Dogwood jam: 9 recipes

At the beginning of March, in the Crimea, in the Caucasus, in Moldova and Central Asia, sunny inflorescences of an amazing tree blossom. It is blooming dogwood. He reveals flowers one of the first, welcoming the rebirth of life. In early autumn, bright scarlet, violet or almost black fruits ripen with a smooth skin that hides the sweet flesh with a characteristic sourness. Many delicacies are prepared from it, but jam was and remains the most popular and unusually tasty.

Dogwood secret

In total, 4 types of dogwood are known. They differ in the shape of the fruit and the place of growth. The plant is found in the wild in the Crimea, Moldova, Transcarpathia. Vast areas, overgrown with this tree or multi-stemmed shrub, spread in the Caucasus, some species grow in Primorye. Berries are purposefully cultivated in Japan, Central Asia, China, and countries of Eastern Europe.

Dogwood grows in a tree-like form, reaching 4–6 m in height, or in the form of a bush with numerous trunks from one root. The root system is fibrous, superficial, because it does not tolerate severe frosts and grows only in regions with mild winters. The bark of horizontal branches is almost black, the leaves are small, elongated by a boat.

Dogwood is considered a healing berry, the history of its cultivation goes back to prehistoric times. On one of the ancient sites were found cornel seeds, whose age exceeded 5 thousand years. Culinary specialists have created many recipes based on juice and cornel pulp.

Especially a lot of dogwood thickets in the Crimea. Not without legend, explaining the unrealistically long period of fruit ripening. No other plant has such a long, 5-6 months, period of ovary formation and ripeness. For this feature dogwood is often called the “shaitan berry”.

According to legend, the Creator, after completing the work, lay down to rest, but people, seeing the abundance, began to share berries and fruits. Everyone tried to get a special benefit. Almighty, awakened by noise and controversy, commanded to choose one plant and all his life to eat only its fruits. Sly Shaitan, attracted by loud cries, crept closer and asked for a dogwood. He was seduced by early flowering and decided that he would get the crop before everyone else either. But it didn’t work out. From the remaining trees and bushes, fruits have long been harvested, and the dogwood is still green and solid. With annoyance, the demon seared him with a fiery breath. The result was not pleasing, the skin of the berries turned red, but eating them was still impossible. Offended, Shaitan gave dogwood to people. They patiently waited for the first frosts and gathered a generous crop of sweet healing berries.

In retaliation, Shaitan arranged so that after this a long winter would come with terrible cold. And still people believe in the sign that the abundant fruiting of dogwood - to a harsh winter.

From the legend it follows that only fully ripened berries have a unique set of useful properties, are filled with vitamins and are able to bring great benefits to the human body.

Composition and calorie content

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

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

Calorie content does not exceed 41 kcal, but eating berries uncontrollably is not recommended. They are not for nothing called “shaytanovye”, they can cause allergies, constipation or diarrhea, so you need to know the measure.

Useful properties of cornel jam

Berries do not need to be cooked for a long time, in ripe form they quickly gel the syrup. Under such conditions, dogwood retains most of the beneficial substances and properties inherent in fresh fruits. Jam is reasonably called medicinal.

1. It strengthens the immune system, replenishes the lack of vitamins and minerals, supporting strength and giving energy in the winter cold.
2. General strengthening properties are very useful during epidemics of flu and a massive attack of colds. The high content of vitamin C will help to pass the test with honor, using an unusually tasty way of protection.
3. Fresh berries strengthen the structure of blood vessels, while maintaining the elasticity of the walls. After cooking, this ability is preserved.
4. The regular use of jam within reasonable limits helps to reduce the risk of sudden jumps in blood pressure, gradually bringing the indicators back to normal.
5. In case of impaired memory function, decreased attention, the appearance of distraction and forgetfulness, dogwood is recommended in a loading dose. It prevents the formation of cholesterol plaques, stops atherosclerotic changes, normalizes blood flow in small vessels.
6. The enveloping effect of fresh berries and jam is useful in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, soothing irritated mucous membranes and reducing inflammatory processes.
7. Pectin and tannins bind and remove toxins, decay products. This helps to reduce the rehabilitation time after poisoning, eating disorders, diarrhea.
8. Scarlet berries are considered an excellent antidepressant and retain their properties even in the form of jam. Moreover, not only the taste but also the smell of goodies improves the mood.
9. Dogwood is sometimes called a male berry for its ability to enhance desire and potency.
10. The combination of a large amount of iron and vitamin C, contributing to its absorption, helps to improve well-being with anemia and blood disorders.
11. Cornel jam is one of 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 be limited to those who adhere to certain diets aimed at weight control, diabetics, young children, pregnant and lactating women. You will have to set aside a vase of jam while taking antibiotics, aspirin, calcium preparations.

It is forbidden to enjoy dessert with high acidity, exacerbation of ulcers and gastritis, chronic constipation. Do not eat a treat for the night. Dogwood gives a surge of strength, which can give rise to persistent insomnia. But in combination with warmed wine, jam can prevent a cold with severe hypothermia.

How to choose dogwood for jam

In order not to get into trouble, remembering the features of fruit ripening, it is imperative to follow the rules for choosing a product.

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

The criteria are:

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

Connoisseurs warn that the sweetest berries themselves should fall from the branches and lie down for at least a day. Another secret of a quality purchase is that you need to buy fruits by weight only. When buying a bucket from above, there will be good specimens, and near the bottom - spoiled or unfinished.

How to cook dogwood jam: recipes

For any method of making jam, there are general rules. Only fully ripened berries are used, preferably collected after the first night frost. Then they will not be so tart, and sugar will be needed less. Dogwood is carefully sorted.

On a note: at the slightest doubt as to the quality of the berry, it is laid aside. A few spoiled fruits will spoil the entire batch of goodies.

After washing and removing the tips, each one is necessarily pricked from 2 sides for better separation of the juice.

One of the subtleties of cooking is to cook a little dessert, but in several approaches. One of the features of berries is that during prolonged cooking they become stiff. To maintain the shape, dogwood is first placed in water with 1 teaspoon of soda for 30 minutes. Then it is washed and proceed to cooking.

Classical

In this embodiment, only dogwood, granulated sugar and some water. For 1 kg of berries you will need 1.2 kg of sugar. To it add 0.5 l of purified water and boil the syrup. Once the sugar has completely dissolved, the prepared berries are poured with liquid. They should cool and soak in syrup. This will take approximately 4 hours. Dogwood will give juice and you can continue the process.

The next stage lasts about 12 minutes. The mixture is kept on low heat, stirring regularly. So that the berries do not fall apart, it is more convenient to use a wooden spatula or completely do without tools, occasionally shaking the container with dessert from one side to the other. Then it is quickly poured into cans, sealed and left under warming for a day. After exposure, the treat is removed to the storage place.

Five minute

This is the most popular method of preparation, where the berries remain intact and the benefits are maximized. To store such a dessert, you need a cool place, or even better, 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 the preparation is that the water is heated to a boiling state and at first just pour the berries for 5 minutes. Then the liquid is poured into a separate container with a thick bottom, sugar is added and the syrup is boiled. As soon as the sugar has dissolved, dogwood is poured into the pan and, after boiling, immediately removed from the stove for 2-3 hours. It will take 2 more approaches. The third time the jam is kept in a boiling state for 5 minutes and immediately poured into jars.

With bone

It is difficult to separate the bone from the berry, while the structure of the fetus is completely disrupted. Many housewives leave her inside, especially since in the nucleolus there are a lot of useful substances, including fatty acids. To get more juice when standing under a layer of sugar, the berries are pricked. Then the jam is prepared according to the classic recipe.

Pitted

In this embodiment, only a pasty mixture is obtained. It will be great to taste, but the aesthetics will be completely different. To remove the bone, you need to blanch the berries for 3-4 minutes in boiling water and rub through a sieve. Cook such a mass according to the classic or five-minute recipe, but in 1 approach. The proportions of berries and sugar are the same - 1: 1.5.

Caucasian

A little trick helps to keep the berries whole, elastic, saturated with juice. To do this, take 2 liters of water per 2 kg of dogwood and dissolve 10 g of baking soda in it. After 2 hours, the fruits are washed in running water, lightly dried with a towel and placed in a pan. Having added 500 ml of pure water, they are steamed under a lid for 10 minutes. Then pour 2.5 kg of sugar into the boiling mass, bring to a boil and set aside until the morning. After 12 hours, the mass is boiled over low heat to the desired density and immediately packaged in jars for storage for the winter.

On fructose

Dogwood reduces blood sugar, but when using granulated sugar it becomes useless for diabetics. You can correct the situation by preparing a dessert on fructose. It will need only 10 g per 300 g of fresh berries. They are filled with 130 ml of water, a sweetener is added immediately. Boil no more than 5 minutes on very low heat. The mixture is cooled and again set on fire. As soon as the boiling process has begun, the pan is removed from the stove and the dessert is poured into storage containers.

Honey surprise

Before the advent of sugar, many goodies were cooked on honey or grape juice. This tradition can be continued, the characteristic sour taste of dogwood is perfectly combined with a honey aroma. For cooking, you need berries and honey in equal proportions. Water will replace berry juice.

Half of the fruits are removed to the side, the other is kneaded, the bones are removed and again crushed to a puree state. Whole fruits are poured into the mixture, slowly heated and brought to a boil. Then honey is gently and slowly poured into the mass, constantly stirring the jam until smooth and immediately removed from the fire.

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

To achieve readiness, you will need 2 more approaches of 5 minutes each with complete cooling of the mixture between boiling. Before the end of cooking, a glass of cognac is poured into the mass, mixed and immediately laid out in jars.

With apple

It turns out a very interesting combination, in which some dry berries are complemented by juiciness of fruits. The gelling properties of dogwood make it possible to obtain a thick consistency without a long boiling time. Proportions - 1 kg of each ingredient, including water, and only the sugar norm is increased to 1.2 kg.

For this recipe, it is better to remove the bones immediately, so it will be more convenient to eat a treat. Peel apples, cut sections with seeds and cut into cubes. Put fruits and berries in a saucepan, pour boiling syrup, stand on fire for 7 minutes and leave to cool completely. So you have to make 4 approaches, and then you can put up for banks.

Winter fairy tale

To maximize the shelf life of the dessert, it is prepared without water. The recipe contains only sugar and berries in equal proportions. The result is a thick, delicate and very aromatic treat. The ripe berries are selected for cooking. A quarter of them are kneaded, seeds are removed from the mass. The rest is covered with sugar for 2-3 hours. Each berry is pricked with a wooden toothpick. It is better not to use metal accessories and utensils.

Then lay the berry puree in the pan, mix the mass and put on a slow fire. After boiling, they detect it for 5 minutes, in the process of cooking, it is necessary to remove the foam. The sweet mass should be infused under the towel for 5-6 hours, it is not necessary to cover it with a lid, condensation will get. The next cooking is continued 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 shift the treat into jars and tightly roll up for the winter.

Interesting facts about dogwood

1. Berries are used in cooking for desserts, sauces and gravy.
2. In traditional medicine recipes, fruits and leaves are equally valued.
3. The oldest plant bones found on one of the ancient sites are more than 5 thousand years old.
4. The plant is able to protect against scurvy due to its high content of vitamin C.
5. Bones with proper processing and roasting do not differ in taste from coffee beans.
6. The fruits are sung for 5 months.
7. Among the valuable species of wood that decorated the palaces of St. Petersburg was dogwood.
8. The second name of the plant is “shaitan berry”.

Unusual and very tasty dogwood jam with a slight acidity and bright aroma will save you from colds and will be a great addition to any holiday or a quiet family evening.

Photo of dogwood jam