Thorn jam: 8 recipes

Thorny blackthorn bushes quickly settle in open glades and along roadsides. Many consider the turn a waste berry and are cruelly mistaken in this. In folk recipes of different countries, and especially in Cossack cuisine, these fruits are extremely valued for their unique composition and beneficial effect on the body. On the table there is surely a place for thorny liquor, soaked thorns, jelly, boiled and jam from this healthy and fragrant berry.

The secret of the thorn bush

Interesting moments begin when determining the type of plant. It can be a dense shrub where several almost equal trunks grow at once from one root, or a tree from 3 to 6 meters in height. According to the flowers and fruits, it is almost impossible to distinguish from what type they are taken. In both species, the trunk is brown or dark red, the crown is well-branched, on the branches there are small rare spines. Young shoots have a flexible, slightly pubescent stem ending in a prickly pointed tip.

In late April, flowering begins. The buds open together, the tree is buried in a white foam of small fragrant flowers. The plant is a popular honey plant. There are many ovaries, the fruits are ripened by the end of summer, they are well kept on 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, a slight bitterness is felt. They acquire sweetness only before frosts, after the first frosts they become soft and quickly crumble from the tree.

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

The composition and benefits of the turn

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

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

The turn is on the official list of medicinal plants. With all its popularity, its useful properties have not yet been fully studied. For treatment use juice, fresh fruits, leaves, flowers. The plant is used to prevent vitamin deficiency, enhance metabolism, in diseases of the liver, kidneys, stomach, and sluggish intestinal motility. 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 tonsillitis, prostate adenoma, and skin inflammations. The soft diuretic and antipyretic effect of fruits and leaves is appreciated.

The calorie content of fresh berries does not exceed 54 kcal per 100 g. During heat treatment, most of the nutrients are preserved, especially when a treat is prepared by short-term heating.

What is useful jam from thorns

In moderate amounts, the treat can stabilize the intestines, protect the mucosa from damage, reducing the risk of gastritis and peptic ulcer. Tart berries reduce gas formation, which is important for those who suffer from flatulence. Fresh and boiled fruits have powerful antioxidant properties, remove toxins and toxins, increase the body's resistance to pathogenic microbes and fungal infections.

Hypertensive patients are advised to always have a jar of jam or thorn jam on hand. A few spoons in the morning reduce pressure, improve well-being, and prevent the appearance of a headache.Organic acids and a high potassium content support the heart muscle, restore joint elasticity, and relieve spasms.

Jam acts as an anti-inflammatory and antipyretic. It will not cope with high temperatures on its own, but as part of complex therapy, it will accelerate and enhance the effect of drugs. Antiseptic properties will accelerate recovery after a cold and support strength during the rehabilitation period after prolonged illnesses. Astringent action helps to stop diarrhea, stabilize the functions of the gastrointestinal tract.

It is worth considering: people prone to chronic constipation, need to enjoy the turn with caution.

Thorn jam, cooked with a sweetener, is included in weight loss programs, as berries can speed up metabolism, while cleansing the body and removing excess water. Fruits stimulate the functioning of the kidneys and liver, normalizing hormonal balance.

For men
The sour-tart taste of the dessert compares favorably with the sweeter or sugary kinds of fruit and berry jam. It goes well with strong tea and supports masculine strength, acts as a prophylaxis of inflammation, stimulates metabolism, relieves anxiety, and improves the state of blood vessels.

For women
During pregnancy, a spoonful of goodies for five minutes removes the symptoms of toxicosis, protects against motion sickness in transport, helps maintain optimal weight, and reduces swelling. With a genetic tendency to form tumors in the chest, the turn will serve as an effective prophylactic. It is useful for painful periods, restores balance in the emotional sphere during menopause.

Hazardous properties

A powerful diuretic property limits the possibility of use for people suffering from kidney diseases. The turn is not recommended for severe allergic reactions and individual intolerance.

Interesting: as part of jam, the fruits can be perceived by the body neutrally.

With caution, a dessert should be enjoyed by those who are diagnosed with gastritis or peptic ulcer. During the period of exacerbation, the product is completely excluded from the diet. When implementing weight loss programs, you can eat jam, but you need to take into account calorie content, and it is quite high, 283 kcal per 100 g of product.

How to choose a jam turn

Berries begin to sing in August, the process is uneven. On the branches are often already fully ripe and semi-green fruits. To collect raw materials for jam, it is better to wait for the mass wave coming in September. Going to the harvest, it is worth taking cloth gloves with you, otherwise your fingers and brushes can easily be pricked with spikes and thin branches.

Important: blackthorn grows well along highways, but it is impossible to use its fruits for food, berries quickly accumulate toxins from automobile exhausts.

If there is no time and effort to collect independently, then when buying, you should pay attention to the external condition of the fruits. They should be intact, without dents, damage to the skin and wormholes. Perhaps the presence of the stalk. During processing, they are easily separated, and during transportation do not allow the allocation of juice. The color of ripe berries is dark blue, almost black with a bluish bloom. It’s more profitable to buy the turner in a bucket, when cooking, the berries lose significantly in volume, and those fruits that remain after the dessert is prepared can be used for harvesting in your own juice without sugar or put on the liqueur.

How to cook jam from thorns: recipes

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

Classic

For its preparation, sugar and thorns are used in equal proportions. Water is sometimes required, as the berries are rather dry.Bones are not usually removed. There are no harmful substances in them, but jam will be better gelled. It is prepared in 2 ways by pouring with hot sugar syrup or boiling the whole mass at once. To obtain juice, each berry is pricked with a wooden toothpick, the prepared mass is poured with sugar and left for 10-12 hours in a warm place under a towel.

Before cooking, evaluate the amount of liquid obtained. If it is not enough, then 250 ml of water is added per 1 kg of berries. Depending on the level of ripeness of the fruit, the preparation time for a treat at a single boil is 40–45 minutes. The reference point is on the density of the mass, readiness is checked drop by drop on a saucer. If it holds its shape and does not spread, then you can remove the container from the fire and lay out the hot mass in jars.

When pouring syrup, you need 3 sets with breaks to completely cool the dessert.

With walnuts

The delicacy is prepared according to the classic recipe with a single boil. The highlight is the addition of a glass of peeled nuts per 1 kg of fruit. The ingredients are laid at the same time, the berries should give juice, for which the mass is kept warm for 12 hours. The degree of crackling of nuts is regulated by the time of adding to the mass. If put immediately, they are nourished by the juice and acquire an exquisite taste. When the kernels are poured into boiling jam 5-10 minutes before being cooked, they will retain elasticity and will crunch during the meal.

With apple

For the second component of jam choose autumn juicy apple varieties. They are peeled and peeled, cut into cubes, laid out in layers, starting with the turn and generously layered with sugar. Proportions:

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

The mixture is carefully mixed before cooking and put on low heat. It will take 40–45 minutes to cook. Cook in 1 approach, pour into cans in boiling form, tightly close. Wrap the container with a warm cloth or an old blanket until it cools completely.

Chocolate jam

For cooking you will need:

• thorns and sugar - 1 kg each;
• cocoa - 3 tbsp. spoons;
• melted butter - 100 g;
• water - 1/2 cup.

The berries are poured into boiling water and boiled for 5 minutes, then rubbed through a sieve. Pure peel and seed weight is poured with sugar for 1 hour, and then boiled over very low heat for half an hour. A mixture of butter and cocoa is carefully added to the boiling mass, boiled for 5 minutes and immediately laid out in small jars. After the container is open, the jam will have to be eaten for 2-3 days, then it can go bad.

Orange mood

The turn is perfectly combined with citrus fruits, they enrich the taste, giving the finished product the ability to increase mood and restore strength after mental and physical exertion. Lemon is too sour for this purpose, an orange is perfect. For 1 kg of berries and the same amount of sugar take 2 large citrus fruits.

The zest is rubbed into small chips, the slices are freed from pits and films, cut into small cubes. The ingredients are laid out in layers, alternating with sugar, the top layer also consists of granulated sugar. The mass is left for 24 hours in warmth and peace. The delicacy is cooked for 40 minutes with constant stirring, the foam must be removed so as not to spoil the aesthetic appearance of the finished product. They are laid out on the banks in a hot form, after complete cooling, they are stored in a cool place.

Five minute

This recipe allows you to maximize the beneficial properties of berries. The proportions are classic, feature - in cooking time. After the berries gave the juice, the mass is mixed, put on medium heat and cooked after boiling exactly 5 minutes. Immediately laid out in sterilized jars, hermetically rolled up, stored in a cellar or refrigerator. You can cook with or without a bone by passing the pulp through a meat grinder.

With cherry plum

Despite the family relationship of plants, the taste of the fruits is specific, they are easy to distinguish. But if you combine the ingredients, adding pears and hazelnuts to the composition, you get an unusual treat with a refined taste. Proportions:

• cherry plum and thorns - 1 kg each;
• sugar - 1.5 kg;
• pears - 450 g;
• kernels of nuts - 500 g.

After the stage of mixing berries, pears, sugar and juice, put the mass on the stove for 20 minutes with constant stirring. Nuts are added in the middle of cooking and kept under continuous boiling for another 1/4 hour. The delicacy laid out in jars is closed with nylon caps; it will not deteriorate for 12 months.

With cinnamon and ginger

Dessert with spices has an excellent immunostimulating feature, helps not to get sick during seasonal epidemics, will cheer you up and warm you up on long winter evenings. 6 g of dried spices are taken 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 being cooked.

Secrets of delicious cooking

In order for the jam to be aromatic, and the taste is fully revealed, it is worth paying attention to several important points.

1. Berries should be fully ripe, but not yet seized with frost. For the preparation of jam and jam, preliminary boiling in boiling water for no more than 5 minutes is recommended.
2. To increase the amount of juice, you need to pierce each berry in 2-3 places. The integrity of the fruit can only be preserved by boiling over very low heat, when temperature is added, they quickly turn into porridge.
3. It is better to store the delicacy in a cool place, because the turn contains a high amount of acid, and fermentation quickly begins in it if the jars are not tight.

Interesting Turn Facts

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. Young leaves of the bush successfully replace tea.
4. Marinated in oil berries taste very similar to olives.
5. Among the peoples of the Caucasus, the plant is considered a symbol of endurance in life, and in ancient Judea - desolation.