Cranberry is a famous berry, which is given to a person by a creeping evergreen shrub growing in the northern regions, mainly on wetlands. The berry ripens in late autumn – this is almost the last of the autumn gifts of nature.
Cranberries are used for cooking a variety of dishes, as well as for medicinal purposes, its sour berries can help in the fight against many diseases.
Cranberry-useful berry
Many people know about the benefits of cranberries, but if you ask what it is specifically made of, then most likely you will not remember anything except the high content of vitamin C in it. These berries also contain a large amount of vitamins a, B1, B3, B9, B6, and they are also rich in zinc, potassium, sodium, boron and contain a number of other useful micro- and macroelements.”
The useful properties of cranberries include:
- ability to dilute blood, reduce blood pressure;
- has a beneficial effect on digestion, improving appetite;
- anti-inflammatory effect, as well as the ability to reduce intoxication of the body due to accelerated elimination of toxins;
- helps with vitamin deficiency, scurvy, loss of strength;
- increasing the body’s defenses, strengthening the immune system;
- diuretic effect.
Who can not cranberries
Despite the huge number of useful properties, cranberries can be eaten or used for treatment by far not everyone. The main contraindication is allergy. Intolerance is manifested by rash, sneezing, itching; in severe cases, complications are possible.
It is also not recommended to eat cranberries:
- with reduced blood clotting, a tendency to bleeding;
- for gastritis, peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum;
- with severe arterial hypotension;
- urolithiasis.
Limit the use of cranberries for medicinal and nutritional purposes is recommended for liver diseases, various metabolic disorders.
If you do not have such health problems, eat healthy berries without fear, use them to prepare drinks and various dishes. But before using cranberries to treat any diseases, you should still consult with your doctor.
How to use cranberries
The simplest and most obvious option is to eat freshly picked berries, but they are so sour that they can be difficult to eat without additional processing. And how to cook cranberries to preserve the maximum of useful properties?
The simplest option is to pour the collected berries with boiling water, sprinkle them with sugar to taste and insist a little. The resulting drink is filtered and cooled; thanks to minimal processing, it retains almost all the useful properties of cranberries.
You can make cranberry juice. It is necessary to take about 0.5 kg (1.1 lb) of cranberries, chop it with a blender, squeeze the juice thoroughly. Pour the remaining berries with 1 liter of water, bring to a boil and keep on fire for 5-10 minutes. The finished broth is filtered, cooled, and then squeezed juice, honey and sugar are added to it to taste.
Delicious and healthy drink-cranberry-raspberry cocktail. To prepare it is very simple: chop the berries in a blender, mixing them with milk and sugar to taste. The resulting mixture is cooled, after which it is ready for use.
At home, you can also cook cranberries in sugar. To do this, you need to choose large berries and wash them thoroughly, dry them. Then, in a separate container, mix the powdered sugar with egg white, roll the cranberries in the resulting mass and dry them, spread them on a kitchen board or a tray to dry the powdered sugar.
Features of harvesting for the winter
To preserve cranberries for the winter without losing useful properties, it can be dried or frozen. Perfectly stored in a cool place and soaked cranberries.
Well, if taste is more important to you than benefit, prepare cranberry-apple jam. Of course, some healing properties will be lost during cooking, but it will be delicious! Mix finely chopped apples and cranberries in a ratio of 1:1, add chopped walnut kernels to taste. Pour the resulting mixture with syrup made from 1 cup of water and 2 cups of sugar. Cook on low heat for half an hour, then carefully transfer to jars. That’s it, the jam is ready!
Cranberries can also be stored fresh for several months. To do this, ripe berries are placed in a dark, dry place with good ventilation. It is important to make sure that the cranberries are ripe after harvesting – otherwise they often begin to deteriorate.
Cranberries are a valuable gift of nature. The main thing is to properly prepare the berries for consumption and consult with a doctor regarding contraindications.