. Vitamin C. It is a strong antioxidant, a substance with anti-inflammatory properties. Part of it is destroyed when jamming. But the amount that remains is enough for the body to resist infections, especially since ascorbic acid also has immune-stimulating properties.
5. Vitamin E is also quite a strong antioxidant. It is often called the beauty vitamin. Indeed, its properties allow to keep the skin in good condition, preventing its premature aging. It is also essential for proper metabolism.

The vitamins contained in pine cone jam alone is enough to maintain physical activity, increase endurance, improve cognitive abilities and fight various diseases. But jam also contains useful minerals.

Here we should mention, for example, aluminum and chromium, which are quite rare in plant products. The first has a beneficial effect on the gastrointestinal organs, and is also good for the skin. Chromium is important for normalizing blood sugar levels. The jam also contains iron, the lack of which can lead to anemia and thyroid disorders. Finally, there is also copper, which significantly improves the condition of the skin and hair. So pine jam from young cones has not only general restorative properties. It can be called a beauty treat.

What is useful for pine cones jam

This dessert has a peculiar, but quite pleasant taste. In folk tradition, pine cones have always been used as a medicinal remedy. Modern official medicine, after many years of research, has confirmed some of the properties that the rumor attributed to both cones and jam from them. Currently, it is believed that it has:

1. Antibacterial and antifungal properties. It is thanks to the phytoncides mentioned above, the jam helps to fight infection caused by various pathogens.
2. Antiviral properties. The substances contained in pine cone jam help the body to provide decent resistance to the virus. In this case, even its most unpleasant manifestations like fever, chills, headache, runny nose and cough, this delicacy can at least mitigate, or even completely remove.
3. Tonic and restorative effect. Any disease is easier to prevent than to cure. And this jam contains substances that strengthen the body, normalize all the most important biochemical processes, relieve chronic fatigue and sleepiness, improve psychoemotional state, eliminating anxiety and irritability.
4. Expectorant properties. This is very important for any disease accompanied by a wet cough. Mucus accumulating in the bronchi can aggravate the situation, lead to the development of negative consequences and complications. The use of pine jam allows you to get rid of phlegm and avoid stagnant processes in the bronchi and lungs.
5. Vascular strengthening properties. Consumption of this delicacy is also very useful for normalizing the work of the heart muscle. Thanks to strengthening the walls and increasing the elasticity of blood vessels, the risk of stroke is also reduced.
6. Analgesic properties. Studies have shown that jam has an analgesic effect, albeit not as pronounced as that of preparations. Use jam is recommended for joint pain. In addition, it is used for external compresses, so as quickly as possible to deliver the active ingredients to the affected areas.
7. Improving digestion properties. This jam establishes the work of the pancreas and stimulates intestinal peristalsis, and in a fairly gentle way, with virtually no contraindications.
8. Anti-tumor effect. Recent studies have proven that the high content of antioxidants helps to prevent the formation of malignant tumors.

Pine cone jam is also used as a restorative after the flu or a long infectious disease, as it has a beneficial effect on all body systems.

Fragrant and tasty pine cone jam, of course, can not replace a full course of antibiotics for pneumonia or tuberculosis. But it is an important auxiliary agent that enhances the effect of drugs. Moreover, it can be used to treat almost any diseases of the respiratory system, regardless of whether they were caused by fungi, microbes or viruses. Bronchitis, pleurisy, bronchial asthma - in all these cases, 2 tablespoons of jam a day can work wonders.

Jam has a mild diuretic effect. Unlike ready-made pharmaceuticals, it does not wash out of the body of useful substances, but on the contrary, makes up for their lack. In any case, this jam will help to relieve swelling and even avoid venous stasis. In addition, it normalizes the level of hemoglobin in the blood, which has a beneficial effect on the circulatory system as a whole.

Finally, even in the XVIII century, studies have shown that jam from cones is an anti-cinging agent. It helps to cope with inflammation and pain in the gums, which is a prevention of avitaminosis (although at that time there was not even such a term, this phenomenon has already been experienced by sailors and explorers in Siberia).

Like the pine cones themselves, jam based on them increases the production of gastric juice. This helps with gastritis with reduced acidity, but forces with caution to consume the dessert in the presence of pancreatitis or peptic ulcer disease - even in remission.

Contraindications

It should be understood that, as for any other sweets, there are a number of contraindications and restrictions. For example, pine cone jam is given to children with caution, because it can cause allergies.

This treat is contraindicated:

• In the presence of chronic kidney disease;
• acute form of hepatitis;
• Hypersensitivity to its ingredients;
• Diabetes mellitus;
• Pregnancy and lactation.

Elderly people, who often have age-related disorders of the kidneys and liver, should also use this jam with caution.

If a person tries the delicacy for the first time, he should listen to how he feels. If there is discomfort in the stomach, there is a red rash, nasal congestion due to severe swelling, then it is better to immediately refuse jam and take an antihistamine, because all of the above symptoms indicate the presence of an allergic reaction.

How to choose cones for jam

There are two types of pine cones: male and female. The first are a kind of soft spikelets that appear on young shoots. Most pine varieties are yellowish or reddish in color. But for jam, you need young female cones. The buds are usually small and have soft scales, and in almost all varieties of pine they are either bright green (and then turn dark) or brownish in color immediately. These buds do not need to attract the attention of insects for pollination. They need such coloring in order to better absorb heat, in the action of which they form the above-mentioned useful substances.

It is very important that the cones meet certain quality requirements for such fruits. You need female cones, dense enough, covered with ribbed small scales, resinous. They should be small, green (most often a light brown color indicates that they have already begun to harden, and jam from them will not turn out), without any defects. Such fruits should not be open in any case. If they begin to open - that's it, it is already too late to brew them or make a tincture. The average size of the right cones is 2.5-4 cm. The hardness of the cones should be checked. It is enough to prick the surface with a knife to understand how well it lends itself.

Gather them away from highways, in an ecologically clean area, otherwise the jam will not bring the desired benefits. And the pines themselves, from which these cones are collected, must be healthy - on such trees there should be no signs of rot, damage, the presence of any pests, rusty needles, etc.

Theoretically, cones can be stored indoors for quite a long time, up to a year and a half if they are well ventilated. But in order for the jam to be healthy and tasty, cook freshly picked fruit, at most - lay a couple of days.

When to harvest

For the collection of cones, the hostess has literally two weeks of time. It is necessary to collect young cones, and in different climatic conditions they appear at different times. In the middle belt of Russia, the optimal time is the end of June, in more northern areas - the beginning of July. In the Crimea and Krasnodar Territory, you can collect the fruits already at the end of May.

How to make pine cones jam: Recipes

Before you cook jam, you need to prepare all the necessary components and choose the appropriate way of preparation, as there are several popular options.

Classic jam from pine cones

To begin with, you need to take a suitable container for brewing. This can be a basin or a pot. But enameled crockery is not suitable for such jam, you should take aluminum, copper or stainless steel. It is desirable that the walls were thick enough, then the sugar and jam will not stick.

It is also very important to properly prepare the pine cones. They must be necessarily sorted, because during the collection it is not always possible to consider the presence of defects. Then you need to be sure to wash them in running water. But even this is not enough, many housewives advise to soak the cones in cold water for several hours, so that it was easier to remove the floating debris, sand and needles.

The finished pine jam should have a beautiful pinkish-brown color, it does not even need to add food colorings. The taste of a properly cooked dessert should be honey and resinous.

In the preparation of jam in the classic way there are generally accepted proportions - for 0.3 kg of pine cones take 1 liter of purified water and 1 kg of sugar. In this case, you can prepare jam in several ways.

The first option is the easiest. For this purpose, the washed cones are poured with water so that it is literally 1-2 cm above their level. After that, sugar is poured in the container, brought to a boil and kept on low heat for an hour and a half. During this time, the cones become soft. Some housewives boil it in three stages, removing it after half an hour after boiling, leaving it in a dark place for an hour, bringing it to a boil again, and so on. In some recipes, the jam is boiled on low heat for an hour, covering the pot or basin with a lid, and then insist in a dark place for 12 hours before pouring into jars.

The second option - the cones are placed in the syrup is ready. Boil the jam like this. Cones are washed, then soaked. Meanwhile, sugar is thrown into water and the syrup is boiled, stirring constantly, then cones are thrown into it, brought to a boil on high heat and left on low for another hour.

The third option is to boil the cones prepared in the way described above over high heat until they become soft. This takes about 20 minutes. After that, they are removed with a slotted spoon and temporarily put aside. And while they cool down, prepare a sugar syrup. Cones are then thrown into it and boiled over low heat for 25 minutes.

Jam without cones

There is a variant of jam, in which the cones are not left. The proportions are the same as mentioned above. Cones are boiled over low heat for four hours. This is followed by putting a pot with the resulting mass in a cool and dark place for 10-12 hours. As a result, you get a fairly strong kissel of a pinkish hue. You need to discard the cones from it, add sugar and boil until it dissolves. Such jam in the future can be used to make various desserts. And if you add agar-agar to it, you get marmalade or jelly.

The cold cooking method

Pine jam can also be made using the so-called cold method. To do this, you need to take the smallest and softest pine cones, wash them and sort them in the way described above. Such small cones are usually easy to cut, so you need to crush them, dip each piece in sugar and put in layers in the prepared glass jar. At the same time, each subsequent layer is additionally sprinkled with sugar. Jars are closed with gauze or linen cloth and put in the sun. Periodically they will need to shake so that the sugar is completely dissolved. In the initial stages, the sun speeds up the biochemical processes, which is exactly what is needed to prepare the dessert. But when it is ready, the jars are closed with lids and put in a dark place.

Jam from pine cones with honey

For it you will need 130-140 young cones, 1.5 cups of sugar, 0.5 cup of liquid flower honey, 100 ml of purified drinking water. Prepare it this way: pre-washed cones pour sugar, then add honey and water and leave for 60-70 minutes. After that, the prepared mass is boiled on high heat, turn it down to minimum and boil until it becomes thick. It will take about 15 minutes. Periodically it is necessary to remove the foam that appears. Then the jam cooled and poured into jars, which close airtight lids.

Jam with cones and cranberries

Since these berries are a natural antibiotic, the dainty prepared from them will be doubly useful - both for treating and preventing flu and SARS.

For 2 kg of young cones you will need 4 kg of sugar, 1 cup of cranberries and 2.5 liters of purified water. First you should prepare a syrup. Pour water into a saucepan with sugar, stir it, bring the syrup to a boil. Meanwhile, you can do cones. They are washed under running water, and when the syrup boils, put into the pot. Lingonberries are sorted, washed, and then pounded with a pestle. However, modern hostesses in such cases prefer a blender. Lingonberry mass is added to a pot of jam from cones, stirred, brought to a boil and left under a closed lid, without stoking a strong fire, for another hour. Jam cools, transfer to sterile glass jars and cover tightly.

Pine jam with pine nuts and cinnamon

This combination gives the finished dessert an exquisite aroma, makes the taste more subtle and mild, while all the ingredients are very useful. But making this jam will be quite a time-consuming process.

For 1 kg of washed young cones take the same amount of pine nuts, 1 kg of sugar and 1 liter of purified water. Cinnamon is added to taste, the main thing is not to overdo it. To begin with, all the ingredients should be prepared. The hardest part is with the pine nuts. They should be peeled of their shells, and then burned in a pan without oil for 10-15 minutes. Nuts should be stirred regularly, so that they do not stick. Meanwhile, the cones are washed, poured in water (it is best to let them stand for an hour to collect the resin) and brought to a boil. After that, pine nuts, cinnamon and sugar can be added to them, stirring all components vigorously. The jam should stand on low heat for another 2 hours. Periodically it is stirred and the foam is removed. Then it cools down and is transferred into sterile jars.

Pine jam with orange peel

For 0.8 kg of young cones take 1 kg of sugar, the peel of a large orange, 1 liter of water. As in the previous recipes, pine cones are washed and soaked in water for at least an hour. Then they are washed again, pour water, add orange peel, cut into thin strips, sugar and leave on a small fire. The foam from the jam is periodically removed with a slotted spoon. In total, it should cook for 1.5 hours. During this time, you can sterilize jars. Cooled jam poured into prepared containers and sealed tightly with lids. You can add lemon zest to the jam.

Pine jam with lemon juice

Per 1 kg of young cones of pine take the same amount of granulated sugar, 0.5 liters of purified water and 60-80 ml of lemon juice. Cones should be prepared as usual - by washing them in running water and soaking for at least an hour. Then they are washed again, covered with sugar, pour water and leave on low heat for 2 hours. About 10 minutes before you turn off the fire, add lemon juice to the sweet mass. Some hostesses replace it with citric acid - half a teaspoon will be enough. By the way, lemon does not allow the jam to sugary.

What spices are suitable for pineapple jam

Today, many housewives add spices to the usual fruit or berry jam. But spices are suitable for the cone treat, revealing its flavor and aroma even more fully. For this purpose, you can use cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric (you can also use saffron, but it is very expensive), and nutmeg. Spices are added to taste, but it is very important not to go overboard with them. For 1 kg of pine cones you can add cinnamon on the tip of a knife, and for several kilos - a pinch or half a teaspoon. Spices will make the jam even more useful, but it is necessary that they do not boil for a long time, otherwise their active substances will be destroyed. So it is better to put them about 15 minutes before the jam is ready.

Rules for storing jam

The optimum temperature for storing jam from pine cones - from 0 to +20 ° C. The humidity in this case should be 70%. In such conditions, the jam can be stored for about a year, that is, until the next restocking.

Therefore, you can keep it in the refrigerator - there you can provide all the conditions for the product not to lose its useful properties. But in general, any sufficiently cool and dark place (for example, a cupboard on an unheated balcony) would be a good option. It is important that the jam should not be exposed to direct sunlight, because that way the useful substances will be destroyed.

Pine jam has a strong aroma, so it is not recommended to store it in the same place as products that quickly absorb odors, such as cheese and dairy products. It is better to keep it on a shelf where other closed jars stand. And, of course, the jam itself should also be kept only with the lid closed.

How to take jam from pine cones

Experts warn that pine cone jam is beneficial only if it is consumed in small quantities. It is enough to eat 2-3 tsp. spoonfuls of jam per day with warm tea without sugar to promote health.

In folk medicine, there are also certain rules for the use of jam for various diseases, in particular:

1. With sore throat, cone jam disinfects the throat, helps to clear it of bacterial products, relieves pain. It also lowers the fever. To recover, you need to drink tea with pine cone jam three times a day (add 1 tsp. to the drink). The tea should be warm, but not hot, so as not to traumatize the mucosa. You can also dilute the jam with water and rinse your throat with it. In exactly the same way take this medicine and for bronchitis. Only sometimes doctors advise to wash down the jam with a lot of liquid, for example, after a cup of tea drink another glass of water. It is best to take such medicine for two weeks.
2. With any disease accompanied by cough (unless we are talking about allergies and angioedema), so that it goes to the wet stage, and the patient could expectorate sputum, you need to take jam 2 tbsp. a day.
3. With asthma, it is recommended to divide 2 tbsp. of jam into 5-6 intakes. And it is not allowed to drink it with water. And it should be taken an hour before a meal or two hours after.
4. With cardiovascular diseases and hypertension, jam can be effective, but you need to take it for a long time - at least two weeks, or even longer. It is also advised to be used to improve circulation after a stroke in the recovery period. This also requires a long treatment - for at least a month you will have to drink this medicine for 1 tbsp a day.
5. When parasitic infestation, when there is an infection with worms and giardia, folk medicine recommends eating a tablespoon of this dessert in the morning on an empty stomach, without drinking or eating it. In 30 minutes after that you can have breakfast. These helminthes do not tolerate the substances contained in the cone jam. The course of treatment is designed for a week, if we are talking about getting rid of worms. If there are giardia, the jam will need to be taken for two weeks.

It should be remembered that with parasitic infection, the jam does not get rid of the helminth larvae in any way, so you will also have to drink pharmaceuticals at the same time as the folk remedies. In any case, you should consult a doctor before using it.

Is it possible to eat pine cones from jam

Theoretically, soft cones from jam can be eaten. But you should understand that they contain a lot of resins and substances that give them a tart taste. Even after one such lump there is an astringent sensation in the mouth, let alone several! Therefore, it is better to consume just the liquid.

Photo of pine cone jam