Blackthorn Jam: 8 cooking recipes

Thorn bushes quickly establish themselves in open glades and along roadsides. Many people consider thorns a throwaway berry and are cruelly mistaken about it. In folk recipes from various countries, and especially in Cossack cuisine, these fruits are extremely valuable for their unique composition and beneficial effect on the body. There must be a place on the table for sloe liquor, soaked blackthorn, kissel, brew and jam from this useful and fragrant berry.

The secret of the thorn bush

Interesting moments start already when determining the species of the plant. It can be a dense shrub, where several almost equal stems grow from a single root, or a tree from 3 to 6 meters in height. It is almost impossible to distinguish from which species they come from by the colors and fruits. In both species, the trunk is brown or dark red, the crown is well branched, and there are small sparse thorns on the branches. Young shoots have a flexible, slightly pubescent trunk ending with a prickly, pointed tip.

At the end of April, flowering begins. The buds open amicably and the tree is drowned in a white foam of small fragrant flowers. The plant is a popular honeybee. There are a lot of ovaries, the fruits ripen by the end of summer, well kept on the branches until the first frosts.

Interesting: Blackthorn is very unpretentious, easily tolerates severe frosts and prolonged drought.

The fruits are small, with a tart sour taste, in the unripe state you can feel a slight bitterness. They acquire sweetness only before frosts; after the first frosts they become soft and quickly fall off the tree.

The plant is found everywhere in Europe, Asia, Western Siberia, the Caucasus, Belarus, Moldova, Finland, Tunisia.

Composition and benefits of thorns

Thorn is used in cooking and folk medicine, where the fruits, bark and young leaves are used. In the composition:

• pectins;
• organic acids;
• fiber;
• amino acids;
• tannins and aromatic substances;
• catechins;
• amygdalin;
• coumarins;
• flavonoids;
• vitamins A, C, E, K, PP, group B;
• fruit sugars.

Turnip is included in the official list of medicinal plants. For all its popularity, its useful properties have not yet been fully explored. Sap, fresh fruits, leaves, flowers are used for treatment. The plant is used for the prevention of avitaminosis, activation of metabolism, in diseases of the liver, kidneys, stomach, sluggish intestinal peristalsis. Fresh juice can eliminate parasites, stop diarrhea, neutralize pathogenic bacteria. Preparations with blackthorn extract are recommended as a reliable expectorant, the anti-inflammatory properties of the plant are used for angina, prostate adenoma, skin inflammation. Mild diuretic and antipyretic effects of fruits and leaves are valued.

The caloric value of fresh berries does not exceed 54 kcal per 100 g. Thermal processing retains most of the useful substances, especially when the delicacy is prepared by short-term heating.

What is useful in sloe jam

In moderate quantities, the delicacy is able to stabilize the intestine, to save the mucosa from damage, reducing the risk of developing gastritis and peptic ulcer disease. Tart berries reduce gas formation, which is important for those who suffer from flatulence. Fruits in fresh and boiled form have powerful antioxidant properties, remove toxins, increase the body's resistance to pathogenic microbes and fungal infections.

Hypertensives are advised to always keep a jar of jam or thorny jam on hand. A few spoonfuls in the morning will lower your blood pressure, improve your well-being, and prevent the occurrence of headaches. Organic acids and high potassium content support the heart muscle, return elasticity to the joints, relieve cramps.

The jam acts as an anti-inflammatory and antipyretic. On its own, it will not cope with a high fever, but as part of a complex therapy will accelerate and enhance the effect of drugs. Antiseptic properties will speed recovery after a cold and maintain strength during rehabilitation after a long illness. The astringent action helps to stop diarrhea, stabilize the functions of the gastrointestinal tract.

Worth considering: People prone to chronic constipation should be treated with caution.

Blackthorn jam cooked with a sweetener is included in weight-loss programs because the berries are able to speed up the metabolism, while cleansing the body and removing excess water. The fruit stimulates the kidneys and liver, normalizing the hormonal balance.

For men
The sour and tart taste of the dessert compares favorably with sweeter or sugary types of fruit and berry jam. It combines well with strong tea and supports male strength, acts as an inflammation prevention, stimulates metabolism, relieves anxiety, and improves vascular health.

For women
During pregnancy, a spoonful of a dainty five-minute treat relieves symptoms of toxicosis, prevents motion sickness in transport, helps maintain optimal weight, reduces edema. With a genetic predisposition to the formation of tumors in the chest thorns will serve as an effective preventive measure. It is useful with painful menstruation and restores the balance in the emotional sphere during menopause.

Dangerous Properties

The powerful diuretic property limits the possibility of using it for people suffering from kidney disease. Thorn is not recommended for severe allergic reactions and individual intolerance.

Interesting: In the composition of jam, the fruit can be perceived by the body neutrally.

With caution, eat the dessert for those diagnosed with gastritis or peptic ulcer disease. During exacerbations, the product is completely excluded from the diet. When implementing weight loss programs, you can eat jam, but you need to consider the caloric content, and it is quite high, 283 kcal per 100 grams of product.

How to choose thorns for jam

The berries begin to sing in August, the process is uneven. On the branches are often already fully ripe and half-green fruits. To harvest raw material for jam, it is better to wait for the mass wave that comes in September. Going to the harvest, it is worth bringing cloth gloves, otherwise fingers and brushes can easily be pricked by thorns and thin twigs.

Important: Blackthorn grows well along highways, but its fruits should not be used as food, the berries quickly accumulate toxins from automobile exhaust.

If you do not have time and energy to pick them yourself, you should pay attention to the external condition of the fruits when buying them. They should be intact, without dents, skin damage and worm holes. There may be stalks. They are easily detached during processing, and during transportation they do not allow the release of juice. The color of the ripe berries is dark blue, almost black with a bluish patina. It is more advantageous to buy thorns by the bucket, when boiling the berries lose significantly in volume, and those fruits that remain after making dessert, you can use for making in their own juice without sugar or let the nalewka.

How to boil sloe jam: recipes

The tart note in fresh berries, which have not yet waited for the first frosts, not everyone likes, but when boiling it almost disappears, and the addition of additional ingredients will give the taste new shades.

Classic

To make it, we use sugar and thorns in equal proportions. Sometimes you need to add water, because the berries can be dry. Pips are usually not removed. There are no harmful substances in them, but the jam will be better gelled. It can be made in two ways: by pouring hot sugar syrup or boiling the whole mass at once. To extract the juice, each berry is poked with a wooden toothpick, the mass is poured over with sugar and left in a warm place under a towel for 10-12 hours.

Before cooking, assess the amount of liquid obtained. If it's not enough, then add 250 ml of water per 1 kg of berries. Depending on the level of ripeness of the fruit, the cooking time for a single boil is 40-45 minutes. The reference point is the thickness of the mass, the readiness is checked by a drop on a saucer. If it holds shape and does not run, then you can remove the container from the fire and spread the hot mass in jars.

When pouring the syrup, you will need three approaches with pauses for a complete cooling of the dessert.

With walnuts.

The treat is prepared according to the classic recipe with a single boil. The twist is the addition of a glass of peeled nuts per 1 kg of fruit. The ingredients are put in at the same time, the berries should give juice, for which the mass is kept in the heat for 12 hours. The degree of crunchiness of nuts is regulated by the time of adding them to the mass. If they are put at once, they will be soaked with juice and acquire an exquisite taste. When the kernels are poured into the boiling jam 5-10 minutes before it's ready, they will retain their elasticity and will crunch while eating.

With apple

For the second component of jam, choose autumn juicy varieties of apples. They are peeled from the skin and seeds, cut into cubes, lay out in layers, starting with thorns and generously glazed with sugar. Proportions:

• thorns - 1 kg;
• apples - 1 kg;
• sugar - 2 kg.

The mixture is mixed carefully before boiling and put on low heat. It will take 40-45 minutes for cooking. Boil in 1 approach, pour into jars in boiling form, seal hermetically. Cover the container with a warm cloth or an old blanket until it cools.

Chocolate jam

For cooking you will need:

• Thorn and sugar - 1 kg each;
• cocoa - 3 tbsp;
• Melted butter - 100 gr;
• water - 1/2 cup.

Pour the berries in boiling water and boil for 5 minutes, then rub through a sieve. Cleaned of peels and seeds poured a lot of sugar for 1 hour, and then cook over very slow heat for half an hour. In the boiling mass gently add the mixture of butter and cocoa, cook for 5 minutes and immediately placed in small jars. After the container is opened, the jam will have to eat within 2-3 days, then it can go bad.

Orange Mood

Turnip combines beautifully with citrus fruits, they enrich the taste, giving the finished product the property to improve mood and restore strength after mental and physical exertion. Lemon is too sour for this purpose, orange is perfect. For 1 kg of berries and the same amount of sugar take 2 large citrus fruits.

Grate the zest, free the slices from pips and membranes, cut into small cubes. Ingredients are laid out in layers, alternating with sugar, the top layer also consists of granulated sugar. Leave the mass for 24 hours in warmth and rest. Cook for 40 minutes with constant stirring, be sure to remove the foam, so as not to spoil the aesthetic appearance of the finished product. Disperse into jars in hot form, after complete cooling is stored in a cool place.

Five-Minute .

This recipe allows you to maximize the preservation of the useful properties of berries. The proportions are classic, the peculiarity is the cooking time. After the berries have given juice, the mass is stirred, put on medium heat and boil after boiling for exactly 5 minutes. Immediately placed in sterilized jars, tightly sealed, stored in the cellar or the refrigerator. You can cook with or without the bone, pass the pulp through a meat grinder.

Alycha

Despite the kinship of the plants, the taste of the fruit is specific, it is easy to distinguish them. But if you combine the ingredients by adding pears and hazelnuts, you get an unusual treat with a refined taste. Proportions:

• Alycha and sloe - 1 kg each;
• sugar - 1.5 kg
• pears - 450 gr;
• Nuts - 500 gr.

After the stage of mixing berries, pears, sugar and obtaining juice, put the mass on the stove for 20 minutes with constant stirring. Nuts are added in the middle of cooking and kept at a constant boil for another 1/4 hour. Emptied into jars cover the dainty capron, it does not spoil within 12 months.

With cinnamon and ginger

The dessert with spices has an excellent immune-stimulating feature, will help not to get sick during seasonal epidemics, will lift your spirits and warm up long winter evenings. Take 6 grams of dried spices for an equal amount of thorns and sugar. The treat is prepared according to the classic recipe, cinnamon and ginger are added 5 minutes before cooking.

Secrets of a tasty preparation

In order for the jam to turn out fragrant, and the taste revealed completely, it is worth paying attention to a few important points.

1. The berries must be fully ripe, but not yet gripped by frost. For making jam and marmalade, it is recommended to pre-cook them in boiling water for no more than 5 minutes.
2. To increase the amount of juice, you need to pierce each berry in 2-3 places. The integrity of the fruit can be preserved only by boiling on a very low heat, if the temperature is added, they quickly turn into mush.
3. It is better to store the delicacy in a cool place, because in thorns a high amount of acid, and in it quickly begins to ferment if the tightness of the jars is broken.

Interesting facts about thorns

1. The culture is practically not grown on an industrial scale.
2. The plant has a very high survival rate, easily tolerating prolonged drought and prolonged frosts down to -40 degrees.
3. The young leaves of the shrub are successfully substituted for tea.
4. Pickled in oil berries taste very similar to olives.
5. In the peoples of the Caucasus the plant is considered a symbol of vitality, and in ancient Judea - desolation.